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.She goes on her way.I breathe out.Smart move, I tell her mentally.I don’t want to be seen, but if I am I won’t let myself be caught.If I’m cornered, I’ll kill.When the coast has cleared, I move up the corridor, heading from cover to cover.I’ve never been to Ledo’s study, but I have a pretty good idea where it is.That’s where he’ll keep his correspondence.That’s where I’ll find the letter.The voices get louder as I approach the room where I argued with Ledo.I hear Caydus’ gravelly rumble but I don’t catch the words.At least I know where they are.That only leaves the handmaidens within the chambers themselves.There are usually two, and I just saw one of them go into the bedroom.The other one.what would she be doing now? Fetching his evening meal, most likely.That means she would be coming from the kitchen.Probably up this corridor.Better be fast.I peer into the room where Caydus and Ledo are.Ledo is pacing between the spun-sap statues and the crystal columns.Caydus has his back to me, immobile.Caydus is an even better fighter than Rynn was, but his senses aren’t too sharp.I’m about to dart across the doorway and head up the corridor when I hear my name.‘And what is your opinion of Orna, then? In your experience.’I stop and listen, briefly glancing up the corridor.I’m hiding in the shelter of a plinth.Too exposed for my liking, and I shouldn’t loiter, but this I have to hear.Caydus replies quickly.‘I’ve fought alongside her sometimes.Knew her a little in the Academy, but she was younger and we didn’t speak much.I knew Rynn better.But Orna.she’s solid, Magnate.I’d trust her with my life.’‘Do you think she might be.troublesome? Given the right incentive?’‘I think she was very upset when she spoke to you before.It’s natural that she wants to be with her child after what she’s been through.’I always liked Caydus.‘You did not answer me,’ Ledo says.‘I don’t know, Magnate.Who knows what any of the Cadre are capable of, if the incentive is strong enough? But I don’t know of anything that would make Orna act against your interests.I believe her apology was genuine.’Well, at least I fooled one of them.Ledo is clearly unconvinced, even with Caydus’ show of support.Maybe he’s pondering what I meant by speaking of Belek Aspa.Maybe thinking it was an innocent question.Maybe considering calling off the assassins.Maybe not.I decide I’ve heard enough.I can’t risk staying in the corridor.When Ledo is turned away from the doorway I flit across it and move on.I hit the study first time.Can’t help a flush of self-congratulation at that.It’s a large room, with a bookcase and several tall cabinets against one wall.A broad desk at one end, neatly laid with writing equipment and stationery.Two lanterns on poles stand in opposite corners, their flames magnified by chthonomantically treated glass bulbs.Set into the long wall opposite the door is a window looking out over a park on the edge of the Tangles.I’m high up here.The ambient glow from Veya’s shinehouses bathes the tops of the lichen-trees in the park.Walking paths are lit with tracks of glowing dots.I start with the desk, but the drawers are locked.I don’t want to waste time, so I check the cabinets before I get into the fiddly stuff.Mostly bone scroll-cases, shipping manifestos and reports.I rummage through them, willing the evidence I need to reveal itself.Nothing does.I scan the bookcase, then start on another cabinet.In here I find several leather-bound ledgers.I leaf through one, find it full of diagrams and sketches: military reports.Voids, I’d like to spend time reading this, find out what these bastards have planned for our Army.But none of this is what I need.I draw out some tiny picks and get working at the lock of the uppermost desk drawer.Now I’ve got the right tools, taken from my chambers downstairs, it’s somewhat easier than messing about with hairpins in Farakza.The thought of that place gives me a much-needed shot of confidence.I broke out of there, didn’t I? This is easy by comparison.The lock gives up and I slide the drawer open.Bundles of letters within.Some tied in little square stacks, some loose.I pick up the top one, skim-read it.I can’t believe my luck.First time, again.You couldn’t buy fortune like that.It’s the letter from Jerima Vem, detailing the operation to be carried out.Name of the barge is the Maid Of The Dark.That’s the name Silverfish needs.But it’s not the evidence I want.I’m putting the letter back when I see another one tucked among the others, and I stop.There’s no way it would have caught my attention, but for one thing
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