it feels more natural to be here….” Niall started, letting the sentence fade.
“I’m not sure I trust my instincts when it comes to what feels natural,” Blake said, still holding Niall’s gaze.
Niall could have murdered him on the spot. Aside from the fact that he would say something with such deep meaning while Ian was standing between the two of them, it was an abdication of responsibility.
“You’re going to have to decide that for yourself,” Niall said, stepping away and turning his back to Blake.
Blake cleared his throat and delivered the line, “Come, my darling. Let us celebrate our union instead of denying it. Let all the kingdom celebrate with us.”
Niall turned back to him, sucking in a breath and wondering whether Blake would dare to kiss him on the stage, in front of everyone else. All he did was march past Ian to stand directly by Niall’s side, studying his script as though it held the answers to every question in the universe in its pages.
“And that’s where we kiss,” Blake said without looking up.
“My hero,” Niall said, his jaw clenched.
The accompanist dove into the opening bars of the final song that would end the show. Morton and his chorus shifted into place and Niall crossed to sweep Blake into the position the two of them were supposed to have for the final number. The other, minor characters moved into place as well.
In the midst of the burst of movement, Blake pulled something flat out of the pocket of his jacket and slipped it subtly into Niall’s pocket. Without meeting his eyes or acknowledging what he’d done, Blake took Niall’s hand and moved to center stage as he began to sing.
Niall could hardly remember the words to the song that he’d written. Blake had slipped a letter into his pocket, he was certain. He wanted to read it so badly that the corners of his vision blurred. Morton made a few suggestions about choreography for the finale that Niall agreed to without truly noting what they were.
As soon as the final strains of the finale faded and the cast dissolved into applauding themselves and chattering, Niall wanted to bolt out of the room to read Blake’s letter. Rehearsal was far from over, though.
“Excellent,” he said, feigning a smile as he peeled away from Blake and moved to the front of the stage, where he could address his cast as a whole. “Morton, I like what you did with the dancing bits. Why don’t you run through that again while the rest of us take a quick break?”
The chorus members glanced to Morton, then followed his instructions as they shifted into positions. Blake pretended to be interested in what they were doing as he moved to the end of the stage, then hopped down and took a seat in the house to watch. Gregory moved to sit with him, attempting to start a conversation that Blake didn’t seem particularly interested in. Blake’s glance kept cheating over to Niall as he walked to the stairs and descended into the house.
They were on opposite sides of the auditorium, as far away from each other as they could get. Anyone stepping in to observe for the first time would think they had no interest in each other and no connection whatsoever outside of the play. But as Niall reached for the letter in his pocket, he knew better. He held his breath as he unfolded the neat sheets and began to read.
“Dearest N.” His stomach did a somersault at the tenderness of the greeting.
“I found out something that you’re definitely going to want to know,” Ian said directly at Niall’s side.
Niall gasped and flinched away from him, clapping the letter to his chest. He hadn’t noticed Ian descending from the stage right behind him. The man leaned far too close to him now. “What did you find out?” he asked, dreading the possibility that Ian knew something about him and Blake.
Ian’s smug grin grew twice as crafty. “That medallion that Professor Carroll had made as the prize for the Classics exam,” he said. “He really did send the wrong scarab to the craftsman. I checked up on it myself.”
Niall blinked at him, no idea what he was talking about. “Oh?” he asked out of politeness.
“Yes.” Ian’s eyes flashed with avarice as he pivoted to stand just in front of Niall, blocking Blake from his view. “I had a long conversation about it with Miss Annamarie Cannon last night. She’s fascinated with Egypt, you