Palace: At Your Service.

Immediately following this



Fuck? What was going on?

Christian!

Interrupting concentrated discussions about diplomacy and seating arrangements required therein, the abrupt cry didn't distract him so much as startle him.

Christian's heart began to race in response to the urgency of the mental tone and he shot back an answer as soon as he'd recovered from the fright. There was no answer; just a blanket block and it took him a moment or two to remember that Johnny was stressing out this morning. Something about an exam? He gave an internal shrug and dismissed the call. Panic on his lover's part most likely and then the professor's hit the timer signaling the start of the test, so he's shut down.

"You alright?" Caeline's slim fingers wrapped around his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze as she made her soft enquiry.

"Yeah." Christian glanced sideways at her. "Just Johnny having a panic attack over his exams."

He looked around the room but no one seemed to have noticed their inattention. Either that, or they were being polite. He squeezed Caeline's hand in return. "What did Markham say? If they seat French and Adele Happington within twenty feet of one another, there'll be a bloodbath…"