Klaus was one of those alcoholics who thought he had everybody fooled. He kept up with personal hygiene, brushed the tangles out of his hair every morning and put on a fresh suit. His breath smelled like mouthwash, not rum. Every night he drank himself to sleep and started the day with a fresh hangover. He didn’t drink enough to get shakes when he was sober, and he repeated that information like it was a threshold for something. He wasn’t drunk all the time but he was drunk enough of the time that people noticed it. Klaus claimed that he drank socially but he never had any guests. He drank at brunch, and at lunch, dinner, dessert, and before bed. He didn’t carry a flask but there was a liquor cart in almost every room. 

When Klaus was drinking he was drunk. He’d lost the ability to regulate his alcohol consumption so any consumption was met with the same flavor of dread from the staff. He was a lightweight but insisted otherwise. Klaus was the kind of person who had an explanation for everything. His butler developed a particular exhaustion for these exercises.

Klaus again invited Magnus to dinner, and this time his captive accepted. Klaus made a big deal to Jesse, “I have to look amazing for this dinner.”

Jesse set out two court suits for Klaus to choose from, “You know none of this counts if you’re obliterated, right?”

“I know!” Klaus snapped. “I haven’t been drinking all afternoon.”

“Are you gonna stay that way?” asked Jesse.

Klaus wore one of his finest suits to dinner and for once, he was sober. He started eating because he wasn’t sure if his captive was going to show up or not.

Magnus showed up about ten minutes late, because it took him that long to walk from his bedroom to the dining room. Staff paused mid-service to gawk when he presented himself in the dining room. Few of them had seen the reclusive hostage. The kidnapping was low-key the most exciting thing to happen at Klaus' mansion since a stray cat gave birth under the porch. So like, a huge deal. The ranking servant shook the staff out of stasis by clearing his throat.

Magnus dramatically cleared his throat, “Klaus, allow me to apologize for my behavior yesterday. This ordeal has taken an emotional toll on me.” Magnus tapped his chest to emphasize the burden on his heart.

“Apology accepted,” said Klaus.

“Sir,” Jesse showed Magnus to a seat at the dining room table. As a butler, Jesse was not required for dinner service, but he went because he was a busybody. He’d recount the events at dinner to the rest of the staff later, even though pretty much everybody was there.