Conversation in the van had drifted off to a sleep-deprived muttering by the time they arrived at the hotel, just down the block from Ivan Xav’s flat. It seemed a middling sort of place, built in a functional mode during the reign of Emperor Ezar with patchy upgrades since, but the location could scarcely be bettered. Ivan Xav saw them all registered, which seemed to involve displays of both his credit and military IDs, then drew Tej aside.
“Now I really have to run to Ops. Don’t let them do anything awful till I get back, right? In fact, don’t let them do anything.”
“I think everyone wants to sleep, first.”
“That’d be all right. Yeah, do that.” He kissed her and fled.
Surprisingly, Rish managed to scrape By off at the lobby lift tubes; he bade her a fond farewell. Exiting at the seventh-floor lift-tube foyer, Rish paused and picked what seemed to be a piece of metallic lint from under her collar, murmured, “Nice try, By. Love and kisses,” and made smacking noises into it, and deposited it in the waste chute. At Tej’s sideways look, she merely shrugged.
Ivan Xav had somehow managed to secure rooms all in a row for them. A two-bedroom suite for the seniors with a central lounge connected on either side to bedrooms that absorbed Amiri and Jet, and Star, Pidge, Pearl and Emerald, plus their luggage. They all returned as swiftly as they could to the sitting room, where Tej and Rish were recounting, once more, the tale of their long flight, and took up perches to listen. And, inevitably, to critique.
When Tej came to the part about Ivan Xav’s clever marital rescue on Komarr, she glanced at Amiri and Jet and left out the bit about the balcony, saying only, “We weren’t thinking too straight by then, I guess. We were both so tired.”
“You weren’t thinking at all, as far as I can see,” said Pidge tartly. “Good grief, Tej, you’re as scatterbrained as ever.”
Pearl turned to Rish. “And you let her?”
“It worked out,” said Rish defensively.
Dada held up a thick hand to stem an incipient and well-worn digression into personalities, if adding mildly, “Though really, Tej-love, we could have negotiated you a favorable deal for a House heir anytime these past five years. All those wasted opportunities, just to end up with a Barrayaran?”
This was tolerable only because he had accepted Tej’s every No—well, No, thank you, Dada—on said deals for five years straight with no more demur than an occasional wince and grunt. At least Dada wouldn’t complain that Ivan Xav was a natural, being one himself. Nor could the Baronne, without blatant hypocrisy. Not that she couldn’t find other grounds.
“This Vorpatril fellow turns out to be quite interesting, for a Barrayaran, I will allow that,” said the Baronne. “If I thought it was guile and not blind luck, I would be quite proud of you both. Or—did you know of his high-level connections before negotiating this strange oral contract?”
“For free, no less,” said Star in an aggrieved undervoice. “Tej.”
“No,” sighed Tej. “We only found out after.”
“Figures,” murmured Pearl.
“Did you look him up?” Tej asked the Baronne. “Back on Escobar?”
“Of course. As soon as Lily passed us that—at the time, it seemed a very garbled rumor, but actually it seems correct in more details than I would have believed. Not that we weren’t overjoyed to have finally located you two. But how closely does that boy actually stand the to Barrayaran Imperial throne?”
Oh, blast, the Baronne had already stumbled onto that angle. Well, of course she had. She was the Baronne. “Camp stool,” Tej corrected in a small voice. “When The Gregor has to sit in ceremony. On account of Vor being a military caste.” The Baronne waved away this distinction. Tej…remembered a plaque in a street that groundcars ran over.
Rish put in, “There are quite a few more bodies between him and that position than when he was younger, apparently—plus he’d have to win a couple of civil wars with rival claimants, to hear him tell it. He was never the only potential heir.”
Grandmama lifted a quelling finger. “I would advise against pursuing that direction, Udine, dear. There are many safer approaches you might work in aid of our aims here, and I promise you, you do not want to get bogged down in extended altercations with the locals.” She gave the impression of a delicate shudder without, actually, shuddering.
Tej cast her a grateful glance. Dada grunted, not disagreeing.
“Still, he’s in their military,” said Star. “He can’t be totally clueless, in a crunch. Maybe we could use him in our Security. Our new Security, when we set it up.”
“Or in Administration,” said Pidge. “You say he’s a kind of secretary?”
“Or in Hospitality,” said Jet, with an amused snicker. “How well does he strip?”
Tej glowered at him.
The Baronne waved this aside, pursing her lips. “But apparently, he’s been kept close confined here in the capital under the eyes of his handlers for nearly the whole of that career. Chained to a desk, which is, I suppose, kinder than chained in a cage. Keeps him out of trouble just the same, to be sure.”
“He really works,” said Tej, not very loudly. “Admiral Desplains—that’s his Ops boss—values him.” What Desplains had actually told her was, Despite Ivan’s erratic personal life, he’s never once made an error in identifying hidden political stakes. Rare talent, that. Or had that been political snakes? Confusing.
“So I should think,” said the Baronne. “This military chief must gain considerable cachet for harboring such a princeling on his staff. Almost a Jewel. I wonder what his deal was, behind the scenes, in return for taking on such a charge?”
“He likes Ivan’s work,” said Tej, though completeness forced her to add, “mostly.”
The Baronne sat back and tapped her fingers on the sofa arm. She said unhopefully, “I don’t suppose you’ve had any ideas how best to exploit him, have you, Tej? Having had—or is that enjoyed?—the closest observation.”
Really, Baronne, do you have to point that out? Tej twitched uncomfortably. “The Greg—the Barrayarans were going to give us a ride in secret to Escobar. On a government courier ship. It would have given a clean break for Rish and me to lose the bounty hunters. I thought that was enough.”
Star sniffed. “There are much more direct ways to dispose of bounty hunters, Tej.”
Star had been the understudy of the House Cordonah security chief—a department which had failed signally to stave off the present debacle, Tej was reminded. With a pang of frustration, Tej restrained herself from escalating the critique. The most important part of the takeover had been in behind-the-scenes deals on financial and diplomatic levels anyway—yeah, Pidge’s department, wasn’t that? Star just liked lots of big guns.
“So what did you do about Prestene’s hired meat? They must have followed you four, as well,” said Tej to Star.
Star lifted her chin, proudly. “They met with fatal accidents, of course.”
Dada, with a practiced finger-flicking gesture, suppressed this side-trail as well. “Tej’s turn to tell her tale.”
Em said, “Still, such a ride—depending on what they wanted you to trade for it—would have saved this expensive side jaunt to collect you two. Too bad you couldn’t have brought it off two weeks back.”