'Would you mind pointing him in the right direction, dearest?'
'Of course.' Metrelle heaved himself out of the garden chair, and led Jurgen through the archway. His voice diminished in the distance. 'Just down here, past the toad pond and across the courtyard...'
'I know what you're going to say,' Mira said, switching off the simper and watching me through narrowed eyes, 'but what did you expect? You went gadding off to that drifting mausoleum and let everyone think you were dead.'
'And why bother fighting for a throne back home when there's one here you can just help yourself to with a smile and a quick proposal?' I added.
'Precisely.' Mira nodded, looking more aristocratic than ever, even if she was still spilling out of her gown like a joygirl desperate for custom. 'Viridia's going to be a complete mess for years after all the fighting, and it's a lot more comfortable here. Besides, Metty's quite sweet really. I could do a lot worse.'
I smiled, feeling a rush of relief so strong it left me breathless.
'Then I suppose congratulations are in order,' I said.
Mira watched me narrowly, sifting my words for any hint of sarcasm.
'I take it you're not going to make a scene, then?' she asked at length, sounding vaguely disappointed.
'No,' I said gravely, trying to look as though I was holding my emotions in check, and firmly suppressing the impulse to start doing handsprings round the garden. 'I won't spoil it for you. Best man won, and all that.'
Her expression softened again, so I assumed I'd got away with it.
'That's very sweet of you,' she said, although she must have known me better than that by now. 'And speaking of the best man, I've got a little favour to ask...'
'By all means,' I said, distracted by the mingled odours of Jurgen and freshly brewed tanna. He and the governor were returning, with a small comet tail of retainers, all bearing trays. Things were definitely looking up.
'Can you find some excuse to frak off back to Coronus before the wedding?' Mira asked. 'You're not exactly low profile around here, and I don't want to be upstaged on my big day, do I?'
'Consider it done,' I agreed. In truth, I'd already made up my mind to leave as soon as I could, the idea of living on a planet under Mira's capricious and pudgy thumb being far too uncomfortable to contemplate. I raised the tea bowl Jurgen had passed to me in a toast to the happy couple. 'The Emperor protects.'
Well, He'd definitely come through for me today; it was only polite to say thank you.
[On which note of uncharacteristic piety, this portion of the Cain Archive finally meanders to an end.]
Примечания
1
Which indicates that this portion of his memoirs was composed some time before he got round to recounting the Interitus Prime incident: a typical example of his cavalier approach to chronology.
2
In his account of his escape from the necron tomb world Cain refers to the vessel as a battle-barge, which is hardly likely, given that these huge craft are only employed where a significant proportion of an Astartes Chapter's assets need to be transported between war zones. It's quite possible, however, that, given their rarity, he simply believed it to be a generic term for any Space Marine vessel.
3
He is, of course, joking here - or so I sincerely hope.
4
There have indeed been reports of necron warriors apparently surviving on worlds which have been subject to decrees of Exterminatus. Although, given their apparent mastery of the warp, it's equally possible that the ''survivors'' merely arrived through an undetected portal deep below the surface after the firestorms abated.
5
The local name for law enforcers.
6
A typically vague statement: there seem to have been around forty or fifty in total, far fewer than a full- strength company, but still more than sufficient to deal with the kind of civil insurrection sweeping the Viridia System.
7
Presumably because ''captain'' is a Space Marine rank, and to confer it on a serf, even in a different context, might lead to confusion.
8
A generic term for all light warships incapable of warp travel.
9
As he does so often in the course of his memoirs, Cain is clearly compressing events here for dramatic
