Theo had a visceral flash of a long-blurred memory—nights that he, himself, had snuck out, he and his friends wandering along the creek, Phil reciting poetry or some nonsense and Tom snacking on food he’d stolen from the kitchens. Genni’s lipstick nearly black in the dark. Feeling like they owned the world. He would be a hypocrite to be upset with Jasper for doing the same, but—

It was his child. Jasper was just a boy.

Theo knew his parents had never worried like this, but he was, despite the agony of it, glad that he did.

His voice was calm but cold. “Did you think that going into the woods might be dangerous? And that it is, for that reason, not permitted after curfew?”

“Well, we didn’t go really far.”

His mind snagged on something. “And the ‘we’ means you and Will, I’m assuming.”

“Um, yes.”

“And where is he now? Did he manage not to get caught?”

Heaven help him, Jasper looked more ashamed to have been discovered than to have been wandering around the woods at night.

Theo may have needed to face the fact that Jasper was, in almost every way, his kid.

Silence. Charles’s eyes flicked away again toward the wall, and then Theo heard a noise outside the door. Jasper looked toward the hallway, just moving his eyes.

Theo should have known. Will could have probably gotten away with this, but he and Jasper were inseparable. It was ridiculous.

He sort of wanted to laugh. Oh, well. He closed his eyes, hoped for patience, and called out, “Will, why don’t you join us?”

A head with messy black hair appeared—setting off too many flashbacks to count—and he saw glittering blue eyes which did not, at all, convey remorse. He walked in, very calmly, and wedged himself on the seat next to Jasper.

“And what was your role in this?” Charles seemed comfortable letting him take the lead, at least for the moment.

“It...may have been my idea to sneak out. And how to do it. Sir.”

Ah.

It was a very sad day indeed when a Gardner was the brains of the operation. Theo sighed, rubbed his eyes, longing fervently for a glass of brandy and his bed. “I don’t even want to ask how you got past security... Headmaster, I hope you’re going to call Will’s father, also.”

Charles nodded in a stilted way, looking at the wall, and Will interrupted—“I mean, he can, Mr. Beaumont, but I don’t think he needs to. My mom is probably here.” He gestured toward Charles, who’d started blushing and didn’t look like he would ever stop. “In the headmaster’s quarters.”

An embarrassed twitch and widened eyes from Charles. Interesting.

“Ah.” Pushing that very firmly to the side, at least for the moment, Theo leaned forward. “Fine. That’s—fine. Do you two understand why you’re in trouble?”