‘I’d ask Harward Justin for the loan of Spider Geroan, woman. You’ve got your uses. I don’t mind your foolin’ around to suit yourself, long as you don’t meddle with me. Meddle with me, and you’ll find yourself havin’ a date with Spider Geroan and comin’ home outside your own skin lookin’ in. You understand me?’ The voice was expressionless, without anger, but the whimpering reply told the listeners that Honeypeach had heard it.
In the garden, Maybelle shivered in Rheme’s arms. ‘God, what did you tell him?’
‘How marriageable you are, girl. What a nice, fertile mama you’ll make for some herediphilic family on Serendipity.’ Rheme was actually deeply disturbed by the overheard conversation. He had not liked the lady’s mentioning Justin, and he had not liked the Governor’s mentioning Spider Geroan. It had implications for his own life and safety that he found ominous. ‘Now pay attention, May Bee, and remember what I’m telling you. Once you’re on Serendipity, you’re to go directly to those people I’ve told you about. You’re to tell them you’re from Basty Pardo. Give them the message, just as I gave it to you. They’ll see the message gets sent on, and they’ll keep you safe.’
‘I can’t bear to leave you,’ she sobbed. ‘God, Rheme, there may be a war here.’
‘Oh, there will be a war here,’ he said grimly. ‘And I’ll get through it a lot easier if I know you’re all right.’
‘This vital message of yours, who’s it for?’
He was silent, wondering whether he should tell her anything at all except what she needed to know. Meeting her rebellious expression, he knew she needed to know enough to give her a sense of participation. Maybelle was very young, in her attitudes and personality. When he had spoken of her as being untouched, he had said no more than the truth. Still, she had a vivid perception of right and wrong, and it would be wrong of him to use her without her knowing why.
‘The work of the Planetary Exploitation Council’s been corrupted for years,’ he said at last. ‘There was a lot of money credit involved, credit that came from the exploiter agglomerates. The corruption didn’t involve many of the PEC members, actually, but the others were too complacent to see what was going on. However, the massacre at the Jut started some tongues wagging because one of the people killed was the son of one of the Council members. She got together some of the newer, younger members and began to agitate for an investigation. You know the PEC has an enforcement body, CHAIN, called that for no good reason. If the letters stand for anything, no one knows what. Speaking from personal knowledge, CHAIN is quite incorruptible. It’s headed up by an old fox named Pardo….’
‘Any relationship to Basty Pardo?’ she asked.
‘An uncle, actually. Well, the General – he’s retired, but everyone still calls him the General – advised some of the PEC members, and the Council managed to muster a majority of vote support for investigation. CHAIN began by hiring some investigators, a few like me, love. Enough to find out what’s really going on.’
‘So you really are a PEC agent! I thought you were joking. Then it isn’t hopeless.’ Her face lit up, that glowingly childlike look he had grown to love. Sternly, he kept his hands away from her. No sense making it harder than it was.
‘It isn’t hopeless providing this message can get off-planet and reach the right people, May Bee. But Justin has the planet sealed off. I didn’t expect that. Shortsighted of me, but I just didn’t expect it. All communications are monitored. No one and no thing is being allowed to leave without a priority voucher, and no priority vouchers are being issued except for the few issued by Justin himself or those we’ve wangled through the Governor’s office. You’re the Governor’s daughter, and you’re known to be hopelessly naive and gauche and remote from anything important. You don’t even take part in most social events. Everyone thinks you’re a little odd and I’ve been hinting for weeks that you’re perhaps a trifle stupid. You’re simply the least suspect person we know.’
He touched her cheek, smiling, not letting her know how truly desperate he felt the need was. Everything that was happening on Jubal told Rheme that only force would work, and yet so far as he knew, no one in CHAIN had taken that into account. The Governor would go off-planet in his own good time, and the PEC authorities could pick him up on Serendipity or wherever he landed. But Justin wouldn’t leave, and Justin wouldn’t resign, and Justin wouldn’t obey an order from the PEC.
No, Justin would dig in. Justin would start a war on Jubal rather than be taken into custody. Justin would have to be dug out, or blasted out, or Jubal would have to be put under siege.
And by the time the siege was over, it could be too late for a few million people. And for Jubal as well.
13
It was midafternoon. Left to themselves, Tasmin and Donatella had ridden farther south and laid a few false side trails, which they hoped would be confusing to the followers.
‘The valley gets narrower from here on,’ Don said. ‘We won’t be able to escape them, Tasmin, except by keeping ahead of them. What are you doing with those mule shoes?’
Tasmin looked up from the shoes he was fiddling with. ‘I traded these off Clarin’s and Jamieson’s animals,’ he said. ‘The pattern on each set is a little different. If we put them on two feet of each of our mules, maybe they’ll think there are still four of us.’
‘Do you think they’ll pay chits for that?’ Donatella asked him, one eyebrow
