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‘What now? What’s the future, Leabie?’ said Roz. ‘What’s going to happen to the Empire?’

‘I wish I knew,’ said her sister. She found a bench among the trees, and sat down. The artificial sun shower surrounded them, tiny droplets of cool water floating down. ‘It’s all up in the air. I can’t believe fighting broke out in the Imperial Palace itself!

There hasn’t been news for hours, almost a whole day.’ She sighed. ‘We live in interesting times. Did you know there are still security alerts out for yourself and young Mr Cwej? He was your partner, wasn’t he?’

‘Still is, really. He was Squired to me just before the riots started, and the Adjudication service blew up in our faces. We’re friends, now.’

‘Have you slept with him?’

‘No, I haven’t!’ said Roz. ‘Leabie, he’s half my age.’

‘Well, whatever difference does that make?’ Leabie poked Roz’s shoulder with her fingertips. ‘Go on, don’t tell me you’ve never thought about it.’

‘Leabie,’ insisted Roz, ‘I’m no closer to getting married now than when we last spoke.’

Leabie gave a girlish laugh. ‘Don’t be silly, I’m not asking if you’re going to marry him!’

‘Yeah,’ said Roz, ‘well, you wouldn’t, would you?’ She relaxed an angry fist, feeling the engagement ring pushing into her palm.

‘Do you remember the time I broke Twolumps?’

‘Twolumps?’ Roz thought about it for a moment, and suddenly burst out laughing. ‘That teddy bear bot of yours! The one with the misshapen ears.’

213

‘I was just trying to fix them, and I pulled off half his head. I thought I’d wrecked him. So I brought him down here.’

‘That’s right. You hid him in the jungle.’

‘And you said it wasn’t fair. He was still moving around, calling my name.’

‘Well, it wasn’t fair. He was terrified to be without you.’

‘So you told Mama.’

‘I told Mama,’ said Roz. ‘And Twolumps was found and fixed.’

‘And I didn’t get to go on any trips for a month.’

‘Well,’ said Roz, ‘it wasn’t fair on poor old Twolumps.’

‘No,’ said Leabie. ‘You never used to let me get away with anything.’

‘True.’ Roz smiled. ‘How are your kids?’

‘The kids are just fine, they’re beautiful. You’ll meet them later. They’re terribly excited you’re here. I think they all raced off to track down your Mr Cwej. You know, to ask all about you.’

‘Oh, no,’ said Roz. She wiped her face, pushing the moisture back through her hair. ‘Thandiwe was a bit of an afterthought, wasn’t she? She can’t be seven.’

‘She’s six. Roslyn… there’s something you ought to know about her.’

Roz looked at Leabie. Her older sister didn’t say anything, playing the old game they were both familiar with. Guess what I’m thinking.

‘You didn’t,’ said Roz.

‘Thandiwe is more than your niece. She’s your clone.’

‘Don’t you need my permission to do that?’ said Roz.

‘Well,’ said Leabie, ‘it’s a bit late to worry about that now.

You’ll like her, Roz. She’s as bright as a button.’

‘And they say the aristos are inbred,’ said Roz. ‘You must have started right after I… disappeared. Decided to whip up a replacement, did you?’

‘We couldn’t replace you,’ said Leabie.

‘Thanks.’

‘No memory record.’

‘Oh, thanks.’

214

‘All we could do was try to plug the gap left in the family tree.

I worry, Roz. You don’t have my responsibilities. I wonder if you can understand. I imagine a time when there are no Forresters, when everything we’ve built up is washed away in some catastrophe. Or worse, just trickles away to nothing. The line must continue, as it has continued for a millennium.’

‘And you’ve found the ultimate way of keeping it going.’

Leabie looked at Roz. ‘We could have lost you. Again. Why didn’t you come to me for help?’

There was a discreet cough from a little distance. They looked up. A dark man in a servant’s uniform was waiting with a message. ‘What is it, Genneadiy?’ said Leabie.

He walked up. ‘Madam, madam,’ he said, nodding to each of them, and handed her the message.

Leabie read it at a glance. ‘Oh my goodness! Duke Walid is coming here! Worse than that, he’s on his way!’

‘He’s coming here?