As Blaise was about to respond to Theo's question, he was (gratefully) interrupted by Padma's arrival. Never one to ignore proper manners, Blaise rose from the couch and took up Padma's hand, smiling as he brought it to his lips, kissing the back of it.
"A pleasure to see you again, my dear. You are just as lovely as you were the last time I saw you." He let her hand drop and reached inside his pocket, removing a little drawstring bag. "I'll get to the question of my whereabouts in a moment, but first a present for you." He opened the bag and stuck two fingers in (not more than that would have fit) and pulled out three bracelets, all set with pink and turquoise blown glass beads and sparkling crystals. "Just a little something I picked up on my travels." A few moments later he motioned for her to take his seat on the couch, as he moved to a nearby chair.
"On to the subject of my having been away, I've actually been visiting my other estates." Though he trusted his friends, some topics were not available for discussion, and his missions for Rodolphus fell into that category. "After visiting the Italian villa, I thought I'd visit the others and ensure the elves are keeping them up. It's quite easy to become caught up in different cultures, as I'm sure you're both aware. I likely should have sent correspondence to a few people to ensure my health had not been compromised anywhere, but the time simply flew by much more quickly than I'd anticipated." He took another sip from his glass. "Luckily I managed to miss the Dragon Pox, though."