I knew that. Juli was proud, and she had always had the courage to live
with her own mistakes. When I first saw her, I knew this wouldn't be
anything so simple as the complaint of an abused wife or even an
abandoned or deserted mother. I took a chair, watching her and
listening.
She began. "You made a mistake when you turned Rakhal out of the
Service, Mack. In his way he was the most loyal man you had on Wolf."
Magnusson had evidently not expected her to take this tack. He scowled
and looked disconcerted, shifting uneasily in his big chair, but when
Juli did not continue, obviously awaiting his answer, he said, "Juli, he
left me no choice. I never knew how his mind worked. That final deal he
engineered--have you any idea how much that cost the Service? And have
you taken a good look at your brother's face, Juli girl?"
Juli raised her eyes slowly, and I saw her flinch. I knew how she felt.
For three years I had kept my mirror covered, growing an untidy
straggle of beard because it hid the scars and saved me the ordeal of
facing myself to shave.