Ghost Ship Read Online Free

carefully. “Is there an . . . intent . . . in the grouping that I might not understand?”
    He smiled.
    “In fact, there is not. With only three present, it is not possible to divide the delm, and no necessity for either of us to be at the right or left hand of the other. Please, sit where you will.”
    Sitting with her back to the door would show that she felt absolutely safe in his house, and might gain her some points. Theo thought about it, but the truth was that she didn’t feel absolutely safe—and she had a feeling that Val Con might’ve inherited Father’s sharp eye for a lie. She moved to the chair that backed on the larger room. It was a compromise position: she could see both the door and the window, but was still slightly exposed to the rear. In case there was, oh, a secret panel in the room’s opposite wall, or an assassin hiding under the omnichora.
    Val Con bowed slightly as she settled. He took the chair facing the windows for himself, leaving the most protected spot for Miri.
    “Now, sister,” he said, briskly, “it is your turn to be gentle, should I inadvertently offend. Yes?”
    She nodded, giving him her full attention.
    “It is well,” he said. “I learn from our father that you were properly enculturated according to the customs of Delgado.”
    Theo eyed him. “Father didn’t teach me Liaden custom, if that’s what you’re getting at. I did belong to the Culture Club at Anlingdin, and I’ve studied on my own since—since leaving school.”
    “Ah. I must ask, then, if you are proficient in melant’i .”
    Melant’i was a kind of social scorecard based on who you were when. It was like relational math, only with people.
    Theo shook her head.
    “Not proficient,” she admitted. “What I know of the theory is that—” She chewed her lip. “If I promised you something as a pilot, I wouldn’t necessarily be responsible for honoring that promise if you called it in while I was being something other than a pilot—say, being Father’s daughter.”
    Val Con’s left eyebrow twitched upward, which was all too familiar.
    “I’ve got it completely wrong?” She’d been pretty sure that couldn’t be how it worked. A social system predicated on which bit of a person you were talking to this time would be chaos.
    He shook his head. “In some measure, you have it precisely. Allow me, however, to agree that you are not proficient. Since speaking with the delm will involve what Miri terms ‘mental somersaults,’ I propose that you allow me to sort such melant’i as will come into play.” He gave her an earnest look. “I am accustomed to it, you see, and my interest as your brother is that you prosper.”
    Theo thought about that.
    “You’re going to stop being my—my brother when Miri gets here, and Delm Korval is in the room?”
    “In essence, but you needn’t care about it, if it will distract you from a clear recital of your case. I will also mention that time is short; our transport will engage in just under six hours, local, by which time you ought certainly to be away.”
    On the one hand, it would be easier to just tell her story, which was complex enough without having to pay attention to custom she didn’t fully understand, too. On the other hand, it wasn’t exactly advertant to let a man she’d only just met mind both sides of the negotiation, even if he was her . . . brother.
    “And, you know,” Val Con said, “our father would strongly disapprove of any attempt I might make to cheat you.”
    Well, that was so, Theo admitted. Father was a stickler; he’d expect them to deal— in Balance , as he’d say.
    “All right,” she said, and smiled to show she appreciated his efforts on her behalf. “Thanks.”
    She looked around the room, again noting the books bound tight into their shelves, and the furniture secured to the floor. Ready for transport, yes, but—
    “What kind of transport?”
    “The Clutch ship—it will have scanned as an asteroid in stable