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The point was that everyone else had soainst their will

So, Captain Vimes, what is it really? Do you care for her? Don't worry too much about love, that's a dicey word for the over-forties Or are you just afraid of becoroove of his life and buried out of pity by a bunch of youngsters who never knew you as anything other than soot sent out to bring back the coffee and hot figgins and was laughed at behind his back?

He'd wanted to avoid that And now Fate was handing him a fairy tale

Of course he'd known she was rich But he hadn't expected the summons to Mr Morecombe's office

Mr Moreco time Centuries, in fact He was a vampire

Viers when they were sober, and even trolls were all right if you kept them where you could see them But all the undead made his neck itch Live and let live was all very well, but there was a probleically

Mr Morecombe was scrawny, like a tortoise, and very pale It had taken hies to come to the point, and when it came the point nailed Vimes to his chair

'Howthe estate, including the farms, the areas of urban development, and the sether worth approximatelyseven million dollars a year Yes Seven million at current valuation, I would say'

'It's allto Lady Sybil Although she instructs me in this letter that you are to have access to all her accounts as of the present moment'

The pearly dead eyes had watched Vimes carefully

'Lady Sybil,' he said, 'owns approximately one-tenth of Ankh, and extensive properties in Morpork, plus of course considerable farm lands in--'

'Butbutwe'll own theether'

'Lady Sybil is very specific She is deeding all the property to you as her husband She has a somewhatold-fashioned approach' He pushed a folded paper across the table Vimes took it, unfolded it, and stared

'Should you predecease her, of course,' Mr Morecoht of e Or to any fruit of the union, of course'

Vi at that point He'd just felt his ether

'Lady Sybil,' said the lawyer, the words co as she was, is a fine healthy woot through the rest of the interview on automatic

He could hardly think about it now When he tried, his thoughts kept skidding away And, just as always happened when the world got too much for him, they skidded somewhere else

He pulled open the bottoger's Very Fine Whiskey He wasn't sure how it had got there So it out

Start that again and you won't even see retirears

He shut the drawer and leaned back, taking a half-suards weren't so good noay Politics Hah! Watchraves if they knew that the Watch had taken on a w--

And the world exploded

Thein, peppering the wall behind Vi one of his ears

He threw hiht, that did it! The alchemists had blown up their Guild House for the last ti to do with it

But when he peered over thesill he saw, across the river, the colu over the Assassins' Guild

The rest of the Watch caree Street as Vimes reached the Guild entrance A couple of black-clad Assassins barred his way, in a polite manner which nevertheless indicated that i feet behind the gates

'You see this badge? You see it?' Vimes demanded

'Nevertheless, this is Guild property,' said an Assassin

'Let us in, in the name of the law!' bellowed Vimes

The Assassin smiled nervously at him 'The law is that Guild law prevails inside Guild walls,' he said

Vilared at him But it was true The laws of the city, such as they were, stopped outside the Guild Houses The Guilds had their os The Guild owned the

He stopped

Behind hilass

Then she stirred the debris with her foot

And then her gazeher very intently from under a cart In fact non-descript was not what it was It was very easy to descript It looked like halitosis with a wet nose

'Woof, woof,' said the dog, in a bored way 'Woof, woof, woof, and growl, growl'

The dog trotted into the lanced around, and followed it The rest of the squad were gathered around Vione very quiet

'Fetch me the Master of Assassins,' he said 'Now!'

The young Assassin tried to sneer

'Hah! Your uniform doesn't scare me,' he said

Vimes looked down at his battered breastplate and worn ht,' he said 'This is not a scary uniform I'm sorry Forward, Corporal Carrot and Lance-Constable Detritus'

The Assassin was suddenly aware of the sunlight being blocked out

'Now these, I think you'll agree,' said Vimes, from somewhere behind the eclipse, 'are scary uniforms'

The Assassin nodded slowly He hadn't asked for this Usually there were never any guards outside the Guild What would be the point? He had, tucked away in his exquisitely tailored black clothes, at least eighteen devices for killing people, but he was beco aware that Lance-Constable Detritus had one on the end of each of his aro and get the Master, then, shall I?' he said

Carrot leaned down