Zidarov shrugged. ‘Not much, I guess. She made her fortune independently – a lot of slate. She and Mordach built Terashova Combine together, and they have more money than the High Lords of Terra now. Not that it seems to have made them happy.’

‘Then you do not know the true story,’ said Elina, with a slightly juvenile smirk of conspiracy. ‘Not many people do. Udmil and Mordach built nothing together. It’s almost all Mordach’s, on paper at least. Oh, Udmil was rich. She was incredibly rich, but she had some kind of breakdown before they met. Something terrible – even Adeard didn’t know what it was, I think. So, when Mordach came along, she was ruined. The marriage was a business deal – he pulled her out of her spiral, and in return got access to the assets and contracts she controlled. And it worked – they both got richer than before. But don’t imagine they have any affection for one another. They don’t. They hate one another. When they meet, it’s like rats in a bag. They don’t meet often.’

Zidarov listened carefully. ‘I didn’t know that.’

‘They keep it quiet. Very quiet. They’re the Twain, see? Any hint that it’s less than perfect, and the magic loses its lustre. All appearance. They’re very good at it – I guess you checked your records?’

‘Of course. They’re all very clean.’

Elina laughed. ‘Like I said. They’re good at it.’

‘But Adeard told you.’

‘He did. He talked about them a lot. He wanted his father to respect him, I knew, but he had no idea how to do it. That was what I hoped to use. I tried to steer him towards a more constructive path. Take less topaz, go to fewer parties, work a bit harder. The Emperor’s Will is achieved through diligent labour, as you know. At times, I thought I was getting through to him. He took on a few things, here and there. I don’t know if he stuck at it. Then Udmil started to interfere, getting in the way, and we began to lose contact.’

‘A shame. Why didn’t his mother want you helping him?’

‘His mother? Is that what you think?’

Zidarov looked up from the dataslate. ‘Yes. Udmil.’

She laughed again. ‘She’s not his mother.’

Zidarov had the uncomfortable feeling that the floor was falling away under him then, and took a deep breath. ‘She’s on record as his legal and biological mother. You’re telling me that’s a lie, too?’

‘She’s no biological relation to him. Mordach’s his father, sure. But this was the deal between them. Mordach never let on that she was near to ruin before their marriage deal. She never let on that Adeard was from some chit of his, long gone, paid off. It was all very respectable. But Adeard knew.’