Chapter Ten #3
“It’s Anastasia Bellecourt,” Wes said. He frowned slightly. “I thought the Bellecourts were selling their title. Or they were when I was a boy,” he added, when Ned gave him a curious look. “My parents were interested in noble gossip.”
“Maybe it’s a love match,” Ned suggested.
Delauney wasn’t so sure. They’d grown up next to the Bellecourts, and while Anastasia was a nice enough girl, she hadn’t exactly been very interested in men, and Leo hadn’t seemed interested in anyone.
The only reason Leo would marry her would be as a favor to the family, since the Bellecourts and the de Mazets used to be close when Delauney was young.
He was fairly sure that their parents had all been in bed with each other for at least a few years.
He supposed that was reason enough for Leo to step in and help manage the Bellecourts’ remaining lands.
“I suppose I should attend,” Delauney said, flipping the card over. “We do have a few weeks before we need to set sail.”
“You can ride in my carriage,” Ned said. “And it’ll be a good chance for you to tell your family where you’ll be living for the foreseeable future.”
Delauney groaned aloud at the mere thought of telling his parents about the Aviary. Leo would probably be proud of him, but he could already imagine his mother’s wide-eyed, lip-trembling, But why?
Ned gave Delauney a stern look. “It’s better to get it all out in the open now, Laney. You don’t want them to find out when you’re already gone.”
Delauney sighed, dropping his head into his hands.
“I can come with you,” Wes said, rubbing his back, “if you need me.”
“You would?” Delauney asked, staring up at Wes through his fingers. “The ballroom will be stuffed to the brim with nobility.”
Wes smiled wryly. “I’ll put up with it for you.”
“And if Mother starts whimpering about who’s going to cause such a charming diversion at her next ball, you have full leave to grab me by the collar and drag me away,” Delauney said.
“Done,” Wes said.
Ned grinned. “Easy enough.” He clapped Delauney on the back and raised a hand to summon a serving girl. “Now, let’s get back to celebrating your success. We can’t have you coming home looking like a dog who’d just ripped up the curtains, can we?”
Delauney slumped against Wes, turning the card over and over in his hands. “I suppose not.”
***
WES SHIFTED IN HIS expensive suit, watching the countryside trundle by outside the carriage window.
It would be easier to manage the silks, embroidery, and little gold buttons if they were uncomfortable, but Alain had managed to work a small miracle with a needle and thread, turning one of Ned’s old suits into something that would fit anyone who wasn’t the size and shape of a Katoikos statue.
Discomfort would at least remind Wes that he wasn’t the noble’s plaything his parents had always expected him to be, but the suit was soft as a cloud and fit him perfectly.
If it weren’t for Wes’ scowl and calloused hands, he’d look like he belonged at a noble ball.
Delauney reached over and took Wes’ hand.
Wes tried to flash him a comforting smile.
He knew that Delauney had to be a mess of nerves at the prospect of telling his parents about studying in Gerakia.
This was part of loving someone, Wes supposed, that he had to make space in his head for an entire new set of anxieties.
He couldn’t exactly deny it now. Delauney was firmly carved into his life, like a tree digging its roots into the earth of Wes’ heart.
He couldn’t dislodge him if he wanted to.
If he were being honest, he’d felt it the moment Delauney told him about the stars, if not before.
Despite all his best efforts, Wes had become entangled with a noble, except instead of Wes ensnaring Delauney with years of elocution lessons and staring at lists of noble titles, Delauney had ensnared him.
Ned, Peter, and Alain took up most of the carriage with the gifts they’d bought for Delauney’s brother.
Boxes spilled over the carriage floor as they slowed to a halt at the entrance of Delauney’s estate, knocking into boots and tangling ribbons.
If the girls hadn’t been left in the care of a friend nearby, they would have probably suffocated under it all.
Up close, Delauney’s family estate looked larger than the palace in Duciel.
Carriages filled the circular drive at the entrance, where arches covered in summer flowers bloomed aggressively.
Lines of smartly-dressed servants greeted the guests, including a pair of young people who opened the carriage doors for them.
The house beyond it was massive, with several wings and more than one garden with perfectly-manicured paths.
Wes stepped out to stare at it all, unable to imagine the Delauney he knew running about those expansive grounds as a boy.
“I know,” Delauney said sheepishly, climbing out of the carriage. “It’s a bit much.”
“You grew up here?” Wes asked.
“Well, here and our summer house,” Delauney said. “And the house in Duciel.” He eyed Wes sidelong, as though waiting for Wes to wash his hands of him at the mere thought of having three houses.
Wes took Delauney’s face in both hands and kissed him. “I love you,” he said, trying to look into Delauney’s eyes and not at the sprawling estate behind him. “Even with a summer house that’s probably as big as this one.” Delauney looked down demurely, and Wes widened his eyes. “Bigger? Surely not?”
“It’s the lake that tips it over the edge,” Delauney said. Wes sighed and kissed him again. Peter cleared his throat. Alain eyed them and stepped back, and Ned walked over with a shadow flickering behind his eyes.
“Perhaps try not to seem too attached,” he said. “Just for tonight.”
Wes felt heat rise to his face, but Delauney’s blush outdid him as he went a furious red.
Delauney hooked his arm around Wes’ elbow.
“If I’m telling them the truth, then I’m telling them everything,” Delauney said, looking like a small, puffy dog trying to intimidate a hunting hound. “And they’ll just have to survive it.”
Ned shrugged. “Peter and I will be here if you need to make a quick escape.”
“You’re willing to cause a scandal at your brother’s engagement for me?” Wes asked, trying to force a teasing tone to hide his unease.
“Oh, there will be dozens regardless,” Delauney said.
“Look, that’s Lady Demetr, she’s slept with half of the married women over fifty in the country.
And old Roger’s always bringing at least two courtesans.
That’s the king’s carriage.” He gestured to a black carriage with a gold crest on the side.
“I can’t imagine why he’d be here, though. ”
“He likes to make an appearance in at least four balls a season,” Peter said. “We all know he’s just trying to placate us after the Red Harbor Reforms last year, but it actually seems to be working. He’s almost charming when he isn’t poking his nose into our affairs.”
“Don’t speak too soon, my love,” Ned said, gesturing to a man walking down the path ahead of them.
He had reddish-brown hair tied back in a simple ribbon, broad shoulders, and the build of a fighter.
His clothes were simple, almost less ornate than the de Mazet servants’ uniforms, and he walked with a sword at his hip that looked as though it had seen use. “He brought his scent hound with him.”
Delauney raised his brows. “You mean Sabre?” he asked, sounding perplexed. “But that’s just... he’s just...”
“Sabre de Valois,” Ned said, lowering his voice, “has been digging into the private business of every noble in Staria for years, now. There are rumors that he’s in charge of the king’s new knights, the ones who arrested Marien last year. We all know to be on our best behavior when he’s around.”
Wes leaned around Ned to get a closer look at the man.
He hadn’t heard a word about de Valois in years, other than the news about his family attempting treason during King Emile’s reign.
It clearly wasn’t a habit if he was working for King Adrien, but any noble who made other nobles nervous was someone to watch.
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous,” Delauney said, slipping away from Wes to stride ahead of them. “Sabre!”
Sabre de Valois turned, and Wes caught the flash of a bored, disinterested mask before it fell away to reveal true affection.
“Delauney. I wondered if I might see you here.” He spoke with no dominance in his voice, which made Wes even more curious.
A submissive was setting every Starian noble on edge? What kind of a man was he?
“Is King Adrien here?” Delauney asked, taking Sabre in a quick embrace. “Or Laurent?”
“Laurent is already inside,” Sabre said. “Adrien’s been commandeered by your parents, so I thought I’d take a walk through your garden.”
“And climb in through the study window to read their accounts, I bet,” Ned murmured to Peter, just loud enough for Wes to hear.
“Well, I must find you and Laurent later to hear all about what I’ve missed in Duciel,” Delauney said. “I promised Rose that I’d see her next show, but I’m afraid I might have to miss it.”
“That’s a shame,” Sabre said. “Her character actually dies three times in this one.”
He smiled vaguely at Wes, Ned, and Peter, then turned to wander off down the garden path.
“I can’t believe you spoke to him,” Peter said. “He’s been sending spies into my uncle’s estate for almost a year, and you just spoke to him.”
“He’s an old friend,” Delauney said. “And you two need to stop listening to rumors. Sabre is as duplicitous as a lamb.”
Wes watched Sabre disappear into the shadows of the garden, unsure. He’d seemed to genuinely like Delauney, but his gaze had been like glass when it had passed over Ned and Peter.