Page 13 of Measure of the Stars

Wes stared at him.“I can’t be a valet and lounge about all day, can I?”

“Maybe if I did some of the workwithyou,” Delauney suggested.“In the evening, at least.I simply don’t see how I can sit there while you do everything for me.”

Wes raised a brow.“Are you a service submissive?Is that why it bothers you?”

“No.I just feel like a useless lump while you’re fluttering around being productive.”

Wes moved closer, glancing furtively behind him.“De Burre may not approve.People don’t like it if they think a sailor is taking advantage of an officer.”

“You’re not taking advantage of me,” Delauney said, but he understood Wes’ point.As a submissive, rumor had already put Delauney in bed with practically everyone, and it wasn’t out of the question to assume that he’d been led astray by a confident sailor.With Wes’ reputation on Lennox’s ship, he had to be careful.

“We’ll be discreet,” Delauney said.

Wes hesitated another long, agonizing breath before he nodded.“Just don’t punish me if you find it isn’t to your liking.”

It turned out that menial labor wasnotto Delauney’s liking.He’d muddled through well enough on his own before, mainly by buying new clothes as soon as the old ones became too dirty to wear, but he kept missing steps and forgetting things.Or, as he tried to explain to a frustrated Wes, he had to pause a step to figure outanotherstep, which led to yet another.

“Look at it this way,” Delauney said at last.“I want to clean the window, but the wood is chipped on the frame, which builds up dust.So of course, I’ll need to fix the frame.But to do that, I’ll need to make a work table, and a work table requires me to move the desk.But if I move the desk, I’ll find a letter that needs my attention, perhaps, or an equation that hasn’t been solved yet.And I’ll need to solve it so that it can go in its place and I can move the desk properly.”

Wes leaned against the desk in question.“There’s a logic to it, I suppose.”

“Which is why it’s much easier to simply ignore the window altogether,” Delauney continued.

“And that’s how the piles happen,” Wes said.“Just don’t think about the frame.”

Delauney didn’t often have unpleasant impulses, but he had to suppress the urge to push Wes into the window and make him stare at the crack until itdidbother him.He knew it was pointless.He’d tried to explain it to his parents and his tutors a thousand times, but the consensus was always the same; Delauney was simply too lazy to live.

“I can’thelpbut think about it,” Delauney said.

Wes certainly did love to stare at a fellow.He stared at Delauney now, his gaze sharp and intense, burrowing under Delauney’s skin.

“So you’re saying that your thoughts are like...”Wes tapped his foot as he spoke.“...like a house full of puppies, and you’re trying to put them all in a line.”

“And they won’t stay still,” Delauney said.

“Does anythinghelpthem stay still?”

“Very powerful drugs from a brothel owner in Diabolos or a dominant in Staria,” Delauney said quickly.“I’d rather not do the former, and the latter just retired.”

“Well, I’m not a dominantora brothel owner.”

“A pity,” Delauney said.“You’d make a killing if you were both.Even your brother doesn’t have the kind of look that can freeze a man on the spot.”

At first, Delauney wondered if he’d gone too far.Wes’ face shuttled between expressions, going from wounded to resentful and surly, before landing on exhaustion.“I’m not my brother.He wouldn’t have landed himself before a military council.”

“And I’m notmybrother,” Delauney said.“At least he has the sense to uphold the name and manage our lands.Not that I want to.I’m quite happy being a second son.”

Wes frowned.“Are you?”

Delauney felt as though Wes had just stuck out a foot to trip him, but he couldn’t imagine why.

“Naturally,” he said.“Why wouldn’t I be?In a few years, I can retire on a nice pension in a house in Duciel, and no one can pressure me to have children or carry on a title.”

“Except you could have retired five years ago,” Wes said.“You’re already a career officer.”

“No one ever retires on time,” Delauney said, trying to sound flippant.Wes didn’t look convinced.“Can you write a letter for me?I can have it sent off when we dock at Hekate’s Eye.”

Wes shrugged and sat at the desk.He was a tidy man, Delauney noticed.He straightened his paper just so, adjusting the inkwell to align with it, and his writing posture was perfect.