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Show 176 CHAPTER IV Mrs. Satterwhite sat across from the Colonel, drinking her coffee. She was not in a good mood; her dissatisfaction with the world was sharp until breakfast mollified her acid cosmogony. At times she gazed at her husband, tracing his edges. At home his eyes lacked their glitter, and lay somnolent in their sockets. The bright malice which was a characteristic of his personality he wore only on duty, "There's a new officer at the Detachments," she said idly. "A Captain Lambert." "Oh?" "Mm. His wife came to visit." His eyebrows lifted. "There's a change. Not often are the Detachments attracted to your company." She snorted. "Nor yours." She glanced at him derisively. "Especially since you got your ears pinned back." "Wouldn't call it that." "Why not? Face the facts. You stuck your nose in their business and they cut it off. Thanks to Smead." The Colonel had not reached his rank without the ability to confront truth, and while he was not beyond hypocrisy he knew when to call a spade, no matter (according to Smead himself) whose deck he had filched it from. "Disgraceful organization," he muttered. |