“I’m not sure I can.”
“Of course you can,” Megan said with relief. Now that Jade was ruled by her head as much as her fears, there was hope. “You do it all the time at the ingesterie. I’ve seen you deal politely with Commancors, and I know how you feel about them.”
Because I know what to expect from Commancors, Jade thought. They’re enemies; they can’t betray me.
“What is it you arbiters call yourselves? ‘The Ingesterie Diplomatic Corps’? Well, Louis is part of the real diplomatic corps; he does the same thing you do, except he does it for whole worlds, not just some people brawling. And you should know the von Clausewitz quote.”
“That war is just an extension of diplomacy by other means,” Jade cited.
“Exactly. You and Louis are in different branches of the same business. You even hav
