diff --git a/mempalace/backends/chroma.py b/mempalace/backends/chroma.py
index e7c2e6f..6cec804 100644
--- a/mempalace/backends/chroma.py
+++ b/mempalace/backends/chroma.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 """ChromaDB-backed MemPalace storage backend (RFC 001 reference implementation)."""
 
+import contextlib
 import datetime as _dt
 import logging
 import os
@@ -691,10 +692,43 @@ def _close_client(client) -> None:
 
 
 class ChromaCollection(BaseCollection):
-    """Thin adapter translating ChromaDB dict returns into typed results."""
+    """Thin adapter translating ChromaDB dict returns into typed results.
 
-    def __init__(self, collection):
+    When ``palace_path`` is set, all write methods (``add``, ``upsert``,
+    ``update``, ``delete``) acquire ``mine_palace_lock(palace_path)`` for the
+    duration of the underlying chromadb call. This serializes MCP and other
+    direct-backend writers against ``mempalace mine`` and against each other,
+    closing the race between concurrent writers that triggers ChromaDB's
+    multi-threaded HNSW corruption (#974/#965).
+
+    The lock is the same primitive used by ``miner.mine()`` so re-entrant
+    acquisition from inside the mine pipeline (mine -> _mine_body ->
+    collection.upsert) is short-circuited by the per-thread guard inside
+    ``mine_palace_lock`` — no self-deadlock.
+
+    ``palace_path=None`` disables the wrapping, preserving the legacy
+    no-lock behaviour for callers that construct a ``ChromaCollection``
+    directly without going through ``ChromaBackend``.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, collection, palace_path: Optional[str] = None):
         self._collection = collection
+        self._palace_path = palace_path
+
+    @contextlib.contextmanager
+    def _write_lock(self):
+        """Acquire ``mine_palace_lock`` for the configured palace, if any.
+
+        No-op (yields immediately) when ``self._palace_path`` is None.
+        """
+        if self._palace_path is None:
+            yield
+            return
+        # Late import — palace.py imports ChromaBackend from this module.
+        from ..palace import mine_palace_lock
+
+        with mine_palace_lock(self._palace_path):
+            yield
 
     # ------------------------------------------------------------------
     # Writes
@@ -706,7 +740,8 @@ class ChromaCollection(BaseCollection):
             kwargs["metadatas"] = metadatas
         if embeddings is not None:
             kwargs["embeddings"] = embeddings
-        self._collection.add(**kwargs)
+        with self._write_lock():
+            self._collection.add(**kwargs)
 
     def upsert(self, *, documents, ids, metadatas=None, embeddings=None):
         kwargs: dict[str, Any] = {"documents": documents, "ids": ids}
@@ -714,7 +749,8 @@ class ChromaCollection(BaseCollection):
             kwargs["metadatas"] = metadatas
         if embeddings is not None:
             kwargs["embeddings"] = embeddings
-        self._collection.upsert(**kwargs)
+        with self._write_lock():
+            self._collection.upsert(**kwargs)
 
     def update(
         self,
@@ -733,7 +769,8 @@ class ChromaCollection(BaseCollection):
             kwargs["metadatas"] = metadatas
         if embeddings is not None:
             kwargs["embeddings"] = embeddings
-        self._collection.update(**kwargs)
+        with self._write_lock():
+            self._collection.update(**kwargs)
 
     # ------------------------------------------------------------------
     # Reads
@@ -877,7 +914,8 @@ class ChromaCollection(BaseCollection):
             kwargs["ids"] = ids
         if where is not None:
             kwargs["where"] = where
-        self._collection.delete(**kwargs)
+        with self._write_lock():
+            self._collection.delete(**kwargs)
 
     def count(self):
         return self._collection.count()
@@ -1145,7 +1183,7 @@ class ChromaBackend(BaseBackend):
         else:
             collection = client.get_collection(collection_name, **ef_kwargs)
         _pin_hnsw_threads(collection)
-        return ChromaCollection(collection)
+        return ChromaCollection(collection, palace_path=palace_path)
 
     def close_palace(self, palace) -> None:
         """Drop cached handles for ``palace`` and release its SQLite file lock.
@@ -1204,7 +1242,7 @@ class ChromaBackend(BaseBackend):
             },
             **ef_kwargs,
         )
-        return ChromaCollection(collection)
+        return ChromaCollection(collection, palace_path=palace_path)
 
 
 def _normalize_get_collection_args(args, kwargs):
diff --git a/mempalace/mcp_server.py b/mempalace/mcp_server.py
index 035965d..0c26a66 100644
--- a/mempalace/mcp_server.py
+++ b/mempalace/mcp_server.py
@@ -374,7 +374,7 @@ def _get_collection(create=False):
                     **ef_kwargs,
                 )
             _pin_hnsw_threads(raw)
-            _collection_cache = ChromaCollection(raw)
+            _collection_cache = ChromaCollection(raw, palace_path=_config.palace_path)
             _metadata_cache = None
             _metadata_cache_time = 0
         elif _collection_cache is None:
@@ -382,7 +382,7 @@ def _get_collection(create=False):
             ef_kwargs = {"embedding_function": ef} if ef is not None else {}
             raw = client.get_collection(_config.collection_name, **ef_kwargs)
             _pin_hnsw_threads(raw)
-            _collection_cache = ChromaCollection(raw)
+            _collection_cache = ChromaCollection(raw, palace_path=_config.palace_path)
             _metadata_cache = None
             _metadata_cache_time = 0
         return _collection_cache
diff --git a/mempalace/palace.py b/mempalace/palace.py
index 07efb6a..97f67ff 100644
--- a/mempalace/palace.py
+++ b/mempalace/palace.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import contextlib
 import hashlib
 import os
 import re
+import threading
 
 from .backends.chroma import ChromaBackend
 
@@ -314,6 +315,47 @@ class MineAlreadyRunning(RuntimeError):
     """Raised when another `mempalace mine` already holds the per-palace lock."""
 
 
+# Per-thread record of palaces this thread already holds the lock for. Used by
+# `mine_palace_lock` to short-circuit re-entrant acquisition from the same
+# thread (e.g. miner.mine() acquires the outer lock then calls
+# ChromaCollection.upsert which now also tries to acquire). Without this guard
+# the inner call would block on its own outer flock (Linux fcntl locks are per
+# open file description, so a same-thread second open of the lock file is a
+# distinct lock and self-deadlocks).
+#
+# The holder set is tagged with ``pid`` so that a forked child does NOT
+# inherit re-entrant credit from its parent: the OS-level flock IS NOT
+# inherited as a "we hold it" semantically — the child must reacquire — but
+# Python's ``threading.local`` IS inherited across fork. The pid check
+# clears stale state so a forked child correctly hits the fcntl path.
+_palace_lock_holders = threading.local()
+
+
+def _holder_state():
+    """Return the per-thread (pid, keys) record, refreshing after fork."""
+    keys = getattr(_palace_lock_holders, "keys", None)
+    pid = getattr(_palace_lock_holders, "pid", None)
+    current_pid = os.getpid()
+    if keys is None or pid != current_pid:
+        keys = set()
+        _palace_lock_holders.keys = keys
+        _palace_lock_holders.pid = current_pid
+    return keys
+
+
+def _held_by_this_thread(lock_key: str) -> bool:
+    """Return True if this thread already holds ``mine_palace_lock`` for ``lock_key``."""
+    return lock_key in _holder_state()
+
+
+def _mark_held(lock_key: str) -> None:
+    _holder_state().add(lock_key)
+
+
+def _mark_released(lock_key: str) -> None:
+    _holder_state().discard(lock_key)
+
+
 @contextlib.contextmanager
 def mine_palace_lock(palace_path: str):
     """Per-palace non-blocking lock around the full `mine` pipeline.
@@ -338,6 +380,12 @@ def mine_palace_lock(palace_path: str):
     Non-blocking: if another `mine` is already writing to this palace,
     raise MineAlreadyRunning so the caller can exit cleanly instead of
     piling up as a waiting worker.
+
+    Re-entrant: if the current thread already holds the lock for the same
+    palace, the context manager passes through without re-acquiring. This
+    lets ChromaCollection write methods (which acquire the lock themselves
+    to protect MCP/direct callers) compose with miner.mine() (which holds
+    the outer lock for the entire mine pipeline) without self-deadlock.
     """
     lock_dir = os.path.join(os.path.expanduser("~"), ".mempalace", "locks")
     os.makedirs(lock_dir, exist_ok=True)
@@ -346,6 +394,11 @@ def mine_palace_lock(palace_path: str):
     palace_key = hashlib.sha256(lock_key_source.encode()).hexdigest()[:16]
     lock_path = os.path.join(lock_dir, f"mine_palace_{palace_key}.lock")
 
+    if _held_by_this_thread(palace_key):
+        # Same thread already holds the lock for this palace — pass through.
+        yield
+        return
+
     lf = open(lock_path, "w")
     acquired = False
     try:
@@ -369,7 +422,11 @@ def mine_palace_lock(palace_path: str):
                 raise MineAlreadyRunning(
                     f"another `mempalace mine` is already running against {resolved}"
                 ) from exc
-        yield
+        _mark_held(palace_key)
+        try:
+            yield
+        finally:
+            _mark_released(palace_key)
     finally:
         if acquired:
             try:
diff --git a/tests/test_chroma_collection_lock.py b/tests/test_chroma_collection_lock.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..536b5e8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_chroma_collection_lock.py
@@ -0,0 +1,321 @@
+"""Tests for ChromaCollection's palace-write-lock integration.
+
+Closes the gap left by ``mine_palace_lock`` only protecting the
+``mempalace mine`` pipeline: MCP/direct writers that call
+``ChromaCollection.add/upsert/update/delete`` must also serialize against
+mine and against each other to avoid the multi-threaded HNSW corruption
+documented in #974/#965.
+
+Property tested:
+
+* ``ChromaCollection(c, palace_path=p)`` wraps every write with
+  ``mine_palace_lock(p)``.
+* Writes raise ``MineAlreadyRunning`` when another holder owns the lock
+  (instead of silently racing into the underlying chromadb call).
+* Re-entrant composition with ``miner.mine()`` does not self-deadlock:
+  ``with mine_palace_lock(p): col.upsert(...)`` runs to completion.
+* ``ChromaCollection(c)`` (no palace_path) preserves legacy no-lock
+  behaviour for tests/callers that build the adapter directly without
+  going through ``ChromaBackend``.
+
+POSIX-only: ``mine_palace_lock`` uses ``fcntl`` on Unix and ``msvcrt`` on
+Windows; the contention semantics differ enough that the cross-process
+tests are skipped on Windows runners.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import multiprocessing
+import os
+import time
+
+import pytest
+
+from mempalace.backends.chroma import ChromaCollection
+from mempalace.palace import MineAlreadyRunning, mine_palace_lock
+
+
+def _get_mp_context():
+    """Same start-method picker as test_palace_locks.py."""
+    start_method = "spawn" if os.name == "nt" else "fork"
+    return multiprocessing.get_context(start_method)
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Fakes
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+class _FakeChromaCollection:
+    """Records calls; never blocks. Stand-in for chromadb.Collection."""
+
+    def __init__(self):
+        self.adds: list[dict] = []
+        self.upserts: list[dict] = []
+        self.updates: list[dict] = []
+        self.deletes: list[dict] = []
+
+    def add(self, **kwargs):
+        self.adds.append(kwargs)
+
+    def upsert(self, **kwargs):
+        self.upserts.append(kwargs)
+
+    def update(self, **kwargs):
+        self.updates.append(kwargs)
+
+    def delete(self, **kwargs):
+        self.deletes.append(kwargs)
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Helpers
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def _hold_lock(palace_path: str, ready_flag: str, release_flag: str) -> int:
+    """Acquire ``mine_palace_lock``, signal readiness, wait for release.
+
+    Mirrors the helper in ``test_palace_locks.py`` so the contention
+    semantics match across both test files.
+    """
+    try:
+        with mine_palace_lock(palace_path):
+            open(ready_flag, "w").close()
+            for _ in range(500):
+                if os.path.exists(release_flag):
+                    return 0
+                time.sleep(0.01)
+            return 0
+    except MineAlreadyRunning:
+        return 1
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Tests — opt-in lock wiring
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_palace_path_none_skips_lock(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    """Legacy callers (``ChromaCollection(c)``) keep no-lock behaviour.
+
+    A ``ChromaCollection`` built without ``palace_path`` must not touch the
+    lock infrastructure at all. This guards against regressions where a
+    test or third-party caller relies on the historical bare-write path.
+    """
+    monkeypatch.setenv("HOME", str(tmp_path))
+    fake = _FakeChromaCollection()
+    col = ChromaCollection(fake)  # no palace_path -> no lock
+
+    # Hold the lock in a child process. Without palace_path, the parent
+    # write must still succeed (the lock does not gate this caller).
+    palace = str(tmp_path / "palace")
+    ready = str(tmp_path / "ready")
+    release = str(tmp_path / "release")
+    ctx = _get_mp_context()
+    holder = ctx.Process(target=_hold_lock, args=(palace, ready, release))
+    holder.start()
+    try:
+        for _ in range(500):
+            if os.path.exists(ready):
+                break
+            time.sleep(0.01)
+        assert os.path.exists(ready), "holder failed to acquire lock"
+
+        col.upsert(documents=["doc"], ids=["id-1"])
+        assert fake.upserts == [{"documents": ["doc"], "ids": ["id-1"]}]
+    finally:
+        open(release, "w").close()
+        holder.join(timeout=5)
+
+
+def test_writer_blocks_during_mine(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    """A held ``mine_palace_lock`` causes ``ChromaCollection`` writes to raise.
+
+    This is the property that closes the MCP-bypass gap: when a mine is in
+    flight, MCP/direct writes raise ``MineAlreadyRunning`` rather than
+    silently entering chromadb's write path concurrent with mine.
+    """
+    monkeypatch.setenv("HOME", str(tmp_path))
+    palace = str(tmp_path / "palace")
+    ready = str(tmp_path / "ready")
+    release = str(tmp_path / "release")
+
+    ctx = _get_mp_context()
+    holder = ctx.Process(target=_hold_lock, args=(palace, ready, release))
+    holder.start()
+    try:
+        for _ in range(500):
+            if os.path.exists(ready):
+                break
+            time.sleep(0.01)
+        assert os.path.exists(ready), "holder failed to acquire lock"
+
+        fake = _FakeChromaCollection()
+        col = ChromaCollection(fake, palace_path=palace)
+
+        with pytest.raises(MineAlreadyRunning):
+            col.upsert(documents=["doc"], ids=["id-1"])
+        with pytest.raises(MineAlreadyRunning):
+            col.add(documents=["doc"], ids=["id-2"])
+        with pytest.raises(MineAlreadyRunning):
+            col.update(ids=["id-3"], documents=["doc"])
+        with pytest.raises(MineAlreadyRunning):
+            col.delete(ids=["id-4"])
+
+        # The fake must have received NO calls — the lock must gate
+        # before reaching the underlying chromadb layer.
+        assert fake.upserts == []
+        assert fake.adds == []
+        assert fake.updates == []
+        assert fake.deletes == []
+    finally:
+        open(release, "w").close()
+        holder.join(timeout=5)
+
+
+def test_reentrant_inside_mine_passes_through(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    """``ChromaCollection.upsert`` inside ``mine_palace_lock`` does not deadlock.
+
+    ``miner.mine()`` already holds ``mine_palace_lock(palace_path)`` for the
+    full mine pipeline; ``_mine_body`` then calls
+    ``collection.upsert(...)``. With the per-thread re-entrant guard in
+    ``mine_palace_lock``, the inner acquire is a pass-through and the
+    underlying chromadb call runs immediately.
+    """
+    monkeypatch.setenv("HOME", str(tmp_path))
+    palace = str(tmp_path / "palace")
+    fake = _FakeChromaCollection()
+    col = ChromaCollection(fake, palace_path=palace)
+
+    with mine_palace_lock(palace):
+        # If the re-entrant guard were missing, this would self-deadlock on
+        # the underlying flock. We rely on pytest-timeout (configured in
+        # pyproject.toml) to enforce this in CI; the assertion just confirms
+        # the call landed.
+        col.upsert(documents=["d"], ids=["i"], metadatas=[{"k": "v"}])
+        col.add(documents=["d2"], ids=["i2"])
+        col.update(ids=["i"], documents=["d-updated"])
+        col.delete(ids=["i2"])
+
+    assert len(fake.upserts) == 1
+    assert len(fake.adds) == 1
+    assert len(fake.updates) == 1
+    assert len(fake.deletes) == 1
+
+
+class _SlowFakeChromaCollection(_FakeChromaCollection):
+    """Fake whose write methods hold the caller for ``hold_seconds``.
+
+    Used to keep ``mine_palace_lock`` acquired long enough for a sibling
+    process to contend deterministically.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, hold_seconds: float = 0.3):
+        super().__init__()
+        self._hold = hold_seconds
+
+    def upsert(self, **kwargs):
+        time.sleep(self._hold)
+        super().upsert(**kwargs)
+
+
+def _slow_writer_target(palace_path, tmp_path_str, pid, result_q):
+    """Subprocess target: try a slow upsert, report ok/busy."""
+    os.environ["HOME"] = tmp_path_str
+    # Fresh import inside child so HOME monkeypatch routes the lock dir.
+    from mempalace.backends.chroma import ChromaCollection as _CC
+    from mempalace.palace import MineAlreadyRunning as _MAR
+
+    fake = _SlowFakeChromaCollection(hold_seconds=0.3)
+    col = _CC(fake, palace_path=palace_path)
+    try:
+        col.upsert(documents=[f"d{pid}"], ids=[f"i{pid}"])
+        result_q.put(("ok", pid))
+    except _MAR:
+        result_q.put(("busy", pid))
+
+
+def test_concurrent_writers_serialize(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    """Two processes calling ``ChromaCollection.upsert`` against the same
+    palace must be serialized: at most one enters chromadb at a time, the
+    other raises ``MineAlreadyRunning``.
+
+    This is the property that prevents the parallel HNSW insert race that
+    drives #974/#965 — under concurrent MCP write fan-out, exactly one
+    writer reaches chromadb and the rest fail loudly instead of corrupting
+    the index.
+
+    The slow fake holds the lock for 0.3s per writer, large enough for the
+    second process to contend even on slow CI runners.
+    """
+    monkeypatch.setenv("HOME", str(tmp_path))
+    palace = str(tmp_path / "palace")
+
+    ctx = _get_mp_context()
+    result_q = ctx.Queue()
+
+    p1 = ctx.Process(target=_slow_writer_target, args=(palace, str(tmp_path), 1, result_q))
+    p2 = ctx.Process(target=_slow_writer_target, args=(palace, str(tmp_path), 2, result_q))
+    p1.start()
+    # Tiny stagger so p1 wins the race deterministically; without it the
+    # OS scheduler can pick either, which is also a valid outcome but
+    # makes the assertion brittle on slow CI.
+    time.sleep(0.05)
+    p2.start()
+    p1.join(timeout=5)
+    p2.join(timeout=5)
+
+    outcomes = [result_q.get(timeout=1) for _ in range(2)]
+    statuses = sorted(o[0] for o in outcomes)
+    assert statuses == ["busy", "ok"], f"expected one ok + one busy, got {outcomes}"
+
+
+def test_read_path_does_not_acquire_lock(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    """``query`` / ``get`` / ``count`` must not be gated by the write lock.
+
+    Read traffic is the dominant workload (semantic search, MCP get, etc.)
+    and serializing it against mine would tank latency for no correctness
+    benefit. This test pins that property: with another process holding
+    the write lock, reads must still complete instantly.
+    """
+    monkeypatch.setenv("HOME", str(tmp_path))
+    palace = str(tmp_path / "palace")
+    ready = str(tmp_path / "ready")
+    release = str(tmp_path / "release")
+
+    ctx = _get_mp_context()
+    holder = ctx.Process(target=_hold_lock, args=(palace, ready, release))
+    holder.start()
+    try:
+        for _ in range(500):
+            if os.path.exists(ready):
+                break
+            time.sleep(0.01)
+        assert os.path.exists(ready), "holder failed to acquire lock"
+
+        # _FakeChromaCollection doesn't implement query/get/count; we only
+        # need to confirm the wrapper does not call into mine_palace_lock
+        # for reads, which we assert by observing the wrapped methods are
+        # NOT in ChromaCollection's _write_lock path. A direct check via
+        # source inspection is more honest than mocking the entire chroma
+        # surface here.
+        import inspect
+
+        from mempalace.backends.chroma import ChromaCollection as _CC
+
+        for write_attr in ("add", "upsert", "update", "delete"):
+            src = inspect.getsource(getattr(_CC, write_attr))
+            assert "_write_lock" in src, f"{write_attr} should acquire write lock"
+
+        for read_attr in ("query", "get", "count"):
+            method = getattr(_CC, read_attr, None)
+            if method is None:
+                continue
+            src = inspect.getsource(method)
+            assert (
+                "_write_lock" not in src
+            ), f"{read_attr} must NOT acquire the write lock (read path)"
+    finally:
+        open(release, "w").close()
+        holder.join(timeout=5)
diff --git a/tests/test_palace_locks.py b/tests/test_palace_locks.py
index 601c894..d239757 100644
--- a/tests/test_palace_locks.py
+++ b/tests/test_palace_locks.py
@@ -135,19 +135,77 @@ def test_different_palaces_dont_conflict(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
 
 
 def test_palace_path_is_normalized(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
-    """Relative and absolute forms of the same path must use the same lock."""
+    """Relative and absolute forms of the same path must use the same lock.
+
+    Cross-process variant: a child holds the absolute form, a relative form
+    in the parent must hash to the same lock key and raise
+    ``MineAlreadyRunning``. (The same-thread case is now a re-entrant
+    pass-through by design — see ``test_reentrant_same_thread_passes_through``
+    — so we exercise the normalization invariant across a process boundary
+    where re-entrance does not apply.)
+    """
     monkeypatch.setenv("HOME", str(tmp_path))
     monkeypatch.chdir(tmp_path)
     os.makedirs(tmp_path / "palace", exist_ok=True)
     absolute = str(tmp_path / "palace")
-    relative = "palace"
+    ready = str(tmp_path / "ready")
+    release = str(tmp_path / "release")
 
-    # Hold the lock with the absolute form; attempting to re-acquire with
-    # the relative form (which resolves to the same absolute path) must fail.
-    with mine_palace_lock(absolute):
+    ctx = _get_mp_context()
+    holder = ctx.Process(target=_hold_lock, args=(absolute, ready, release))
+    holder.start()
+    try:
+        for _ in range(500):
+            if os.path.exists(ready):
+                break
+            time.sleep(0.01)
+        assert os.path.exists(ready), "holder failed to acquire lock in time"
+
+        # Parent holds CWD = tmp_path so "palace" is the same on-disk dir as
+        # the absolute form. The lock key is sha256(realpath+normcase) so the
+        # two forms must collide.
         with pytest.raises(MineAlreadyRunning):
-            with mine_palace_lock(relative):
+            with mine_palace_lock("palace"):
                 pytest.fail("normalized path collision should have raised")
+    finally:
+        open(release, "w").close()
+        holder.join(timeout=5)
+
+
+def test_reentrant_same_thread_passes_through(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    """Same thread re-acquiring the same palace lock must not deadlock or raise.
+
+    This is the invariant that makes ``ChromaCollection`` write methods (which
+    take ``mine_palace_lock`` for MCP/direct-writer protection) compose with
+    ``miner.mine()`` (which already holds the lock for the entire mine
+    pipeline). Without the per-thread re-entrant guard the inner acquire
+    would self-deadlock on the outer flock.
+    """
+    monkeypatch.setenv("HOME", str(tmp_path))
+    palace = str(tmp_path / "palace")
+    with mine_palace_lock(palace):
+        # Re-enter from the same thread — must yield without raising or hanging.
+        with mine_palace_lock(palace):
+            pass
+        # After the inner exits, the outer is still held: confirm via a
+        # subprocess that tries to acquire and reports back.
+        ctx = _get_mp_context()
+        result_q = ctx.Queue()
+        child = ctx.Process(target=_try_acquire_expect_busy, args=(palace, result_q))
+        child.start()
+        child.join(timeout=5)
+        assert (
+            result_q.get(timeout=1) == "busy"
+        ), "outer lock should still be held by parent after inner re-entrant exit"
+
+
+def _try_acquire_expect_busy(palace_path, result_q):
+    """Helper: try to acquire, push 'busy' (raised) or 'free' (acquired) into queue."""
+    try:
+        with mine_palace_lock(palace_path):
+            result_q.put("free")
+    except MineAlreadyRunning:
+        result_q.put("busy")
 
 
 def test_mine_global_lock_is_alias_for_back_compat(tmp_path, monkeypatch):