He stared down at the carpet. It was intricately patterned and bright orangey-red and lapis blue. A design and color scheme that should have been garish and hideous but just looked expensive. He hadn’t taken his boots off when they’d stomped into the house, and a dark spot of melting snow spotted with mud was spreading beneath him. He felt like a dog about to be sent back to the pound for piddling on a carpet worth more than his life. He didn’t belong here.
