When Dan went back to the bar, he found Jefferson waiting, and he could not tell whether he had even left.

“You talked to Nolwazi?” Jefferson asked.

“A question,” Dan thought. For all he knew, Jefferson had been watching all along. Maybe he had even been simply waited there, knowing that Dan would obey. Dan had no idea, but it barely mattered to him. He took the letter out of his pocket. “I did,” he said.

“And the two of you have reconciled?” Jefferson asked, and Dan nodded in response. “You have been very difficult lately,” Jefferson added.

“I know,” Dan responded.

“You’ve made it up to Nolwazi, and I’m glad,” Jefferson said. “But you’ve offended me as well, Danny. What do you intend to do about that?”

While Jefferson was speaking, Dan’s fists clenched at his sides, but he made himself relax. He wanted to be careful because that was not a fight he wanted to start. Jefferson, on the other hand, was still waiting for an answer.

“I do not know,” Dan finally said. “Whatever you want.”

“Oh, so you don’t consider my orders to be a farce?” Jefferson asked.

“I’ll do whatever you want,” Dan repeated.

Jefferson nodded in response, then he put a hand on Dan’s shoulder. “Good.”

After Jefferson spoke, Dan figured that he must have been watching Nolwazi’s quarters after all because he leaned forward and lightly kissed Dan on the cheek, exactly where Nolwazi had kissed him. Dan shuddered at the familiarity of the act, but Jefferson smelled of cologne rather than flowery perfume. His mask was cold where it bumped against Dan’s face, but his lips felt no different from Nolwazi’s. They were the same.

After kissing Dan, Jefferson turned to the wall. He twisted a fleur-de-lis pattern engraved in bronze, and a panel slid aside. He stepped over to the opening, waving a casual farewell.

“Wait,” Dan said. “My brother.”

“He will be returned to you. Be peaceful, Danny,” Jefferson said. “Frankly, you worry too much. As long as you don’t cause any more trouble, everything will be fine.”

After Jefferson spoke, the wall closed behind him.

Dan went home soon after speaking to Jefferson. Simon was still missing, and his mother and sisters were beginning to worry, but he knew they would not have to worry for long. So, he went up to his room.

When Dan got to his room, he found, on his bed, a huge pile of clothes, and they were all folded neatly with the white shirts on the top. He gave them a long stare before sighing and beginning to replace them in his drawers, wedging them in alongside his new clothes. Simon would now have to claim that it had to have been the work of a prankster, unless he remembered more of his little adventure than Jefferson seemed to expect. And Dan doubted that, even if he remembered, he would make much of it. Simon was an eternal sceptic.

The shirts were back, the coats were back, the pants were back, the cravats were back, and all the scarves were back, including the one Dan had given to Isabella Sokhulu. But, all of the clothing, every single item, smelled vaguely of sewage.

***

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