She gestured, and Sofia and Dane filed in, presenting themselves with the particular awkwardness of people trying to look like something they weren't in front of someone perceptive enough to notice the performance.
"Sofia," Sofia said, extending her hand.
"I've been assisting Dr. Buchanan at the dig site."
"Dane," Dane said.
"Surveying consultant."
Kate shook their hands with polite attention, her gray eyes reading them both in the way of someone who'd spent decades in corporate environments where reading people was a survival skill.
"And?" Kate looked past them at the corridor.
"There's someone else."
Martha turned.
Jolthar was standing in the doorway.
He'd stopped there naturally, in the threshold between corridor and room, and his eyes were fixed on Kate with an expression that had stopped all his usual careful observation. He wasn't processing the new woman. He was just looking.
