Martinez decided he’d better have a quiet word with the warrant officers who ran each of the ship’s departments. And, while he was at it, make sure his own communications rigs, both the primary and auxiliary, were immaculate, and his subordinates at their most presentable.
“May I speak with you privately?”
Lord Richard Li was the only person at the reception besides Sula who was wearing dress whites, and Sula only wore her uniform because she didn’t have anything elegant or expensive enough for this company. Lord Richard, she presumed, had some other reason.
“Privately?” Sula looked at him in surprise. “Yes, of course.”
It was Terza Chen, Lord Richard’s fiancée, who had invited her to this function at the ornate Chen Palace, but Terza had glided off in her elegant way, and left Sula with Lord Richard.
He took Sula’s arm and led her to a library off the front hall, dark wood carved with a pattern of holly, and ancient leather-bound books sealed behind glass, their delicate contents preserved by a mixture of rare gases. The sight made Sula want to lunge for the cabinets, pop the seals, and indulge in an orgy of reading.
On the desk was a small fountain, water trickling over small stones, that gave the air a slight scent of brine. Lord Richard gazed at the fountain for a moment, then turned to face Sula.
“Lord Richard?”
“I heard about theMidnight Runner verdict,” he said. A Fleet Court of Inquiry had just proclaimed Blitsharts’s death an accident, the result of a faulty water intake coupling.
“Unfortunately it’s only thefirst Midnight Runner verdict,” Sula said. “There’s going to be a lawsuit before the insurance company will part with any money. They’re going to say that Blitsharts damaged the coupling intentionally. So I’ll be stuck here giving depositions for years, unless I can get ship duty.”
A smile crossed Lord Richard’s chiseled features. “Well, as to that,” he said, “I’ve just returned from the Commandery. That’s why I’m in uniform. The announcement won’t be made for a few days, but I’ve been informed that I’ll have command of theDauntless when it comes out of refit. We’ll be joining the Second Cruiser Division, Home Fleet.”
“Congratulations, my lord.”Dauntless was a new heavy cruiser finishing its first refit, with everything that hadn’t worked properly on its first tour repaired, replaced, or redesigned. It was a perfect command for this stage of Lord Richard’s career, and spoke well of Fleet Commander Jarlath’s confidence in him.
“I know you’ll do well,” Sula said.
“Thank you.” Lord Richard inclined his head as he looked at Sula. Behind him the little fountain chimed.
“You know,” he said, “that I get to promote two lieutenants intoDauntless when I get command of her. In view of your family’s kindness to mine over many years, I wish to offer you one of those places.”
Sula’s heart gave a surprised little skip. A captain’s promotions were usuallyquid pro quo arrangements within or between families—“I’ll promote your youngster, and you’ll see my cousin gets the supply contract for the satellite relays on Sandama.” But Sula didn’t have anything to offer in exchange. This was pure kindness on Lord Richard’s part.
Sula found herself flushing with the effort to compose her thanks. Composing thanks wasn’t one of the things she did well. “Thank you, Lord Richard,” she managed. “I–I appreciate your—your confidence.”
He smiled with his perfect white teeth. Sula observed little crinkles around his eyes when he smiled. “We’ll consider it done, then,” Lord Richard said.
“Ah…my lord.” She felt herself flush. “You know that I’ve been cramming for my exams.”
“Yes. Well, now that won’t be necessary. You can enjoy yourself.” Lord Richard began to step toward the exit across the deep pile of the Tupa carpeting.
“I was going for a first, my lord,” Sula said. Lord Richard hesitated in mid-stride.
“Really?” he said.
“Ah…yes.” Her cheeks must be pouring out nova heat, she thought.
“Do you think you have a chance?”
There, Sula reflected, was the key question. The cadet who achieved a first—the highest score of all lieutenants’ exams given throughout the empire during a year—was almost certain to acquire a name in the service, and very possibly some patrons to go with it. She wouldn’t be dependent entirely on Lord Richard for promotion: with a first, many more doors would open to her.
“I’ve been working the practice exams and doing very well,” Sula said. “Though of course a first is, ah…well, it’s unpredictable.”
“Yes.” He knit his brows. “Well, the exams are in a mere ten days or so, correct?”
“Yes, my lord.”
He gave a modest shrug. “My offer will remain open, then. I won’t need a lieutenant in the next ten days, and if I get someone who was first in the Year 12,481, thenDauntless will only gain by the prestige.”
“I—thank you, my lord.” Gratitude still had her tripping over her tongue.
Lord Richard took her arm again and steered her for the door. “Good luck with all that, Caro—Caroline. I was never very good at exams—that’s why I was happy to take my uncle Otis’s offer of a lieutenancy.”
Sula paused in surprised contemplation at the thought of a Lord Richard who wasn’t good at something, then dismissed the thought as modesty on the captain’s part.
She and Lord Richard rejoined the reception, Lord and Lady Chen and their twenty-two guests. Terza floated toward them, looked at Sula and said, “Is it decided?”
“Lord Richard has been very kind,” Sula said.
“I’m so pleased,” Terza said, and clasped her hand.
Suddenly Sula knew that the offer of promotion had been Lady Terza’s idea.
“He’ll be able to set you on your career,” Lady Terza said.
“Well, turns out it’s a little more complicated than that,” Lord Richard said, “but Lady Sula will be set on her career one way or another, and very soon.”
Terza hesitated, then decided to smile. “Well,” she said, “that’s very good.”
Sula’s nerves gave a warning tingle as Lady Vipsania Martinez walked into sight on the arm of a exquisitely dressed man with a receding hairline. Lady’sVipsania’s eyes widened slightly as her eyes met Sula’s, then she strode toward Sula with impressive dignity, the man following in her wake.
“Lady Sula,” she said, “I’m sure you remember Sempronia’s fiancé, Lord PJ Ngeni.”
Sula didn’t remember Lord PJ at all, but she said, “Of course. Is Sempronia here?”
Melancholy touched PJ’s long face. “She’s over there.” He nodded toward a corner of the room. “With those officers.”
Sula turned to see Sempronia speaking to a pair of men in civilian suits. “They’re officers?” she asked. She didn’t recognize them.
“They’realways officers,” PJ said, his melancholy growing.
“Go and fetch her, my dear,” Vipsania advised. “I’m sure she’d like to speak to Lady Sula.”
“That’s a lovely gown,” Sula said. It was too. Some elderly seamstress had probably grown blind sewing on the thousands of beads.
“Thank you.” A look of modest concern knit Vipsania’s brows. “We’ve been sorry you haven’t been able to attend our little get-togethers.”
“I left town,” Sula said. “I was cramming for my exams.”
“Ah.” She nodded in apparent satisfaction. “It hadn’t anything to do with my brother, then.”
Sula’s heart gave a jolt. “Lord Gareth?”
“He thought he might have offended you in some way. He can be a dreadful idiot sometimes.”
“Dreadful idiot?” queried Sempronia as she arrived with PJ. “We’re talking about Gareth, I presume?”
Sula decided to set the record straight. Or straighter, anyway. “He hasn’t offended,” Sula said flatly. “And he’s quite the opposite of an idiot.”