Even those who were my guests–” Lagard stopped. “You’ll forgive me,
Captain, but I’m under security myself. My entire household is. We’ve
been forbidden to reveal certain items. This clearance of yours does not
give you power to override that.”
Ah-ha. It tingled in Flandry’s veins. His muscles stayed relaxed. “Yes,
yes. Perfectly proper. You and yours were bound to spot details–f’r
instance, a xenosophont with odd talents–” Look at his face! Again,
ah-ha.–“which ought not be babbled about. Never fret, I shan’t pry.
“In essence, the team discovered it wasn’t humans of Ythrian allegiance
who were inciting to rebellion and giving technical advice about same.
It was humans from Dennitza.”
“So I was told,” Lagard said.
“Ah … during this period, didn’t you entertain a Dennitzan scientist?”
“Yes. She and her companion soon left for the Sea of Achan, against my
warnings. Later I was informed that they turned out to be subversives
themselves.” Lagard sighed. “Pity. She was a delightful person, in her
intense fashion.”
“Any idea what became of her?”
“She was captured. I assume she’s still detained.”
“Here?”
“Seems unlikely. Maspes and his team left weeks ago. Why leave her
behind?”
What would I have done if they were around yet? Flandry wondered
fleetingly. Played that hand in style, I trust. “They might have decided
that was the easiest way to keep the affair under wraps for a bit,” he
suggested.
“The Intelligence personnel now on Diomedes are simply those few who’ve
been stationed among us for years. I think I’d know if they were hiding
anything from me. You’re free to talk to them, Captain, but better not
expect much.”
“Hm.” Flandry stroked his mustache. “I s’pose, then, Maspes felt he’d
cleaned out the traitors?”
“He said he had a new, more urgent task elsewhere. Doubtless a majority
of agents escaped his net, and native sympathizers may well keep any
humans among them fed. But, he claimed, if we monitor space traffic
carefully, they shouldn’t rouse more unrest than we can handle. I hope
he was right.”
“You’re trying to defuse local conflicts, eh?”
“What else?” Lagard sounded impatient. “My staff and I, in consultation
with loyal Diomedeans, are hard at work. A fair shake for the migrants
is not impossible to achieve, if the damned extremists will let us
alone. I’m afraid I’ll be a poor host, Captain. Day after
tomorrow–Terran, that is–I’m off for Lannach, to lay certain proposals
before the Commander of the Great Flock and his councillors. They feel a
telescreen is too impersonal.”
Flandry smiled. “Don’t apologize, sir. I’ll be quite happy. And, I
suspect, only on this planet a few days anyhow, before bouncing on to
the next You and Maspes seem offhand to’ve put on a jolly good show.”
Gratified, visions of bonuses presumably dancing through his head, the
resident beamed at him. “Thank you. I’ll introduce you around tomorrow,
and you can question or look through the files as you wish, within the
limits of security I mentioned. But first I’m sure you’d like to rest. A
servant will show you to your room. We’ll have aperitifs in half an
hour. My wife is eager to meet you.”
VIII
—-
At dinner Flandry laid on the wit and sophistication he had
preprogrammed, until over the liqueurs Susette Kalehua Lagard sighed,
“Oh, my, Captain Whaling, how marvelous you’re here! Nobody like you has
visited us for ages–they’ve all been provincials, or if not, they’ve
been so ghastly serious, no sensitivity in them either, except a single
one and he wasn’t human–Oh!” Her husband had frowned and nudged her.
She raised fingers to lips. “No, that was naughty of me. Please forget I
said it.”
Flandry bowed in his chair. “Impractical, I fear, Donna. How could I
forget anything spoken by you? But I’ll set the words aside in my mind
and enjoy remembering the music.” Meanwhile alertness went electric
through him. This warm, well-furnished, softly lighted room, where a
recorded violin sang and from which a butler had just removed the dishes
of an admirable rubyfruit souffle, was a very frail bubble to huddle in.
He rolled curacao across his tongue and reached for a cigarette.
She fluttered her lashes. “You’re a darling.” She had had a good bit to