“You’re suggesting they lied about it?” Theisman said, giving Sanderson exactly the same sort of look Pritchart was working so hard at not giving him.

“I’m suggesting that they certainly may have,” Sanderson replied. “I don’t know that they did. I also don’t know that they didn’t, and if they’re thinking in the direction Arnold seems to be suggesting, then obviously the temptation to cast their own actions in the most favorable possible light would have to be strong. And a ‘request’ from Lynx would be a marvelous pretext.”

“But why should they feel any need for pretexts?” LePic demanded.

“I can think of at least one reason,” Giancola said reasonably. The Attorney General looked at him, and the Secretary of State shrugged. “Whatever we may think about what they’re doing, I can guarantee you the Solarian League isn’t going to be particularly pleased about this. And the Solarians are huge believers in ‘self-determination.’ ”

“Sure they are!” Theisman snorted bitterly. “Until they’re the ones doing the expanding, that is.”

“I can’t argue with you there,” Giancola said. “In fact, I don’t think anyone could. But what matters is that their public support for the concept would make it more difficult for them to object to the Manties’ actions if the Star Kingdom can convince Solly public opinion Lynx really did ask to be annexed.”

“That’s all a bit too Machiavellian for me,” LePic said.

“Maybe it is,” Giancola said easily. “But any way you want to look at it, High Ridge and Descroix are pretty Machiavellian, you know. Or do you think they’ve been dragging out the negotiations on the occupied systems solely out of the goodness of their hearts, Denis?”

“Of course not,” LePic growled.

“If they’re willing to use those negotiations for domestic advantage, I see absolutely no reason to believe they’d be unwilling to think the way I’ve just described about expanding into the Talbott Cluster,” Giancola pointed out.

“That would be bad enough,” he said, “but I’d have to say that I wouldn’t be enormously concerned if they were solely interested in Talbott. After all, that would be taking them directly away from our own territory and our own sphere of interest. Unfortunately, the way it looks to me is that their attitude towards Talbott is simply symptomatic of their attitude towards expansion in general. And if that’s actually the case, then we’re entirely too close to them for my peace of mind. Especially while they’re still occupying Republican territory.”

· · • · ·

“Damn, but he’s a smooth bastard,” Theisman sighed. He and LePic sat in Pritchart’s office several hours later. Beyond the huge windows, the glittering lights of night-struck Nouveau Paris blazed like multi-hued jewels, but none of them were particularly in the mood to appreciate their beauty.

“Yes, he is that,” Pritchart agreed. She leaned back in her outsized chair and closed her eyes wearily. “And he’s getting better at it,” she told the ceiling beyond her lids.

“I know,” LePic said. His tone was harsh, and he shrugged his shoulders irritably when Theisman looked a question at him. “He gives me the creeps,” the Attorney General said. “I know he’s smart, and a lot of what he says makes sense. Too damned much sense, I sometimes think, especially when I’m feeling particularly pissed off at the Manties. But there’s too much going on under the surface. He reminds me of Saint-Just.”