eto will never suspect, and when the blow falls on him from a beloved hand, its source alone should be enough to destroy him.’ The note was under the Baron’s own seal and I’ve authenticated the seal.”
“Your suspicion is obvious,” the Duke said and his voice was suddenly cold.
“I’d sooner cut off my arms than hurt you,” Hawat said. “My Lord, what if….”
“The Lady Jessica,” Leto said, and he felt anger consuming him. “Couldn’t you wring the facts out of this Pardee?”
“Unfortunately, Pardee no longer was among the living when we intercepted the courier. The courier, I’m certain, did not know what he carried.”
“I see.”
Leto shook his head, thinking: What a slimy piece of business. There can’t be anything in it. I know my woman.
“My Lord, if—”
“No!” the Duke barked. “There’s a mistake here that—”
“We cannot ignore it, my Lord.”
“She’s been with me for sixteen years! There’ve been countless opportunities for—You yourself investigated the school and the woman!”
Hawat spoke bitterly: “Things have been known to escape me.”
“It’s impossible, I tell you! The Harkonnens want to destroy the Atreides line—meaning Paul, too. They’ve already tried once. Could a woman conspire against her own son?”
“Perhaps she doesn’t conspire against her son. And yesterday’s attempt could’ve been a clever sham.”
“It couldn’t have been a sham.”
“Sire, she isn’t supposed to know her parentage, but what if she does know? What if she were an orphan, say, orphaned by an Atreides?”
“She’d have moved long before now. Poison in my drink… a stiletto at night. Who has had better opportunity?”
“The Harkonnens mean to destroy you, my Lord. Their intent is not just to kill. There’s a range of fine distinctions in kanly. This could be a work of art among vendettas.”
The Duke’s shoulders slumped. He closed his eyes, looking old and tired. It cannot be, he thought. The woman has opened her heart to me.
“What better way to destroy me than to sow suspicion of the woman I love?” he asked.
The Duke opened his eyes, stared at Hawat, thinking: Let him be suspicious. Suspicion is his trade, not mine. Perhaps if I appear to believe this, that will make another man careless.
“What do you suggest?” the Duke whispered.
“For now, constant surveillance, my Lord. She should be watched at all times. I will see it’s done unobtrusively. Idaho would be the ideal choice for the job. Perhaps in a week or so we can bring him back. There’s a young man we’ve been training in Idaho’s troop who might be ideal to send to the Fremen as a replacement. He’s gifted in diplomacy.”
“Don’t jeopardize our foothold with the Fremen.”
“Of course not, Sir.”
“And what about Paul?”
“Perhaps we could alert Dr. Yueh.”
Leto turned his back on Hawat. “I leave it in your hands.”
“I shall use discretion, my Lord.”
At least I can count on that, Leto thought. And he said: “I will take a walk. If you need me, I’ll be within the perimeter. The guard can—”
“My Lord, before you go, I’ve a filmclip you should read. It’s a first-approximation analysis on the Fremen religion. You’ll recall you asked me to report on it.”
The Duke paused, spoke without turning. “Will it not wait?”
“Of course, my Lord. You asked what they were shouting, though. It was ‘Mahdi!’ They directed the term at the young master. When they—”
“At Paul?”
“Yes, my Lord. They’ve a legend here, a prophecy, that a leader will come to them, child of a Bene Gesserit, to lead them to true freedom. It follows the familiar messiah pattern.”
“They think Paul is this… this….”
“They only hope, my Lord.” Hawat extended a filmclip capsule.
The Duke accepted it, thrust it into a pocket. “I’ll look at it later.”
“Certainly, my Lord.”
“Right now, I need time to … think.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
The Duke took a deep sighing breath, strode out the door. He turned to his right down the hall, began walking, hands behind his back, paying little attention to where he was. There were corridors and stairs and balconies and halls… people who saluted and stood aside for him.
In time he came back to the conference room, found it dark and Paul asleep on the table with a guard’s robe thrown over him and a ditty pack for a pillow. The Duke walked softly down the length of the room and onto the balcony overlooking the landing field. A guard at the corner of the balcony, recognizing the Duke by the dim reflection of lights from the field, snapped to attention.