The Shadow of Cincinnatus Read Online Free PDF Page A

to the Rim and never really considered looking for a wife. And yet, one had been provided for him by the Grand Senate. It still surprised him, years later, that he’d actually fallen in love with her.
    And, perhaps, that she’d become the confidante Tobias had been, before his death.
    Lady Tiffany was beautiful, with long red hair and a pale heart-shaped face. She’d once been considered one of the prettiest girls in high society, although she had also been considered largely unmarriageable for reasons that defied Marius’s understanding. However it had happened, he was glad she’d come to him, even though her family had intended to use the marriage to control him. He needed at least one person in his life he could trust completely.
    She lay on the bed, looking up at him with a thin smile playing over her lips. Marius grinned back at her, grateful that they’d managed to find enough time to make love. He’d never understood how some of the Grand Senators had managed to keep harems, not when he’d found himself working from five in the morning till very late at night. But then, there had been hundreds of Grand Senators and only one emperor. There were too many pieces of paperwork only he, it seemed, could sign.
    “I went to see Raistlin today,” he said, and outlined their conversation. “Do you think he’s right?”
    “I think you shouldn’t talk to him,” Tiffany said, practically. “What do you gain from exchanging words with a murderer?”
    “I...I don’t know,” Marius confessed. He rubbed the side of his head, feeling the last remnants of the headache fading away. “It’s like something I have to do.”
    “It’s a bad habit,” Tiffany said. “Have him shot, or send him into exile, or do something , but don’t torment yourself like this. Raistlin will always have the edge on you when it comes to a verbal duel.”
    “He’s cracking up,” Marius said.
    “And he’s trying to make you crack up,” Tiffany said. “Raistlin was raised in a Grand Senatorial family. Manipulation of your emotions will have been hammered into his head along with his mother’s milk. He will be very aware of every crack in your emotional armor and how to open it up for best results. You should not try to talk to him.”
    She sat upright, then poked him in the chest. “You need to get rid of him and concentrate on the future,” she said, firmly. “And there’s no shortage of work to do.”
    “Tell me about it,” Marius groaned.
    Tiffany crossed her arms under her bare breasts. “Let’s see,” she said. “There’s the economic recovery program, the training program, the colonization program...”
    “I didn’t mean that literally,” Marius snapped. He regretted it instantly. “I’m sorry...”
    “You need to find more people you can trust,” Tiffany said, ignoring his apology. “There’s too much for one person to do.”
    “But I have a shortage of trustworthy people,” Marius muttered. “Where do I get more?”
    He sighed, bitterly. Raistlin’s betrayal had hurt more than he cared to admit, but it wasn’t the only problem. Many of the people he’d picked for his ministers had been people he knew and trusted, but not everyone who fell into that category were able to handle the work of pushing the Federation into reform. Commodore Garibaldi and his generation might be superb fleet commanders – the deaths of so many high-ranking officers had left plenty of room for rapid promotion – but they lacked organizational experience. He couldn’t call one of them back and put him in command of economic recovery.
    And then there was the problem that untangling the mess the Grand Senate had made of the economy would take centuries, if they were lucky. Marius had thought the fleet command for the ill-fated Operation Retribution had been tangled, but the economy was far – far – worse. Figuring out who actually owned what – and which properties no longer had an owner – would take longer than he had.