“Biryar, I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s just—”
“No. It’s fine. Everything is fine. There won’t be any repercussions.”
Lara eased herself back into her chair, plucked her blouse straight. Biryar stepped closer, but didn’t take his seat. His blood was still electric. What if someone had seen them? What was he going to say to Mona, because he had to tell Mona. It would be a betrayal not to. He swallowed.
“I didn’t mean to spook you,” Lara said.
“I’m not spooked,” he said. He meant to follow it up with I’m married, but what came out was different. “I’m Laconian.”
Lara quirked a smile, and he thought there was regret in it. She took her handheld, her finger hovering just above the button to start the recording again. Her eyes were asking if he was certain, but he was himself again. Or no. He was Governor Rittenaur. That was better. She tapped the button, and the seconds began counting up again. Biryar put his hands on the back of his chair, pressing into it like it was a podium. He thought back to where the conversation had been.
“I’m really very happy to be here,” he said. “Auberon is a fascinating planet with a great future before it. I hope that my service here will help it come into its rightful place as one of humanity’s great centers of science and culture. And I know the High Consul has the same ambitions for it.”
He nodded sharply, more to himself than to her. That was the right answer. That was what he was supposed to say. Who he was supposed to be.
Lara tilted her head. “Do you want to sit down?”
* * *
The yacht was a small one, and the old man didn’t like it much. In all the time Agnete had been with him, he had only used it three or four times that she knew of. He’d grown up in a coastal city, but she didn’t have the impression there had been a lot of yachts involved. The fact that he was in it now meant he was running out of places to be that he was certain the local security forces weren’t watching.
He sat with his arms out at his sides. Two days of stubble competed with his thin mustache. The sun was overhead, the light glimmering off the water and his false arm. He was smoking a cigar as thick as his thumb and as long as his finger. The city rose up at the horizon like a mirage.
The woman sitting across from them had gone by KarKara when they’d first met her. It was Lara now, which suited her better.
“I swear to God, I had him.”
“We shouldn’t have rushed you,” the old man said.
“I didn’t rush. I had him. We had rapport. We had shared jokes. He was into me.”
“And then?”
Lara opened her hands. “Then the moment came, and he backpedaled. I don’t know. Clearly he and his wife have a monogamy agreement, and he’s taking it seriously. Maybe that’s a Laconian thing.”
“Did he say that?”
“No, it’s a guess,” Lara said. “He was babbling by the end. Lots of words, but none of them meant anything.”
“What do you think of him?”
She considered. Agnete could see from the way the woman held her hands that Lara almost liked the mark. There was nothing like being told no to make someone attractive.
“That man needs something,” Lara said, “and he needs it bad. But it’s not what I was offering.”
The old man blew out a cloud of white smoke and watched the wind shred it. “That’s what I think too. Is he maybe into guys?”
“That’s not it,” Lara said. “I’ve met maybe one person in twenty who claims to be monogamous and actually is. I think this guy is really into his wife.”
The old man muttered something obscene. Then, “I don’t get it. He’s not looking for money. He’s not looking for kink. What is it with this guy?”
Lara said, “I think he’s looking for a way out.”
“Of what?”
“His own skin.”
“Well I’m looking for a way not to take that literally, but this fucker does make it hard.” He looked out over the water. Something large and pale passed under them, but didn’t break the surface. The old man sighed. “Maybe we should just kill him.”