Chetta made a neutral noise in her throat, and prepared to drop the subject. Perhaps Vittar was correct, or perhaps he just couldn’t see the truth. Or perhaps…

Perhaps he saw it all too well. Vittariel wouldn’t shirk at the deaths of a couple of low-ranking, distant relatives if he thought it would put pressure on her and clear his path to the top. Chetta was pretty sure of that.

‘Very well,’ she said, as though the thought hadn’t occurred to her. ‘If you would conduct the negotiations with House Xudine, as you said, I will ask DeShelle and Luc to investigate the deaths of our kin. No matter the motive, the perpetrators must be caught and dealt with.’

‘Of course,’ Vittar said with a nod. He didn’t look nervous. Was that because he was innocent, or because he had no confidence in Krane’s and DeShelle’s abilities to track down the killers? For that matter, how far could Chetta trust Luc Krane? The man had always seemed completely loyal to her husband, but Chetta was not Azariel. Another thing to worry about.

‘And what will you be doing?’ Vittariel demanded. ‘Other than presumably trying not to get this house into an even worse position than it already is?’

‘I need to make some investigations,’ Chetta said, tapping her fingers on the handle of her cane. She lowered her voice, just in case it would help. ‘I haven’t told anyone except the Arbites, but I’m convinced Gallimo Prime was pulled into the warp deliberately.’

‘Throne of Terra!’ Luc Krane breathed, his eyes wide. To Vittariel’s credit, he didn’t ask her if she was sure. His mouth just set into a grim line.

‘I’ve had… further thoughts about it,’ Chetta admitted. ‘What if whoever or whatever did it wasn’t still on the planet when it happened? What if they – or at least the knowledge that was used to do it – got off-world first?’

‘Then if it was anything other than a specific grudge against that planet or someone on it, they’d do it again,’ Vittariel said immediately. He certainly wasn’t stupid.

‘And we aren’t far from the Gallimo System,’ Krane added. ‘If the intention was to disrupt the Imperium, Vorlese would be a tempting target.’

‘There’s so much shipping that comes through here,’ DeShelle piped up. She’d remained quiet and hung back during the arguments of her betters, as a good aide should, but she wasn’t afraid to speak when she thought she could offer something of use. ‘The record-keeping can’t be as tight as, say, a garrison world, or a Space Marine home world, a more obvious military target like that. We’re far more open.’