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I squeeze ape as they sizzle and fizz “Stone the cows!” I say around them

He laughs “What?”

We stand there laughing in the damp air When I s, I say, “Stone the cows It’s a perfectly valid expression”

“Is it?” He e A bit pale, perhaps, and there’s so about his eyes…

“What?” His lips twist in a not-quite-s “You look poorly Tired,” I add gently

“Nah”

But he does He’s paler than he was o

“You’re a hopeless liar, Carnegie And anyway, don’t

lie to me”

His eyebrows notch as he shakes his head, raising his hand to his hair as he does when he feels uneasy “I’m okay”

“Did you use my remedies?”

“Not yet”

“Are you afraid to try my funny tinctures?”

He gives me a strained smile “I’ll use them Did you make them?”

“Of course”