snooper over each dish.”
As usual, Leto waved away the suggestion. He stopped at a long metal table framed by narrow drainage gutters where young apprentice cooks cleaned a dozen fat butterfish that had been brought up from the docks that morning. Leto gave the fish a cursory inspection, nodded his approval. He watched one young woman as she sorted through fresh mushrooms and herbs. She gave him a shy, flirtatious smile, and when he offered her a slight grin in return, she blushed furiously and went back to her duties.
Duncan Idaho followed the two men. “We do need to consider all possibilities in the overall plan, Leto. If we make the wrong choice, we doom our people to certain death.”
Looking at his Mentat and Swordmaster, Leto’s gray eyes grew hard and flinty. “Then we must not make the wrong choice. Has our Courier returned from Junction yet? Do we have any further information?”
Duncan shook his head. “All we can say for certain is that the Heighliner carrying Gurney and Prince Rhombur was misrouted somehow, for a time, but later returned to the Guild stronghold. All passengers disembarked and were held for questioning. The Guild is not saying whether all of them have now been sent to their scheduled destinations.”
Hawat made a gruff sound deep in his throat. “So they could still be stranded on Junction, even though we expected them to reach Ix more than a month ago. At the very least, Gurney and Rhombur were delayed. Already, the plan is not as we expected.”
“Plans rarely are, Thufir,” Leto said. “But if we quit every time one went awry, we’d never accomplish anything.”
Duncan smiled. “A Swordmaster teacher said a very similar thing to me on Ginaz.”
Thufir pursed his sapho-stained lips. “True, but we cannot rely on platitudes. Too many lives are at stake. We must make the right decision.”
Bakers braided loaves of fresh dough with care, buttered the surfaces, and added bitterseeds one at a time, as if setting jewels in a royal crown. Leto doubted the workers were paying special care because he happened to be there; they always put forth a meticulous effort.
With Jessica, Rhombur, and Gurney away, Leto considered it necessary to grasp some semblance of a normal life. He had busied himself by spending extra hours in the courtyard meeting with his subjects, concentrating on his ducal duties, even sending help to Richese for the victims there. Despite the grand and secret schemes that were even now drawing like a knot around the Imperium, he tried to reassure all of his Castle staff that the normally serene life on Caladan would continue.
“Let us consider the scenarios, my Duke,” the Mentat said. He did not add his opinion at the moment; that would come during the arguments later. “Suppose Rhombur and Gurney do not reach Ix, and they are unable to stir the internal revolution as we had hoped. In that case, if the Atreides troops prematurely engage in a frontal attack, none of the Tleilaxu defenses would be weakened, and our men could be slaughtered.”
Leto nodded. “Don’t you think I know that, Thufir?”
“On the other hand, what if we delay our response? Rhombur and Gurney might even now be rallying the oppressed people. Knowing the exact timetable for our arrival, suppose the Ixians rise up and attempt to overthrow the invaders, expecting our reinforcements… but House Atreides troops do not arrive as we’ve promised?”
Duncan looked agitated. “Then they will be massacred— and so will Rhombur and Gurney. We can’t just abandon them, Leto.”
Deep in thought, the Duke studied both of his advisors. His loyal men would follow him on whatever path he chose. But how to make such a choice? He watched a matronly chef preparing a fine custard confection in a nest of flaky crust; it had been one of Rhombur’s favorite desserts, back when he had all of his natural bodily functions. The sight of the pastry brought a sudden tear to Leto’s eye, and he turned back, knowing his answer.
Leto said, “My father taught me this: Whenever I find myself faced with a difficult choice, I must follow the course of honor, setting aside all other considerations.”
He stood motionless, staring at the diligent workers in the Castle kitchens. A lot was riding on this decision. But for an Atreides Duke, there was, after all, no real alternative. “I have made my promises to Prince Rhombur, and therefore to the people of Ix. I am bound to go through with this plan. And so