That wasn't the reaction he'd been expecting. He laughed off the comment about the wards, saying, "Well, it wasn't really for the wards themselves - just in case someone else found it instead of you...I wouldn't say they're too pathetic, just about right for a house like this during peacetime." But there was something different about Matthew now...well, not just something. In all the time Stephen had known Matthew, he'd never really emoted like this.
"You're..." he was at once a bewildered and slightly angry, entirely unsure what to make of his friend near tears in front of him. On the one hand, he could look at this objectively and say that in a way Stephen had won the argument before he'd even considered walking in the door, that Matthew already felt guilty and that he'd come here for no reason. His expression softened, and he said, "It's not...well, it is. Your fault, I mean. Indirectly. But -" he burst out laughing for a moment, "What's happened to you?"