Page 11 of Measure of the Stars

While the rest of the crew worked on actually taking the ship out to sea, Wes tried to untangle the knot that was Delauney’s daily life.He cleared out the rest of Delauney’s room, stopping only to drag Delauney down to his rapidly cooling breakfast.He scrubbed the floors, took in more washing, rearranged the desk, and put all of Delauney’s papers in a set of crates he’d lugged up from the hold.The crates weren’t particularly attractive, but they kept the papers from spilling all over the floor when the ship started rocking.

He checked the closet last, waiting until Delauney was distracted at the wheel to open the closet doors.They swung wide, revealing a truly alarming series of phalluses, soft floggers, and paddles.Half of the closet rattled cheerfully, paddles clacking together with the movement of the ship.There were several boxes of rope in the back as well, but they were hopelessly tangled.

Wes remembered Delauney saying something about wriggling too much when he was restrained.Wes supposed that he had enough experience to know.He carefully closed the closet again.

When Delauney finally came down for dinner, he stopped in the doorway of his room with a look of surprise on his round, open face.

“Oh,” he said, stepping tentatively inside.“Oh!”

“New paper goes here,” Wes said, nudging a crate with his foot.“Paper that needs to be sorted goes here.Everything you want to throw away goes in this one.”

“I could kiss you,” Delauney said.He checked his chest, which was finally full of clothes instead of the detritus that couldn’t fit on the floor.“You found the blue vest with the fire dragons on it!Verywell done, Wes.This is an exemplary job.”

Wes felt another tickle of pleasure at the praise, but he couldn’t hide his smile quickly enough.Delauney caught it and smiled back.

“Idolike you,” he said.He swept past Wes and into the dining room, where Ned and his family were already holding court.

Wes stubbornly tried not to react.He wasn’t like his stone-faced brother or his careful sister, who could hide their emotions behind bland masks.Delauney was a wealthy, privileged noble, but Wes found himselfwantingDelauney to like him.He was like a dog, really; a big, bouncy one that tried to befriend every cat on the street.Wes couldn’t help but feel a little charmed by him, which was concerning.Wes hadn’t been charmed by a single noble in his life, and he didn’t want to break that habit now.

Wes took his dinner on the deck with Vee and her mates, who politely made room for him in their circle.Gregory was with them, but he was too engrossed in petting an ancient, purring tomcat to notice Wes’ arrival.The tomcat blinked slowly at Wes before rolling onto his back and stretching his paws.

“It seems quiet here,” Wes said.“Is this how it always is on theManatee?”

“You’re just comparing it to the way Captain Lennox runs things,” Vee said.

A man in the circle flinched.“You served under Lennox?Here, Henrietta, give him an extra piece of bread.He probably needs it.”

“We weren’t starved, you know,” Wes said.He took the bread regardless.

“I saw Lennox flog a man to death,” the man said.He was an older sailor, almost Will’s father’s age, with a worn red cap over his bald head.“He was a new captain then.He thought he heard the fellow spit behind his back.Captain de Mazet had just signed on, poor man.He didn’t have the stomach for Lennox’s ship.”

“Did you follow him here?”Wes asked, curious.Several of the sailors in their circle grinned.

“It took him a while to become a captain,” the man said.Wes had a feeling, by the way the others were eyeing him, that he’d told this story before.“But when he got theManatee, he poached half of Lennox’s crew.Must’ve spent a fortune bribing the council to transfer us, but he never said a word about it.”

“He can afford it,” one of the others said.“Have you seen the state of his carriage every time he leaves for Duciel?”

“And he only goestherefor the whores,” another sailor said.

“What’s wrong with the whores in Diabolos?”

“Most of the career sailors here are from Lennox’s old crew,” Vee said, talking over an animated conversation about the quality of courtesans in Staria.“It seems like he’s carried on the tradition with you.”

Wes wasn’t sure how to feel about that.He could understand why someone like Delauney would want to undermine Lennox, at least.They were as unlike each other as any noble officers could possibly be.Delauney seemed like the sort of fellow who would burst into tears if he had to kill a spider, while Lennox’s mother probablywasone.

He was just heading back from dinner when a tall, sunburned Mislian stopped him.They were a mage, their black eyes signifying a bond with one of Mislia’s demons.Usually, demons didn’t like the open water, so there were only a handful of Mislian mages in the Starian navy.It was a surprise to find one on a ship that spent so much time on deployment.They weren’t wearing a uniform, either, dressed in a colorful green and gold tunic with bright blue hose and pointed shoes.The style was at least a century behind the times, and it looked like it belonged to a jester rather than a sailor.

“You’re the captain’s new valet,” they said.It wasn’t a question.“Our name is Oculus, but Lord Peter calls us Alain.You may do the same.”

“Our name?”Wes asked.

Alain smiled without showing teeth.“Yes.We are Alain.We have been observing you.”

“Oh.”Wes tried not to back away from Alain’s uncanny smile.“Have you?”

“Yes.We serve Lord Peter’s family.In a way, we have been a valet and a lady’s maid for over two hundred years.It appears that you may be suitable for the captain.”

“Thank you,” Wes said.He’d heard of some Mislian mages having unnaturally long lives, but Alain seemed no older than twenty.“I should probably lay out his clothes for tomorrow.”