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In the center of the loop stood a stone ranite obelisk with a statue of a man on top Monsoons had weathered it badly, and tropical weeds had ed to crack off a corner of the base, but you could still make out the man’s heroic attitude, stoic in the face of what looked like i misfortune

"That is Captain Banks," Elaine said "He founded the Fillorian settlement on the Outer Island, by which I mean he ran his ship into it"

Quentin wondered if there was a joke to be made about "founder" and "founder" If there was it had probably already made the rounds of the Outer Island

"Where is everybody?"

"Oh, they’re around," she said "We keep to ourselves here, mostly"

Eleanor tried Elaine and was cuffed away She held up her arms to Quentin, and he hoisted her up onto his shoulders Elaine rolled her eyes as if to say, don’t say I didn’t warn you The sun was setting in an absolute bloodbath of a sunset behind the trees, and the evening insects were growing bolder

Eleanor squealed with delight at how tall Quentin was coe of her skirt down over his eyes He gently lifted it up and she squealed again and pushed it back down It was a ga Quentin supposed that there orse things to be than an easymoment, in the tropical darkness that lay beneath the hem of Eleanor’s skirt Here I am, noble leader of the bold expedition to the Outer Island King of all I survey This was it, there really would be no surprise twist, no big reveal The feeling of resignation was alood, stiff drink of the evening

He sighed It wasn’t an unhappy sigh, but it included the thought: as soon as I have those taxes I a before about cocktails," he said

Dinner at the ely toothy local fish served whole in a sweet preparation with souests with towering dignity, conveying salt shakers and glasses and other incidental iteht back and slow, deliberate steps, toe-heel, as if she alking a balance bealass

"For God’s sake, Eleanor," Elaine said "Go to bed No dessert, just go to bed" The accused wept and demanded cake, but Elaine was unmoved

Afterward they all sat on wicker couches and chairs on an upper porch and took cautious sips of soary local liquor The bay was spread out in the darkness below them, with the Muntjac afloat in it, illuminated by lanterns at bow and stern and at the tops of the s away

Quentin asked where the bathroom was and excused himself It was a cover story: he stopped by the kitchen, where he found as left of the cake sitting underneath a glass dome He cut a slice and took it up to Eleanor’s bedroo the door behind hi a wartime communiqué He waited while she ate the cake, then returned the evidence--the eot back to the veranda Elaine was alone Julia had gone to bed If she felt anything about hiht over hi away fro happened between theet her to talk to hiize about earlier," Elaine said "Your Highness About your being king"

"Forget about it" He refocused his attention on her with an effort and s used to ita crown"

"I did for a while, but it was incredibly uncomfortable And it always fell off at the s Cavalry charges"

Under the influence of the localto find hi Le roi s’amuse

"It sounds like a public nuisance"

"It was practically an ene I’m sure you noticed that"

It was difficult to ht Mobs of exotic eastern stars were filling in the black sky overhead

"Oh, it was unarette Were they flirting? She had to be at least fifteen years older than Quentin Here he was afloat in the wild ar within 477 nautical row up here?" he asked

"Oh, no My parents were from the mainland--down around the Southern Orchard I never knew my father I’ve been in the diplo for ely He wasn’t aware that Fillory had a diploot back

"So do you get a lot of people coh here? I mean from outside Fillory? Over the sea?"

"Sadly no Actually I’ll tell you a terrible secret: no one has ever co as I’ve been at the embassy In fact in the whole history of this office, three centuries of it, nobody has ever once passed through customs from across the Eastern Ocean The records are completely blank In that respect I suppose you’d have to call it a bit of a sinecure"

"Well, ith there being no work and all"

"It’s a shanificent The letterhead alone You should take so The stalowed in the dimness Quentin was reorously hedonistic period when he’d lived in New York, three years ago Her cigarette eet and fragrant He asked for one She had to roll it for hiotten how Or had he ever known? No, Eliot had a clever silver device that rolled the this up," Quentin said "But there’s a reason why I’ic key business?"

"What? Oh No, it’s not the ic key"

She leaned back and put her feet up on a chest she used for a table

"What then?"

"It’s about the money The taxes You didn’t send any last year I , openether once