Corbin escorted Autumn to Eastwood Cottage's door at two in the morning. She kissed him on the cheek and promised to see him that evening. With one hand rising to cover a giant yawn, she turned to go inside. He waited until she had safely locked the door before walking back up the drive to the main house.
Was he disappointed that she had declined to spend the night with him? He'd be a fool to say no, but she had her reasons and he had to respect that. Autumn had revealed little about her past, specifically regarding Jordyn's father. But from what Corbin gathered, he wasn't in the picture. As someone who had grown up with a loving father, he found it difficult to understand why a man would choose to abandon his child.
A tall, man-shaped silhouette waited for him at the top of the slight rise. Corbin paused, eyes narrowing as he sought to decipher the individual.
Well, I'll be damned, he thought as his night-sight identified the errant guest.
"I thought you weren't coming," Corbin said quietly.
The man chuckled and ran a hand through dark blond hair silvered by moonlight. "Oh, I'm not staying," his companion replied in a mild Norwegian accent, a smile creasing his strong Nordic features. "I drove up here specifically to have my face seen and now I'm heading home."
Corbin nodded amiably and stuffed his hands in his pockets as they walked towards the house. "You mentioned that you had pressing matters to attend to. I must admit, Magnus, that makes me rather curious."
Magnus Solberg was the oldest Knowing in New England, having been born in a small Norwegian village in 1589. His field of study was anthropology, which took him all over the world. He was one of the few Knowing who did not have a designated territory, moving from one cultural area to another once every fifty years. Currently, he was living near the Connecticut border in a tiny cottage.
He never failed to attend gatherings, which made his absence rather notable.
"Well," Magnus said, clasping his hands behind his back, "I was going to keep this to myself, but then I saw you with that lovely young lady over there. Who is she?"
Corbin smiled. "Her name is Autumn. I hired her to bake all the desserts and pastries for tonight's party."
Magnus's eyebrows rose and he chuckled. "Indeed? What did she feed you to charm you so?"
"Cinnamon rolls."
Magnus tipped his head back and laughed. "I would have thought you more of an apple tart man."
"No, but that sounds delicious." Corbin paused and Magnus followed suit. "But what about Autumn? Are you here to warn me off of her like Her Imperial Highness has been doing all night?"
His companion snorted softly. "Anastasia views the world through a unique social lens, with her kind at the top and those like that dear lady at the bottom. Ignore her."
"She threatened to go to the masters."
Magnus raised an eyebrow. "There are those out there that believe after we ascend, we are no longer human. But I disagree. We chose our path in life in order to pursue the interests we had as mortals. Why should that not extend to our relationships as well?"
Corbin took a deep breath and folded his arms, looking up into the full face of the moon.
"In your house right now are three people with servant spouses."
"What?" Corbin spun around. "There are?" He mentally sped through his guest list and couldn't think of a single individual who would fit those criteria.
Magnus smiled knowingly. "It's not my place to divulge their secrets."
"Is one of them Anastasia?"
"No."
Corbin ran a hand along the back of his neck. "Why are you telling me this, Magnus?"
"Because I have recently taken a human infant into my care and should the need arise, I would like you as an ally."
Magnus was as solitary as a Knowing could be. He had one servant and preferred to keep to small residences as a way to blend into his chosen community.
"You? Raise a baby?" Magnus was incredibly intelligent and had centuries of knowledge at his disposal, but Corbin couldn't imagine him raising a child.
"Did you believe you would fall in love with that woman?"
Corbin ducked his head, smirked, and kicked the cobblestone. Magnus had a point. "No."
Magnus shrugged. "After living so long, I didn't think there was anything left to surprise me. I was wrong."
That made two of them.
"I'll stand with you, Magnus, should the need arise."
Magnus smiled and clapped Corbin on the back. "I'm heartened to hear that, my friend. Now, tell me, are there any more of your lady's sweets available? I have driven a long way and in the middle of the night, too."
Corbin grinned. "Yes."
Armed with the knowledge Magnus brought, the two men entered the house where the party was finally dying down.
"Magnus," the Grand Duchess exclaimed with false enthusiasm, meeting them by the dessert table. Only ten Knowing remained, arguing over glasses of champagne and Autumn's pastries. "I heard you were not coming."
"I heard praises being sung of Corbin's pastry chef, so I had to come right away."
Corbin repressed a smirk as Nastya flinched. But the Grand Duchess recovered quickly. "So, you have heard that he has taken up with a mortal."
"I know that your great-grandnephew the Czar has a commoner wife." Magnus placed several danishes on a plate. "And yet, the Russian Empire has not fallen. Amazing." He took a bite and glanced at Corbin. "Delicious! Have you had these, Anastasia?" Magnus waved the half-eaten danish at the Russian princess.
The Grand Duchess's eyes narrowed and her lips thinned.
Magnus cocked his head.
Without a word, Nastya turned and exited the ballroom. Corbin peered through the open doors to ensure that she went up the stairs and not outside.
"Hail Mother Russia!" one of the men called out, lifting his glass.
"These are very, very good," Magnus commented, tapping the plate. "Very good!" he repeated, louder this time.
Corbin could only smile.