We were in the galley, talking quietly while the others were off with their duties or catching squint-time.

‘While stirring up some other Ghosties.’

‘It’s their shivery stuff we’d be stirring, not them.’ She managed a smile. ‘What’s stoppin’ you, by the way?’

‘Stopping me from what?’

‘From talkin’ old Proz out of it. Thought you’d be all over me like a big glowy rash. No, Proz, you don’t need to go into the Fang, we can leave that to Trusko and his team of experts. But you seem to be taking the other tack.’

‘I don’t know about Strambli. Or any of ’em, for that matter. Maybe they’ve been held back by Trusko. But I know this: we’re not leaving here without the Ghostie stuff, and that means we ain’t leaving anything to chance. Of course you’d be going in. You’ve spent most of the last three weeks dropping little hints that you might be able to fill Gathing’s boots. Trusko wouldn’t have put us into orbit if he weren’t going through with the expedition, and he wouldn’t be thinking of going in with just his nibs and Strambli. Maybe Surt or Drozna can step in if they’re needed, but Trusko’d be a fool not to have you on that launch, and the cove knows it.’

‘He needs a little more work,’ she admitted. ‘But he’ll crack soon enough.’

The business with Gathing was behind us, for now. The crew seemed content to accept the idea that he’d been smuggling stuff out of the bauble under their noses. Maybe they didn’t want to poke too deeply into that explanation, but it wasn’t as if any of them were sobbing their hearts out over the death of old snidey-face. It would have been different it had been Drozna or Strambli we’d had to vent, but Gathing hadn’t gone out of his way to make friends, and sometimes there’s a cost for that.

‘Here’s something else he’ll need working on,’ I said, leaning in to bring my face closer to hers. ‘I’m going in too. Not because I don’t trust you to get the job done, but because this is my chance. Jastrabarsk took me into that bauble, but that was just a nice little stroll up and down some stairs.’

‘He won’t bite on it, Fura, not after you’ve shown how useful you are with the bones.’

‘I’ll make him, won’t I?’

‘You’d be better off sitting on the ship. There’s risk in baubles, any baubles, ’specially with a narrow window.’

‘He don’t know that, though. He thinks we’ve got days.’