She looked around morosely. The Goldenfels’ purser sat to her right and Vesey to the purser’s right at the far end of the table. Betts was directly across from Adele, but even if he’d tried he couldn’t have heard what she was saying. In addition to the general noise of dinner, the music of a live pipe band was being transmitted through the ventilating ducts.
The Klimovs sat beside Captain Bertram and his first officer at the head of the table. They were talking loudly and with animation; from snatches Adele heard, John Tsetzes was the primary subject. Daniel was across the table between the Goldenfels’ Second Lieutenant and her Engineering Officer.
“And yes,” Adele continued. “They’re not only from Cinnabar, most of them, they were the ship’s crew while she was in the Cinnabar navy—”
She carefully avoided saying “RCN,” because the acronym was RCN jargon. She’d known as a scholar, long before she became a spy, that sometimes the form of a statement was as important as its content.
“—until a few months ago. The Klimovs bought the ship and hired the crew at the same time.”
“Remarkable,” Greiner said, though he must have been aware of that ever since the two vessels had rubbed against one another on Todos Santos.
“That’s why I didn’t suggest you capture the officers tonight and rush the ship,” Adele said, taking a spoonful of the excellent pork fricassee a steward had just served in response to her nod. “I heard them discussing it before they accepted the invitation. The watch officer, he’s a clod named Chewning, will vent the fusion bottle into the hull if that happens. That’ll destroy the Earth Diamond, and I shouldn’t wonder if it’d damage your ship as well since it’s so close.”
“You’re sure they’d do that?” Greiner said, his eyes narrowing. “That would be suicide—literal suicide.”
Adele shrugged. “I know the captain believes Chewning’ll do it,” she said through a mouthful. “They’re hardcore navy, as I said. Apparently they’ve got quite a reputation, or anyway they think they do. Death before dishonor and that sort of nonsense.”
She grimaced at the Alliance officer. “They’re dolts like the farmers I work for,” she said. “But I will say that they seem to know their business.”
“Yes,” said Greiner without expression. “The Princess Cecile did indeed have a reputation when she was in naval service. And I’m inclined to agree that her crew know their business.”
He looked hard at Adele, holding his part-full wineglass but wholly concentrated on her reaction to what he was about to say. “So, Mistress. . . . The object you mentioned does appear to be a remarkable one. If not by force, then how do you plan to bring it into hands where it will be properly appreciated?”
A steward offered a bowl of something starchy whipped with bits of onion. Adele nodded, then nodded again for a second spoonful.
When the servant left, she said quietly with her eyes on her plate, “I told you my father was in shipping—he had seventeen vessels until the bloody war. He saw to it that I learned their systems back to front. If you’ll give me fifteen minutes with your own transmitter, I’ll set up a program that’ll shut off all the yacht’s power when you send the signal. If you do that at three in the morning, the worst there’ll be is a shot or two from the sentries—if they don’t throw their guns down when the lights go out.”
“I don’t understand,” said Greiner. He didn’t raise his voice, but when a steward came by with a carafe of wine he waved the fellow away curtly.
Adele grimaced. “Perhaps we can get out of here for a few minutes?” she said under her breath.
Greiner glanced at the head of the table; Captain Bertram was entertaining the Klimovs with a story that required a great deal of hand-flourishing. A less arrogant fellow might wonder why a man whom he’d first cheated, then humiliated, was working so hard to be engaging, but not the Count. Arrogance wasn’t the same thing as stupidity, but it tended to have similar results.
“Yes,” Greiner said, shoving his chair away from the table. It was bolted to deck rails that allowed it to slide six inches forward or back. “Follow me in a minute and I’ll take you to the Signals Room. We won’t be disturbed there.”