I talked to the handmaid of lady Raleigh, to find out if her ladyship has any associations with Sedevacantists or with Disciples of Purity. Ishta happened to be present also. It appears we form a good investigative team despite -or perhaps because of- our different approach and character. It is not a "bad cop, good cop" thing like in a Nugoeihuvi crime movie, perhaps it is more of a "naive chaplain, former criminal" thing. Anyhow, in many ways we complement each other.
Istha saw right away that the handmaid was an addict, a slave to the drug called 'Exile'. I realized this somewhat later, when the handmail refered to our beloved Empress as 'her catty ness', and then started a ramble on Gallente cat people. No sober handmail in the Empire would do that. We brought her to the medbay for detox.
Some good came from her drugged state, nevertheless. "In vino veritas": the drunken person lets their guard down. They even say that in some places, like Nakri, if you do not drink your vodka while the others in your company do get drunk, this is seen as suspect behavior - you clearly have something to hide.
Anyway, from the handmaid's slurred mumblings I could make out that lady Raleigh has not been meeting in secret with Nauplius (whom she calls 'knee up phallus'). At the very most she can be accused of composing slightly inappropriate poems about the Empress.
