"That's, ah — probably for the best. Thank you," Alfred said, though he couldn't help but frown when she mentioned his brother. Of course he could hardly complain about her having sent a letter to him. It was the right thing to do. Evander was the closest family member he had left, and so if anyone needed to be aware of the fact that he was in the hospital, it was him. If anyone should have been here in the hospital room waiting on him to recover, it was him. Not that Alfred expected Evander would want to be here, but it would seem the appropriate thing, and Evander was all about what was appropriate. He might be on his way to the hospital this very minute — she hadn't said, exactly, when she'd sent the letter, so he could arrive at any time. The only saving grace was that they weren't quite to the end of the Ministry work day yet, and there was a not-entirely-insignificant chance that Evander would feel obliged to finish his schedule and clock out before coming.

Not that Alfred didn't want to see him — only that there were things he and Zelda should probably talk about, and they were not things he was going to talk about with Evander in the room. So, best to get right to them, he supposed, before they were interrupted.

"I'm sorry I kissed you," he said, shifting his eyes down to the hospital bed sheet as color filled his cheeks. "I shouldn't've done that, but — well, I wasn't really thinking properly." Which was the only plausibly valid excuse for his behavior, really, except that it was a lie.