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‘I canelse you’ll need?’

‘Money, Chancellor Gashon’

There was a pained silence ‘Would you accept eternal friendship instead?’

‘Afraid not, your Excellency I have to bribe people’ Teovin paused There’s an idea I could probably use some form of tax-inize the tere for their cooperation’

‘That’s i I’ve ever heard in est so like that, Teovin It et out of here? Police stations make me apprehensive for some reason’

‘Of course, your Excellency I think we’ve covered the things anted to keep private’

Stragen sat in the dark office listening as the two men pushed back their chairs and went out into the corridor He heard Teovin’s key turn in the lock of his office door The blond thief waited for perhaps ten minutes, and then he went back to the foot of the staircase They’re gone now,’ he called up the stairs in a loud whisper

Mirtai and Caalador came on down ‘Who was it?’ Caalador asked

‘The head of the secret police and the Chancellor of the Exchequer,’ Stragen replied ‘It was a very enlightening conversation Teovin’s enlisting other ministries to help hied to convince several of them that it’s in their own interest to join him’

‘We can sort out the politics later,’ Caalador said ‘It’s al’

‘There’s no need,’ Stragen shrugged ‘I’ve found e’re looking for’

‘Isn’t that disgusting?’ Caalador said to the Atan giantess ‘He tosses it off as if it weren’t really very ien, stun us with your brilliance Make my eyes pop out, and make Mirtai sith aden confessed ‘I stuht about that We still have to find the door, though, and make sure that the docuht place I should have thought of it iht next to Teovin’s office’

‘That’s the logical place, right enough,’ Caalador noted ‘How did you find it?’

‘Well, I haven’t actually found it yet, but I’ve reasoned out its existence’

‘Don’t throay your soft shoes or your black clothes just yet, Caalador,’ Mirtai advised

‘You hurt o awry before Why don’t you tell us about it?’

‘I wanted to do so office to listen to Teovin and Chancellor of the Exchequer Gashon’s conversation’

‘And?’

‘I couldn’t hear a thing’

‘The walls are stone, Stragen,’ she pointed out, ‘and they’ve got sea-shells glued to the as a soundproof wall, Mirtai There are always cracks and crannies that the mortar doesn’t seep into Anyhen I tried the office on the other side, I could hear everything Believe me, there’s a room between that first office and the one Teovin uses’

‘It does sort of fit together, dorlin’,’ Caalador said to Mirtai ‘The door to that room would almost have to be in Teovin’s office, wouldn’t it? Those documents are sensitive, and he wouldn’t want just anybody to have access to theh it, we could have saved ourselves a lot of time’

‘It wasn’t a total waste,’ Mirtai slary, and I’ve had the chance to absolutelyin your affection You two have made me happier than I could possibly say The office door’s certain to be locked, you know’

‘Nuthin’ si up a needle-thin iet started,’ Stragen said ‘It’s ht to find the door to that hidden rooue turn green iffn I ain’t, yer Queenship’ Caalador paused ‘Dreadful, isn’t it?’ he added

‘I don’t quite understand,’ Sarabian confessed

‘It’s a cliche, your Majesty,’ Stragen explained, ‘taken from a type of literature that’s currently very popular in Eosia’

‘Do you really want to dignify that trash by calling it literature, Stragen?’ Baroness Melidere murmured