"Nonsense. Even if they hated our guts they'd want news from Earth. Meanwhile, we find out nothing about the situation here. What's yours?"
"I'll try your brandy," I told the waiter. "And who's the bartender when you're not on duty?"
"Don't know, sir. Sergeant Major sent me over-"
"Yes. Of course." I waited for the trooper to leave. "And Sergeant Major takes care of us, he does indeed. I have a truly formidable orderly-"
Deane was laughing. "One of the ancients? Yes. I thought so. So is mine. Monitor Armand Kubiak, at my service, sir."
"I only drew a private," I said.
"Well, at least Ogilvie has some sense of propriety," Deane replied. "Cheers."
"Cheers. That's quite good, actually." I put the glass down and started to say something else, but Deane wasn't listening to me. He was staring at the door, and after a moment I turned to follow his gaze. "You know, I think that's the prettiest girl I ever saw."
"Certainly a contender," Deane agreed. "She's coming to our table."
"Obviously." We got to our feet.
She was definitely worth looking at. She wasn't very tall.
Her head came about to my chin, so that with the slight heels on her sandals she was just taller than Deane. She wore a linen dress, blue to match her eyes, and it looked as if she'd never been out in the sun at all. The dress was crisp and looked cool. The few women in skirts we'd seen on the march had worn long, drab, cotton things. Her hair was curled into wisps and hung around her shoulders. She had a big golden seal ring on her right hand.
She walked in as if she owned the place. She was obviously used to getting her own way.
"I hope you're looking for us," Deane intercepted.
"As a matter of fact, I am." She had a very nice smile. An expensive smile, I decided.
"Well, you've excellent taste, anyway."
I don't know how he gets away with it. I think it's telepathy. There's no particular cleverness to what he says to women. I know, because I made a study of his technique when we were in the academy. I thought I could learn it the way I was learning tactics, but it didn't work. What Deane says doesn't matter, and how he says it doesn't even seem important. He'll chatter along, saying nothing, even being offensive, and the next thing you know the lady's leaving with him. If she has to ditch a date, that can happen too.
I was damned if it was going to happen this time, but I had a sinking feeling, because my determination before hadn't done me any good. I couldn't think of one thing to say to her.
"I'm Deane Knowles. And this is Lieutenant Slater," Deane said.
You rotten swine, I thought. I tried to smile as she offered her hand.
"And I'm Irina Swale."
"Surely you're the governor's daughter, then," Deane said.
"That's right. May I sit down?"
"Please do." Deane held her chair before I could get to it. It made me feel awkward. We managed to get seated, and Private Donnelley came over.
"Jericho, please," Irina said.
Donnelley looked blankly at her.
"He came in with us," I said. "He doesn't know what you've ordered."
"It's a wine," she said. "I'm sure there will be several bottles. It isn't usually chilled."
"Yes, ma'am," Donnelley said. He went over to the bar and began looking at bottles.
"We were just wondering what to do," Deane sighed. "You've rescued us from terminal ennui."
She smiled at that, but there was a shadow behind the smile. She didn't seem offended at us, but she wasn't really very amused. I wondered what she wanted.
Donnelley brought over a bottle and a wine glass. "Is this it, Ma'am?"
"Yes, thank you."
He put the glass on the table and poured. "If you'll excuse me a moment, Lieutenant Knowles?"
"Sure, Donnelley. Don't leave us alone too long, or we'll raid your bar."
"Yes, sir." Donnelley went out into the hall.
"Cheers." Deane raised his glass. "Tell us about the night life on Arrarat."
"It's not very pleasant," Irina said.
"Rather dull. Well, I guess we expected that-"
"It's not so much dull as horrible," Irina said. "I'm sorry. It's just that-I feel guilty when I think about my own problems. They're so petty. Tell me, when are the others coming?"
Deane and I exchanged glances. I started to say something, but Deane spoke first. "They don't tell us very much, you know."
"Then it's true. You are the only ones coming."
"Now, I didn't say that," Deane protested. "I said I didn't know-"
"You needn't lie. I'm hardly a spy. You're all they sent, aren't you? No warship, and no regiment. Just a few hundred men and some junior officers."
"I'd have thought you'd know more than we do," I pointed out.
"I just don't give up hope quite as quickly as my father does."
"I don't understand any of this," I said. "The governor sent for a regiment, but nobody's told us what that regiment was supposed to do."
"Clean up the mess we've made of this planet," sighed Irina. "And I really thought they'd do something. The CoDominium has turned Arrarat into sheer hell, and I thought they'd have enough-what? Pride? Shame? Enough elementary decency to put things right before we pull out entirely. I see I was wrong."
"I take it things are pretty bad outside the walls," Deane said.
"Bad? They're horrible. You can't even imagine what's happening out there. Criminal gangs setting themselves up as governments. And my father recognizes them as governments! We make treaties with them. And the colonists are ground to pieces. Murder's the least of it. A whole planet going to barbarism, and we don't even try to help them."
"But surely your militia can do something," Deane suggested.
"Not really." She shook her head slowly and stared into the empty wine glass. "In the first place, the militia won't go outside the walls. I don't suppose I blame them. They aren't soldiers. Shopkeepers, mostly. Once in a while they'll go as far as the big river bend, or down to the nearest farmlands, but that doesn't do any good. We tried doing something more permanent, but it didn't work. We couldn't protect the colonists from the convict gangs. And now we recognize convict gangsters as legal governments!"
Donnelley came back in and went to the bar. Deane signalled for refills.
"I noticed people came out to cheer us as we marched through the city," I prompted.
Irina's smile was bitter. "Yes. They think you're going to open up trade with the interior. Rescue their relatives out there. I wish you could."
Before we could say anything else, Captain Falkenberg came in. "Good afternoon," he said. "May I join you?"
"Certainly, sir," Deane replied. "This is Captain Falkenberg. Irina Swale, Captain. The governor's daughter."
"I see. Good afternoon. Brandy, please, Donnelley. And will the rest of you join me? Excellent, another round. Incidentally, my name is John. First names in the mess, Deane. Except for the colonel."
"Yes, sir. Excuse me. John. Miss Swale has been telling us about conditions outside the walls. They're pretty bad."
"I gather. I've just spent the afternoon with the colonel. Perhaps we can do something, Miss Swale."
"Irina. First names in the mess." She laughed. It was a very nice laugh. "I wish you could do something for those people but-well, you only have 1000 men."
"A thousand Line marines," Falkenberg corrected. "That's not quite the same thing."
And we don't even have 1000 marines, I told myself. Lot of recruits with us. I wondered what Falkenberg had in mind. Was he just trying to impress the governor's daughter? I hoped not, because the way he'd said it made me feel proud.
"I gather you sympathize with the farmers out there," Falkenberg said.
"I'd have to, wouldn't I? Even if they didn't come to me after Hugo-my father-said he couldn't help them."
"And I've tried to do something for the children. Do you really think…" Her voice trailed off.