7
Hal
Miles drifted to sleep long before Hal figured out a way to respond to his quiet confession of fear. He’d remained in a deep slumber when Hal rose and dressed with the sun, mingled guilt and relief at escaping without further conversation. Because Hal still had no idea how to respond.
Echoes of Miles’s words haunted him through the morning as he borrowed Ramona’s office to review reports and ship’s logs, making notes of historical data he might need later. This sort of data analysis had always come easy to him, part of the reason he’d been entrusted with the New Angouleme branch of the family business at such a young age. Unfortunately, this also meant plenty of mental energy to spare.
The only part of his relationship with Miles that had ever been an unknown had been whether Miles would agree to a relationship at all. Other conflicts had offered obstacles, sure, but he’d never wavered in his dedication to the other man once his stubborn wolf decided Miles belonged at their side. He’d never doubted Miles’s dedication, either. He’d been a terrible personal assistant, but even in that role, his full priority had always been taking care of Hal. Especially in all the ways that Hal’s money and rank couldn’t solve, proving time and again that he only valued both as tools to wield rather than opportunities to exploit.
Maybe that was the problem. In Calaitum, faced with the full might of the Delacour name and wealth, Hal’s privilege no longer became tools to put away when not in use but a massive, immovable monolith of status that cast a long shadow.
Hal should know. He’d fled across an ocean to escape it.
But he was the heir. A fortunate one, in that his mother adored the person he’d chosen to share his life with and his father had never once hinted at disapproval in any letter. The same couldn’t be said for many of the peerage in New Angouleme, even some of his own cousins. Fear and dread of familial marriage machinations had been a recurring theme at so many of the dinners and brunches and parties he attended with Miles in the past year.
Archer flicked his fingers against Hal’s arm. “You’re not even listening to me, are you?”
This shouldn’t come as a surprise. Hal had been tuning out Archer’s ramblings about the mechanics of magic for close to two decades.
“To be fair,“
Captain Shaw said from the opposite side of their lunch table, “I’m barely listening to you.” After speaking, he continued to systematically eat his lunch with the air and efficiency of a former military man.
Watching him gave Hal sympathetic heartburn. Werewolves didn’t even get heartburn. He swirled the sparkling water in his glass like wine. “I’m not sure Miles wants to marry me.”
“You’re an idiot,“
Archer said. “Miles loves you.”
One doubt Hal would never have. “I know he loves me. Marriage is different.“
Marriage would affect nothing about the emotional bond Hal shared with Miles. It would affect everything about the connection between Lord Henry Delacour and Miles Cavanaugh, two men from walks of life so different they may as well have been from different planets. “You and Kane married for legal reasons, yes?”
Archer shrugged. “That was a big part of it. Having an official relationship on record made it easier for us to run the school together, both financially and in terms of the temporary guardianship we have of our boarding students. But also, I no longer had any family. Making me part of his was important to Kane.”
Once again, it came back to family. “Miles already has a fantastic family,“
Hal said. “He doesn’t need mine. I don’t think he wants mine.”
“Because he’s only met your asshole cousins,“
Archer said. “He doesn’t know how amazing your parents are.”
“He’s met my mother.“
Hal shrugged. “Her visit was short, but I thought they got along.” His brain spun out, trying to recall every interaction between Lady Elspeth Delacour and Miles in the few days of that visit.
Captain Shaw asked, “Archer’s met both your parents, but Miles hasn’t?”
“Yes, Archer and Kane both have met them more than once.”
“And they love me. I’m the one who got away,“
Archer said, preening. After a sip of iced tea, he added, “Though I’m pretty sure they love Kane more than both of us now.”
Hal chuckled. “True.“
Kane and his father could lose hours trading war stories, while Lady Elspeth always stole him as her preferred dance partner.
“Now I feel left out and want to meet them,“
Shaw said, setting his utensils on his empty plate. “I find I’m way too invested in this than I should be, since you’re essentially my boss.”
“I’m not very good at being a boss,“
Hal said. “Just ask Miles.”
With a smirk, Archer said, “Oh, I’ve heard the stories. But back up again. Is marriage the issue here, or your parents?”
Hal stared into his glass. On such a calm, clear day, the movement of the Pearl Star had little effect on the sparkling water. “Perhaps…meeting my parents. Worrying that their opinion will affect the marriage,“
he said. Looking back up at the other two men, he added, “Which it won’t. Obviously.”
“Too bad you didn’t just elope,“
Archer said, toying with the last grape from his plate of fruit. “Could have come down to Limani and had Victory marry you and Miles.”
What a lovely idea, but one sure to end with Hal as a throw rug in his mother’s least favorite parlor. And not even for the audacity of being wed by a vampire, Limani’s Master of the City, even if she was also Kane’s foster mother. “The only thing my mother would never forgive is missing my wedding. This might be the grandest party she ever throws.”
“My mother was the same way about my sister’s wedding,“
Shaw said. “She didn’t much care for the man Luciana married, she was more interested in the celebration itself. Lady Delacour has a big ceremony planned?”
“Not really.“
A simple handfasting at one of Hal’s favorite spots on the family estate, with no others but Kane, Archer, and his immediate family in attendance. “Most of the guests are only invited for the dinner and reception.”
Such a simple description for a multi-course meal, dancing accompanied by live musicians, and upwards of three hundred guests from both sides of the Channel. People there to see and be seen at the Delacour social occasion of the decade. That the event was a wedding was of much less importance. The swankiest party Miles had experienced on Hal’s arm had nothing on what his mother had organized.
Having already been apprised of these plans, since he and Kane had both needed new tuxedoes for the reception, Archer nodded. “A proper Lady Elspeth gala. Definitely should have eloped, hon. Too late now.”
The first society party Miles attended, he’d still served as Hal’s personal assistant and escorted him in an effort to solve a problem. When Miles’s presence became the issue, though, Hal did not hesitate to reassure Miles that he was wanted.
Miles might be the fixer, but sometimes Hal was the only one who could solve the problem. And with such a simple solution right in front of him, he wouldn’t hesitate this time, either.
Hal smiled across the table. “Captain Shaw, don’t we still have two days until our arrival in Calaitum?”