Letstry to do it at my house, then.Theomnibus jerked to a stop and Jesse got up. Goodbye, Henry. Thanksagain. Ill pay you back!Goodbye,Jesse.Theslaves said their goodbyes, and Jesse and Russ made their way downthe aisle.Henrylooked up at Martin. Do you want to sit? The omnibus wasntcrowded, and theyd been having such success all day with Martinsitting down with Henry. Other passengers might not like it, ofcourse, but Henry doubted theyd dare say anything.Martinlooked very uneasy at this suggestion. I can stand, Sir. It isntmuch farther.Henrydecided not to insist. He slid across the bench to sit near the aisleand felt Martins knuckles against the back of his shoulder.Heturned to look up at Martins face. Did you have a nice time?Yes,Sir. Very nice. If its all right to say so, Sir, Id like it ifwe saw them more often.Ofcourse its all right to say so. Well try to see them againsoon. Henry leaned back against Martins hand, resisting theurge to rub his cheek along Martins wrist. Russ knew Richard? Ioverheard.Yes,Sir, a little. They werent close, of course.Heknew Noah, too.Martinlaughed. How much did you overhear, Sir?Thatsall, Henry admitted. Why? Did I miss something good?Martinlaughed again. I dont think so, Sir. It was a lot of talk aboutboys neither one of us will ever see again. He tells me there arequite a few Ganymede boys at Lawton, though.Well,youve got Stuart.Yes,Sir, and theres also a twelfth-year boy at Algonquin with aGanymede slave, but that slave is a terrible snob and wont talk tome.Itbothered Henry that anyone would snub Martin. Should I saysomething?Martinshook his head vehemently. Goodness, no, Sir! Theres no need! Idont require his friendship.Theyrode the rest of the way home in a comfortable silence. The wind waseven colder when they descended from the omnibus than it had beenwhen theyd boarded downtown, and they hurried to the house withtheir collars up, shoulders hunched against the chill.Billylet them in and took their coats. Mr. Briggs called for you, Sir.Howlong ago?Shortlyafter the lunch hour, Sir.Henrywent to the telephone alcove with Martin at his back and placed thecall.Hello?Henry?Igot the message that you called. Ive just come in.Oh.Where were you?Ihad lunch with my cousins and went to the arcade.Really?Since when do you do things with your cousins? Louis asked,incredulous.Sincewhenever I want to, Henry told him.Yourdads okay with it?Apparentlyso. Henry did not say that apparently all that had needed tohappen was for Henry to show the slightest desire for family for hisfather to reverse his decisions about the Wiltons. We had a goodtime, Henry continued. He opened his mouth to say, Youshould meet them,but realized that he didnt want Louis to meet Jesse, not at all.Louis would definitely look askance at Jesses fawning treatment ofRuss, and that might make him suspicious of Henry, as well.Well,thats...great, Louis said, sounding unsure. Maybe I can meetthem sometime?Sure,Henry said, cringing inside and already scrambling for excuses. Couldhe ask Jesse to be less demonstrative? Could he explain how boys weredifferent at Algonquin, how they wouldnt tolerate a boy doting onhis slave? If it werent for that particular aspect, Henry actuallythought Jesse and Louis might like one another.