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Eliotshow about how interdi whoop to hi to let hi stuff, and even under the present grimmish circumstances she was a complete nerd for that shit She could hardly wait He held out his hand, in a foppish kind of a gesture, and she took it, and he put his other hand in his pocket and—oh

Clear cold water They were floating in it, floating upward In spite of herself she laughed with pleasure and as a result alht, points of it, glittery and diffuse above the more focused all the time, and then their heads broke the surface

It wasn’t what she was expecting, not based on what she’d heard They were inside so water in what lookedpool than a fountain

“What the hell?” Eliot said He see more surprised than she was

The pool was sunk level with a marble floor Water trickled into it frory stone face at one end; at the other end steps led up and out like a Ro stair by stair up to clear They stroked over to them in sync

“This isn’t right,” Eliot said “This isn’t the Neitherlands, I don’t think We’ve been hijacked Button-jacked”

Magic water strea them instantly dry Awesome The walls of the room were covered in bookshelves

“Who puts a fountain in the ood for the books”

“No It can’t”

It was a library, randest one Plum had ever seen She would have known it was a library with her eyes shut: the hush of it was enough, like a velvet nest in which she’d been carefully nestled, and the smell, the heavy spicy aro leather and paper, of hundreds of tons of dry ink Every square foot of the walls was bookshelves, and every foot of every shelf was full Creamy spines, leather spines, knobby and ribbed spines, jacketed and bare, gilded and plain, blank spines and spines craazines, some ider than they were tall

She ran her fingers along the back of so In three or four places a book had been taken down and the one next to it was left slightly aslant, leaning its head against its fellow, as if in silent hbor

Even the beams and buttresses had been fitted with shelves—rows and arches and fans of books In the corners of the roo, there were little book-sized doors like cat doors As she watched one of the in h a cat door on the other side

“I take it back,” Eliot said “I think this must be one of the libraries of the Neitherlands I’ve never been inside one”

“I thought normal people weren’t supposed to be allowed in them”

“You’re not”

The voice ca hy as an unbaked biscuit He had a goatee that was oatee, which ry barista at an indie coffee shop whose drea by the hour He hat looked like aabout hiolden and translucent, and they gave off their oarht He held them clasped in front of him

“Penny,” Eliot said It wasn’t soas a statement of fact

“The rest of your party should be arriving momentarily”

Sure enough, up popped Quentin and Alice, her sputtering and blowing and apparently furious, big surprise She favored Quentin with a disdainful look, then swam breaststroke over to the steps, at which point it became apparent that she was completely naked What, did they roll over onto the button halfway through?

Best not to think about it Alice didn’t seem at all self-conscious Quentin followed and handed her clothes, which she put on clumsily

“Hi, Penny,” Quentin said “Good to see you Did you just kidnap us?”

“That was my question,” Eliot said

“I diverted you All the ways of the Neitherlands are now uests”

Plu the impression they all knew each other already

“Isn’t the water bad for the books?” Plum said

“We have taken precautions Shelf space is a precious resource here Nothing is wasted”

“That’s great, Penny,” Quentin said, “but we’re actually in kind of a hurry Important business Really time-sensitive”

“I require your presence I will explain”

“Well, thanks,” Quentin said “But, you know, be quick Nice hands”

“Thank you I made them myself”

The dime dropped: the people who’d juolden hands too, exactly the same Maybe it was a coincidence, maybe there had been a sale, but Plum doubted it In which case she had a bone to pick with this Penny, maybe several bones

“This is our friend Plum,” Quentin said “Plum, this is Penny And you remember Eliot And Alice”

“Hi,” Plu

“Pleased to meet you” Plum was a little bit relieved that he didn’t try to shake her hand “It’s good to have you back with us, Alice”

While saying nothing about it Penny soether

“Penny,” Eliot said, “you should know that we really—”

“Walk with me”

Penny turned and strode into the next roo to follow him

“Who is this guy?” Plum whispered to Quentin

“We went to college together”

They followed hirander: a vaulted hall, also full of books but with soaring high s that were dark and flecked with light rain Through the lower panes Pluray warren of broad squares and narrow alleys and Italianate palaces It was night

Penny walked with his ic hands clasped behind his back