“Lady North Hollow, allow me to introduce Captain Anton Zilwicki,” Montaigne said cheerfully.

“Captain.” Georgia gave him a small, seated half-bow of greeting and allowed the frankly measuring edge of her glance to show clearly. “Your reputation precedes you,” she added.

“As does yours,” Zilwicki acknowledged in his deep, rumbling voice.

“Well!” Georgia continued, returning her attention to her hostess. “I presume that the Captain’s presence indicates that you have some startling bit of political intelligence to bestow upon me? That, after all, would have been the reason that the Prime Minister, for example, might have seen fit to invite me into a similar meeting.”

“There are certain advantages to dealing with a fellow professional,” Zilwicki observed. “Efficiency and directness, if nothing else.”

“I do try not to waste time when there’s no tactical advantage in doing so,” Georgia conceded.

“In that case,” Montaigne put in, “I suppose I owe you five dollars, Anton.” Georgia glanced at her questioningly, and the ex-countess shrugged. “He bet me that you wouldn’t spend any time beating around the bush.” She smiled at Georgia for a moment, then turned back to her towering, slab-sided lover. “Should I ask Isaac to step back in for a moment, Anton?”

“I doubt that will be necessary,” Zilwicki told her. He smiled, but the smile, Georgia noticed, never touched his eyes at all. Nor did he look at Montaigne. His attention was completely focused upon their guest, and it was difficult for Georgia not to shiver under its weight.

“The reason we invited you here,” he told her after a moment, “was to offer you a certain opportunity. One I think you’d probably be wise to accept.”

“Opportunity?” Georgia repeated calmly. “What sort of opportunity?”

“The opportunity,” Montaigne replied in a voice which was suddenly calm, almost cold, and very, very focused, “to withdraw from politics and leave the Star Kingdom.”

“Excuse me?” Georgia managed not to blink in surprise, but it wasn’t easy.

“It’s really a very good opportunity,” Montaigne told her in that same chill voice. “Especially the bit about leaving the Star Kingdom. I’d recommend that you do it as tracelessly as possible, too. If you agree with us, we’re prepared to give you up to three days’ headstart… Elaine.”

Georgia had opened her mouth to snap an angry retort, but it closed with a snap, retort unspoken, as the name “Elaine” sent a sudden icy chill through her. Her eyes clung to Montaigne for perhaps two heartbeats, then snapped to Zilwicki. Deadly as the ex-countess might be in the purely political arena, there was no question in Georgia’s mind as to which half of the partnership had turned up the information that name implied.

She considered trying to brazen it out, but only for an instant. Zilwicki’s reputation for competence and thoroughness had become very well established in certain rarefied circles over the past four T-years.

“I see,” she said instead, forcing her voice to come out sounding calm and collected. “I haven’t heard that name in quite a few years. I congratulate you on making the connection between it and me. But I’m afraid I don’t quite understand why the fact that you have leads you to believe that you can… convince me to leave the Star Kingdom at all, much less ‘tracelessly.’ ”