Re: Bertram Eden and Lucien Swinton
"He's quite well, thank you," Bertie reported, gladdened to have good news and heartened by the familiar pack-touch. "He's...been displaced, through some..." Bertie paused and considered diplomatic phrasing for the public setting. "...Due to the matter we discussed on my last visit. He's residing in a physical object now, and has held up bravely through several excursions."
Bertie paused again. "You haven't suffered any...ill effects, I hope? Those at the Night Watch say the, ah, echo of the event seems to have faded. I only hope we won't see a repeat of it, and that the murders will have ended, with the whole bloody business having reached its conclusion." Immediately upon saying it, Bertie emerged from his distracted worry with his mouth open in horror at himself. "Your pardon, Lord Black, I mean 'bloody' quite literally, with the murders. I didn't...the mistake was mine, I apologize for such language."
He really was making a hash of things this evening. Briefly rubbing his forehead, Bertie admitted, "I appear not to be in top form tonight, I'm afraid. Too much in my own concerns, I suspect, when the worrying will do no one any good."
Certainly any anxiety over Mrs Linden was only detrimental to himself, since she would hardly get up to anything in the center of her own sparkling masquerade. That was if she even 'got up to anything' at all, which was unproven and merest supposition on Bertie's part at best. Lord Black had declared himself safely under guard, Gabriel looked to be well, Bertie's parents were not here to light up at the sight of Miss Allen...really, nothing could be better, and all of the fretting achieved nothing. Bertie sighed and resolved to try to let it go and enjoy the evening.
Then he resolved to pay better attention in the meanwhile, as he'd gone off in his thoughts again whilst in conversation with Lord Black, of all people, who deserved more respect.