behind it. “Khorosho, my lord. Here are my instructions, which are to be carried out to
the letter. Grand Duke Zander von Wilmenhorst and the Duchess Helena are to be
placed under house arrest as quickly as possible. There is to be no force used unless
they resist arrest, and then only the minimum force needed to carry out orders. They are
to be held totally incommunicado, and the case against them must be spelled out to them
in detail so they’ll have a chance to explain. They are to be treated at all times with the
deference and courtesy befitting their ranks. Find out who is number three at SOTE
Headquarters. I’ll contact that person myself and explain that Zander and Helena are
indisposed, and that he is to be in charge until further notice. If we can keep SOTE in the
dark about this, at least for a while, it may minimize any threat from that direction.
“If I hear of any unwarranted mistreatment of either Zander or Helena, someone will wish
he hadn’t been born. I’ll take what steps I must to protect the security of the Empire, but
I will not hurt two people I love unless the charges against them can be thoroughly
proved.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. And I’ll pray fervently that our worst assumption turns out to be
wrong.” The Prime Councilor bowed deeply to his sovereign and left the room.
You and I both, Mosi, the Empress thought as she watched him depart.
Edna Stanley had been trained since birth to keep her emotions well hidden in public.
First as Crown Princess, and now as Empress, she had known she would be the center
of attention. In any difficult situation, people would look to her for a reaction. If she was
weepy or hysterical, the fear would be contagious. If she, as focal point of the Empire,
was calm and confident, morale would remain high. The Empire would ultimately have
only as much strength as she, its symbol, could project. And fortunately for the Empire,
she had the inner resources to keep it strong.
But the private Edna Stanley, seen by only a privileged few, was tossed into a sea of
turmoil over this revelation of possible treachery by her most trusted advisor, ally, and
friend. The doubts and fears gnawed at her innards. Had she done the right thing? How
secure was the Imperial Throne-and, for that matter, her very life? Who could be trusted
if Zander turned out to be a traitor?
In a crisis like this, there was only one person with whom she could be totally at ease:
her husband Liu. The Emperor-Consort was a man of quiet strength and dignity more
than a match for her own. He was a fully ordained priest of the mystical religion of his
native planet, Antares, and a philosopher of no mean talents. Because he did not bear
the responsibility of the Empire on his shoulders, he could be strong when she herself felt
weak, and she had drawn on that strength many times in the past.
It was not precisely love that had drawn her to him out of her many possible suitors; love
had little room in the life of a person who would rule the Galaxy. To be sure, love of a
fashion had bloomed between them since their meeting; she cared about him, she felt
comfortable in his presence, she knew she could depend on him to support her in her
times of need. To the extent that these factors constituted love, then love was present.
But to the extent that love encompassed passion, it was never there. Edna knew that,
and at odd moments she felt the loss-but then she herself was hardly what anyone would
call a woman of passions, and those moments passed quickly. She had picked Liu as her
consort because of his wisdom and his strength, and she had never regretted her choice.
The Empress’ private bedchamber was decorated to look like the inside of a comfortable
cave. The walls were carved of volcanic rock with lush ferns growing in niches around the
room. Brightly colored silk pillows were scattered about the polished obsidian floor and
the bed was a raised platform covered by futon mats. Covering the back wall behind the
bed, a sisal macrame hanging held hundreds of crystal globes filled with glowing votive
candles.
Alone there with Liu that evening, Edna unburdened her troubles to him. The
Emperor-Consort listened as impassively as Edna had listened to the Prime Councilor
earlier that day. The Empress paced the room as she talked, her tone becoming more
uncertain as she speculated on the consequences. “I’ve known Zander since I was a
baby. My father knew him and trusted him even before that. If he wanted the throne,
there are many easier ways he could have gotten it. He’s third in line of succession
himself now. All he’d have had to do was arrange three ‘accidental’ deaths-that would
have been child’s play for someone with his brains and resources. It doesn’t make sense
for him to act this way.”
“Sense is not an inherent quality of isolated facts,” Liu said quietly. “Only when all things
are known can the patterns be sorted out. Even then, consistency is rare.” He walked
over to his wife and put his hands gently around her shoulders. “When dealing with
human beings, sense is the last thing anyone should expect.”
“And yet I keep thinking that, in a way, it does make sense,” Edna said with a slight
sniffle. “The conspiracy knows almost everything SOTE does, and we’ve never been able
to trace the leaks. Zander’s people have filled up the holes when we’ve come into
danger, but the margin seems to get thinner each time. At my coronation, his strategy
seemed sound, but it came damned close to backfiring on us. Is he playing some subtle
game`? Does he enjoy moving us all around for some perverted thrill of his own’?”
“I have long suspected he could play a three-dimensional chess game on a
two-dimensional board,” Liu said. “But capability should not be confused with actuality. If
we executed everyone with a potential for outwitting us, we’d end up first on our own
list.”
Edna turned around and buried her face in his chest. “What can I do about this?”
“Your options are limitless. If you want to know what you should do, however, I suggest
waiting.” “Waiting?” She gave a bitter laugh. “It seems that’s all I’ve been doing. We’ve
known for years that they’re out there somewhere, an entire conspiracy aimed at me,
and all I’ve been able to do is wait and see where they’ll try to hit me next. They tried at
our wedding, they tried at my coronation, who knows when they’ll try again? Maybe I
should call my father, ask his advice . . . ”
“He had sixty-some years of the anxiety you have now, knowing that your Uncle Banian
was somewhere out there waiting for him to slip. The six months since his abdication has
been the only vacation he’s ever really had. Do you feel it’s proper to interrupt it with your
troubles?”
Edna kissed him lightly on the neck. “You’re right, as usual. The responsibility is mine
now, not his. He had to live forty-five years making decisions like these. Now I have to
get used to it. He may not always be around to help me; I must learn to do without a
crutch.” She sighed, and added, “What did you mean about waiting?”
“It seems to me that our enemy’s forte is patience. He remains hidden in shadows and
occasionally throws something at us to see how we react. So far, our reflexes have been
excellent, and we have intercepted all his attempts. But if ever we should overreact, if we
lean over too far unbalanced, I am sure our enemy will be happy to push us the rest of
the way.”
“Are you suggesting we do nothing? I can’t take that chance. If, by some incredible
misfortune, Zander really is C, I can’t just let him go free. With everything he knows, he
might destroy us.”
“You have given much thought to the possibility of Zander’s being guilty. Have you
considered the alternative’?” Edna moved away from her husband and faced the
macrame wall. One away Liu’s greatest-and at the same time most infuriating-qualities
was that he never handed her the answers she wanted. He viewed his role in her life as
one of teacher, and he kept trying to make her reach for the answers herself, to stretch
her mental capacity beyond the safe, normal limits. In the long run she was grateful to
him for it, but at times like this, when he obviously had a suggestion, it was frustrating to
have to guess at it herself. “Of course it’s something I’d like very much,” she mused
aloud. “But you’re talking about more than my personal feelings, aren’t you? Khorosho,