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Gideon let go of me "Can you find the way up by yourself?"

"Of course," I said, although I wasn’t absolutely sure whether I could rely on hts of stairs, doors, and nooks and crannies

"Great! We’re rid of that pest at last," said the gargoyle "Now you can tellon"

I waited until Gideon had disappeared around the next corner, then I opened the door of the ladies’ roooyle, "Okay, co offended "Into the ladies’ toilet? I kind of don’t think that would--"

"I don’t care what you think it would be There aren’t irl can talk to de overheard So cooyle reluctantly followed me into the ladies’, where the only slanced quickly at the cubicles All vacant "Right Now listen to me I know I’m probably not about to shake you off in a hurry, but if you want to stick around, you have to keep a few rules, understand?"

"No picking oyle

"What? No, what I want is for you to agree to leaving ht, and in the bathroom, and if anyone happens to kiss me"--here I had to s--"I don’t want any audience then either Is that clear?"

"Tut, tut!" The gargoyle clicked his tongue "And that froed me into a ladies’ toilet!"

"Well, is it a deal? You respect my privacy?"

"No way do I want to watch you showering or--yuck, heaven preserve oyle emphatically "You really don’t have to worry about that And as a rule, I think it’s a dead bore watching people asleep All that snoring and slobbering, not to mention the other stuff--"

"What’sahen I’ to so, keep it for when I’ood truoyle "And a tuba i?"

"No!" I took a deep breath I was going to need nerves of iron to cope with this little guy

"Couldn’t you get one? Or a cat would be better than nothing, but they always look down their noses at you, and it’s not so easy to wind a cat up A good many birds can see randmother can’t stand pets," I said I was about to say she probably wouldn’t have much tiain "Okay, now let’s start over again fro: My name is Gwyneth Shepherd Nice toall over his face "Pleased to meet you too" He climbed up on the washbasin and looked deep into my eyes "Really! Very, very pleased! Will you buy et out of here I have to go to the loo"

"Urggh!" Xe it first, and I heard hiain out in the corridor

I spent er in the ladies’ than really necessary I washed hly and splashed plenty of cold water onit would clearround and round like a carousel My reflection in thein h it to se myself The way my friend Lesley would have done if she’d been here

"Only a couple of hours and then you’ll be through with it, Gwyneth And, hey, considering you’re so tired and hungry, you don’t look too bad"

My reflection peered reproachfully at e eyes rimmed by dark shadows

"Okay, that was a lie," I admitted "You look terrible But you’ve been known to look worse For instance when you had chicken pox So chin up! You can do it"

I found Xe from a chandelier in the corridor like a bat "It’s a bit creepy in here," he said "A one-arht Templar just walked by Friend of yours?"

"No," I said "Thank God, he isn’t Coo this way"

"Will you explain time travel to me?"

"I don’t understand it myself"