Ghreni was puzzled. “Are you talking about the Flow stream?” What would an imperial auditor know about Flow streams? The count’s specialty was taxes, not phys—

“Oh my God,” Ghreni said, and openly stared at the count. “You’re him.”

The Count of Claremont seemed puzzled but amused. “Who am I, Lord Ghreni?”

“You’re him! The Flow physicist! The one whose work Hatide Roynold based hers off of.”

Claremont continued to look puzzled for a moment, but then Ghreni saw a sort of slow realization come over his face. “I know that name. I remember that name. She sent me some of her work and a list of questions years ago.”

“And you didn’t respond.”

“No, I didn’t. I had been ordered by the emperox not to discuss my work with anyone.” Another expression popped onto Claremont’s face then. Concern. “You think her work is accurate, don’t you? You think the Flow streams are moving to End. That’s it, isn’t it?”

Ghreni’s mouth gaped.

Claremont slapped the side of his bed. “That is it! That’s actually it!” Claremont started laughing, a loud, almost agitated noise. One of the marines opened the door and poked a head in to investigate. Ghreni angrily waved him away.

Eventually Claremont got control of himself, wiped a tear away from his eye, and looked at Ghreni. “Oh, you sad, ambitious fool,” he said.

“What do you know?” Ghreni asked.

“I know that Hatide Roynold was sloppy with her math. I know if she didn’t check some of her base assumptions, she’s probably iterating wildly away in a direction that has no basis in reality. Has any of her work you’ve seen had peer review?”

“No,” Ghreni said.

Claremont nodded. “Of course not. She’s like me—snapped up by a patron and working alone. Peer review is important, Lord Ghreni. Until Marce was old enough to start checking my work, I was flying blind. Made some stupid mistakes I just didn’t see. Roynold was making them too. I know, I saw them. She probably never corrected them.” Claremont leaned forward and weakly poked Ghreni in the chest. “And you, you ignorant grasping poltroon. You didn’t know any better.”

Ghreni actually flinched from the poke. “What are you saying?” he asked.

Claremont smiled and then lay back into his bed. “What I’m saying is nothing, Lord Ghreni. Not until you decide to send a report back to your house, detailing your sudden ascendance to the dukedom. You are going to be doing that, yes?”