A quick glance showed Anselme that his host was currently preoccupied with a call gone long, giving him time to wander about the room not usually afforded him on such infrequent visits. The occasional utterances the Legate made were either pointed or vague, indicating that this call was in his capacity as Grand Marquis, a fact emphasised by the panels of HenbouGlass lining the rear of the room projecting the vivid facsimile of the luxurious neo-baroque interior of his office at Le Palais Ducal. The closer side of the room was more utilitarian in its decor, as befitted an office in the intelligence field. It was lined with smooth cabinets, the top and bottom banks of which were separated by a thirty centimetre gap that formed a sort of shelf on which a variety of personal effects were arranged. On the right were artefacts from all around the world, most appearing to originate outside North Atlantic Alliance territory. A handful of professional portraits of the Kristensen house’s individual members were arranged around a photo of them as a family; Julius himself as a somewhat younger man–back when his hair was still salt and pepper rather than its current pure platinum,…