He does, and I am not entirely sure that I discount the possibility. 'He has asked me to find some means of removing Bayaz…' His voice dropped almost to a whisper. 'Or removing the king. I suspect, should I fail, that he has other plans. Plans which somehow involve the University.'

'You would seem to be accusing his Eminence the Arch Lector of high treason against the state.' Marovia's eyes were bright and hard as a pair of new nails. Suspicious, and yet terribly eager. 'Have you uncovered anything to use against the king?'

'Before I could even consider doing so, Valint and Balk quite forcibly dissuaded me.'

'They knew so quickly?'

'I am forced to concede that someone close to me may not be as reliable as I have always hoped. The bankers not only demanded that I disobey his Eminence, they also insisted that I investigate him. They want to know his plans. I have only a few days to satisfy them, and Sult no longer trusts me enough to share the contents of his latrine with me, let alone the contents of his mind.'

'Oh dear, dear.' Marovia slowly shook his head. 'Oh dear, dear.'

'To add to my woes, I believe that the Arch Lector is considerably less ignorant of what occurred in Dagoska than he at first appeared. If somebody is talking, it may well be that they are talking to both sides.' If you can betray a man once, after all, it is not so very difficult to do it twice. Glokta gave a long sigh. And there we are. The secrets are all spilled. The turd-pit is emptied. My throat is slashed from ear to ear. 'That is the whole story, your Worship.'

'Well, Superior, you certainly find yourself in quite a pickle.' Quite a fatal one, in fact. Marovia got up and wandered slowly around the room. 'Let us suppose, for the moment, that you truly have come for my help, and not to lead me into some manner of embarrassment. Arch Lector Sult has the means to cause a most serious problem. And the towering self-obsession necessary to try it at a time like this.' You'll get no argument from me there. 'If you could obtain compelling evidence, I would, of course, be willing to present it to the king. But I cannot move against a member of the Closed Council, and the Arch Lector in particular, without firm proof. A signed confession would be best.'

'Sult's signed confession?' murmured Glokta.

'Such a document would seem to solve some problems for both of us. Sult would be gone, and the bankers would have lost their hold over you. The Gurkish would still be camped outside our walls of course, but one can't have everything.'

'The Arch Lector's signed confession.' And shall I pluck the moon from the sky while I'm about it?