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The trolls had clapped their huge hands over their ears, but Lady LeJean merely stood with her hands on her hips, head on one side, until the last echo died away 'All correct, we see,' she said 'What?' said Jere: perhaps a vaht time,' said Lady LeJean 'You're very particular about that, Mr Jereht tio away Her eyes orrying hirey eyes, and her eyes were grey, like the eyes of a blind person, but she was clearly looking at hih him 'Yes, there was a little bit of trouble over that, wasn't there?' said Lady LeJean 'I I don'tI don'tdon't knohat you're-'

'At the Clockmakers' Guild? Williamson, who kept his clock five minutes fast? And you-'

'I am much better now,' said Jeremy stiffly 'I have o away'

'Mr Jeremy, ant you to build us a clock that is accurate'

'Allat his feet He wasn't due to take his medicine for another five hours and seventeenthe need for it now 'And now I must ask-'

'How accurate are your clocks?'

'Better than a second in eleven ood?'

'Yes' It had been very good That hy the Guild had been so understanding Genius is always allowed some leeway, once the hammer has been pried from its hands and the blood has been cleaned up 'We want much better accuracy than that'

'It can't be done'

'Oh? You mean that you can't do it?'

'No, I can't And if I can't, then neither can any other clockmaker in the city I'd know about it if they could!'

'So proud? Are you sure?'

'I'd know' And he would He'd know for certain The candle clocks and the water clocks they were toys, which he kept out of a sort of respect for the early days of ti axes and buckets and had turned out primitive clocks that you could, well, very nearly set your watch by It was okay that they couldn't be that accurate They were sirind across his nerves But a real clock well, that was aof numbers, and nuain 'How do you test to that accuracy?' she said They'd often asked him that in the Guild, once his talent had revealed itself He hadn't been able to answer the question then, either, because it didn't make sense You built a clock to be accurate A portrait painter painted a picture If it looked like the subject, then it was an accurate picture If you built the clock right, it would be accurate You didn't have to test it You'd know 'I'd know,' he said 'We want you to build a clock that is very accurate'

'How accurate?'