Page 41 of Brave Truth

“Are we counting Trellech as one?” That slipped out before Claudio thought better of the hint. But of course, he was usually in at least two in a given week, between the Ministry meeting and the Penelopes’ offices. Often more, depending on the week, but the plural didn’t actually give anything away. Orion shrugged, and Claudio took a minute to count them up.

Last Friday had been a Trellech office day. Saturday he’d been in three different places across Wales. Sunday he’d seen Minerva and been at home for supper with Mother. Monday had involved two spots, thankfully both near portals in Scotland. Tuesday had three stops in Trellech besides the Ministry and Matty’s flat. And yesterday had been eight. No, nine, there’d been that twenty minutes in Canterbury. Plus two more today. “Twenty-four, with no duplicates.”

Orion snorted. “Keeps you out of trouble.” Then he shifted. “Or does it?” The tone was now curious. “So. Tell me about whoever it is. Start somewhere, go on until you get to something informative?”

Claudio took a deep breath. “So. Someone I met through work.” That also didn’t exactly narrow it down. “Not a Penelope, before you ask. Or Guard. A couple of years behind me at Schola. Clever, stubborn, committed to doing the thing that needs doing the best way possible even if it tears him apart.” The pronoun came out a bit before Claudio was ready for it, but there it was, sitting there. He knew Orion had heard it. Now, he could only wait, quivering, though he didn’t think that entirely showed.

“Him.” That was Orion’s utterly neutral voice. “What House, then? And what name should I be using for the man?”

Now Claudio shivered. He couldn’t quite look at Orion. He kept staring across the salle into the corner. Orion let out a little sigh, hopped down into the seating area, and came back around to look into Claudio’s face, the smooth grey rock in his hands. “Here.”

Claudio reached out for it automatically, and as soon as he did, there was the steady physical weight of it, and the weight of everything it meant. And there were Orion’s hands, cupped around his, so he wouldn’t drop it. Orion just stood there for a moment, three breaths, before he asked, as gently as Claudio had ever heard him. “You were scared I’d do what?”

“I don’t know.” Claudio managed to look up now, to meet Orion’s eyes, then to look away again. Orion grunted, tugging him down by the shoulder, so they were forehead to forehead. No need to worry about where they were looking. “I’ve never done this before. Wanted something with someone. The physical and the emotional.”

“Right.” That was Orion beginning to put all the strategy into play now. “House, name, other relevant details? You’re a trained and entirely competent Penelope. I know you know how to do reports even when your wits are still catching up with events.”

That made Claudio chuckle, just a little, breaking the trembling. “Matthew Lawson. I called him Matty on Tuesday, and he liked that. We both like that. Boar House, Cammie’s year. I asked her about him a while back, before. When it was just going out for drinks after our meeting and not wanting to put my foot in something. She was pretty sure he didn’t care for women like that, suspected the men.”

“Did you know you might— I mean.” And then Orion realised something, and took a step back, blinking at Claudio. Not upset, but that sort of thunderclap of realisation. “Are you saying he’s rather like me, then? Cleverer than me, I bet. Not so far off in looks, if I remember right.”

Claudio’s chin came up, but he couldn’t actually argue against it. Dark hair, sturdy, good height, broad shoulders, same overall build. He should not think about the ways things had been physical last night, where that strength had been entirely appealing, on top of all the other enticingly interesting parts. “You’re not stupid, Orion.”

It was the old line, and it was something to say until he figured out what else. He could say the safe thing or the risky one. He flung himself at the risk now, his voice going a little more prim than he’d wanted, but it would do. “I have not yet had the opportunity to discover if he’s as grumpy in the morning as you are.”

Orion took two steps back, and then he was bending over, hands braced on his thighs, hooting with laughter. It was contagious. It got Claudio laughing too, shaking the nerves out of him. Their laughter fed off each other for a good two minutes before Orion finally straightened up. “All right. So how do we give you that chance, then?”

“That’s your question?” Claudio had honestly not been sure what he’d hoped for or wanted or would get from this conversation. He’d been fairly sure, when he wasn’t all nerves about it, that it would be fine in the end. But he’d expected something more awkward first.

“Well, also when do we get to meet him properly? Does he duel? And a number of questions about what it means for all the other bits of your life,” Orion said. “Strategy. You keep me around for strategy and tactics.”

“Also other reasons,” Claudio protested. “Loyalty and good humour, an excellent set of card skills, a duelling partner, and someone I can tell things to and it’ll be all right. Putting those in no particular order, mind. It’s—” He couldn’t say the next part; he didn’t know how to. About how it wouldn’t change things. For one thing, it probably would. Orion falling for Hypatia had, though in a way that had given Claudio two fiercely clever and delightful sisters, a near enough niece to be going on with, and a lot of pleasure. Then he tilted his head. “You’re not being odd about this?”

“Define odd in this context?” Orion put one foot back, stretching in the way that meant the movement was helpful. Then he straightened up and shrugged before stretching out one shoulder, the one that tended to cramp up on him.

Then he went on, steady and reliably there. “First, you’re my brother. You get my best work. Not least because you really were a good egg about things with Hypatia early on. Second, you should get to be happy. Third, Cammie is going to have the laugh of her life when she figures out you’re dating someone just like me.” He hesitated for just a second there, and then bulled on. “I would like, strategically speaking, to have things as stable as possible before she gets her teeth into it. Telling her and Hypatia at supper?”

Claudio nodded. “You first. Always. Besides, got a specific thing that will have her laughing.” He flicked his fingers. “Do the rest of the strategy then, who to tell in what order?” Orion nodded agreeably at it, then Claudio pressed the point. “Orion, why’d you hesitate?”

“Oh.” He turned a little pink. “Claudio, um. Does this mean you think I’m attractive?”

It was not a question that Claudio had ever considered in quite that light. He sat with it for a minute. It wouldn’t help to rush. Finally, he said, “He’s like you in a lot of ways. I don’t know that it’s looks entirely, though turns out I certainly like his looks? But I think maybe there’s a lot of me who wants someone who shares things with you. Loyal, determined, entirely competent in the things he does. Wide-ranging interests, the conversations have just been superb? Who cares about doing it right, whatever that takes. That part? Very attractive, turns out.”

“And while Electra is in fact quite competent at her actual interests, and I’ll grant her loyal, none of that spark.” Orion shrugged. “Shall we go up and see the ladies?”

Claudio hopped off the wall. “Yeah.” He shook his head. “I don’t actually know if he duels these days. I did look up his records. He took both Protective and Martial magics, but he was doing logistics in the war.”

“Mmm. Give him a chance to brush off his skills then. Played bohort, I remember that, quite decently.” They packed up their things and walked up to the house together. Claudio went to wash and change.

When he came back down, Orion had been lurking by his office on the ground floor. He fell into step behind Claudio as they went out to the terrace, where Cammie was gesticulating at Hypatia, articulating some particularly arcane detail of locational magic. Any other day, Claudio would have thrown himself into the conversation as soon as he’d found his bearings. Now, he just waited until she came to the end of a paragraph and looked up.

“So, Cammie. About broom closets?” She was quick off the mark, but he went on without giving her a chance to interrupt. “I see what you mean about being the one to bang your elbow on the broom handle. Also, the appeal.”

Both her eyebrows went up as she yipped in excitement and flung herself out of her chair. She instantly turned into a stoat— now in her summer coat, all soft browns against the white stomach. Then she skittered in a circle around him before he could feel her claws against his thigh. He leaned down to give her arm up, and waited as she prowled from the crook of his elbow across the back of his shoulders, down the other arm, and back onto the ground. Then she popped up again, entirely human. “Recently, too.”

He would not ask what she’d picked up by smell. He had more sense. She’d absolutely tell him. Also, he’d had three baths since Tuesday night, but he wouldn’t put much past her. He took a breath and said. “I’m seeing Matty Lawson. Matthew to you all, unless he says otherwise, please. We’ve got a lot we’ve got to sort out. I want your help and ideas with that, please?” The last bit was a hair more plaintive than he’d wanted. But then Orion was clapping him firmly on the shoulder before going to pour drinks for both of them and eyeing whether Hypatia and Cammie needed a refill.

Hypatia tilted her head. “How recent? And how long have you had to get to know him?”