“But how close is he to getting Warlock back from the yard?” William asked anxiously. “Can he get back there with his ship before Wallace’s Question comes up?”

“He might.” Alexander sat back and drummed on the desk blotter with the fingers of both hands. He thought for several seconds, then shook his head. “He just might, at that.”

“All right.” William drew a deep breath. “You understand, of course, that this has to be completely unofficial, Hamish.” Alexander nodded, already guessing what was coming next. “The Duke has asked me to tell you that Her Majesty’s Government would find it most convenient if Lord Pavel Young is not on Basilisk Station for the next month.”

“I understand, Willie.” Alexander gazed at his brother for a few more seconds, then shrugged. “I’ll see what I can do—unofficially, of course.”

“Thanks, Hamish. We appreciate it.”

“Anything for a good cause, Willie,” Alexander said. “See you later.”

His brother nodded, and Alexander cut the circuit. He sat in pensive thought for a moment, and then punched a scramble-coded number into the com. The screen lit with a “WAIT” prompt, then cleared to show a sleep-tousled James Webster.

“Who—? Oh, for God’s sake, Hamish! Can’t you let a working man sleep?”

“’Fraid not. I just got off the screen with Willie, and he’s got a little job for us.” Alexander outlined his conversation with his brother in a few short sentences, and Webster’s eyes widened while the last vestiges of sleep faded from them.

“Don’t want much, do they?” he asked sardonically when Alexander finished.

“No more than we do. This sounds like the perfect opportunity to catch the Opposition with its shorts around its ankles, Jim. From what Willie’s told me in the past, a pretty firm majority in the Lords is impressed enough by Harrington’s accomplishments to stand with the Government, and we already had a strong majority in the Commons. If Wallace has to ask his Question while she’s still acting SO, the Government can respond using her policies as its basis, not Young’s, and make her look like exactly what she is—a decisive officer fully discharging the Navy’s responsibilities for the first time in twenty years. And they can argue that what’s needed is to see to it that other officers are in a position to do the same thing in the future. If that happens, we can actually turn Basilisk Station into something that works instead of a half-assed nightmare. Harrington’s done her part for us; all we have to do is keep Young here in Manticore and off her back a little longer.”

“Hamish, I’ll be the first to admit I dream about a chance like this, but just how do you propose to pull that off? I can guarantee Lucien won’t give him permission to quit his ship and that I won’t let him go back without her, but Warlock can’t be all that far from completing her refit.”

“I know. But, you know, Jim, even the best refit crews can fall off their stride from time to time.”