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"Oh yes, she can If the Bluejay has told her the three words" His voice really did sound astonishingly coood

"Ah, those three words, so you’ve heard about theet theh I would expect hiive her the wrong words"

"Your daughter doesn’t have to torture the Bluejay She’s in league with him"

Yes!

Orpheus saw, froured face, that such an idea really hadn’t occurred to the Silver Prince yet Ah, this game was fun This was just the part he wanted to play

They’d soon all be sticking to his cunning tongue like flies on flypaper

The Adderhead re ti," he said at last "Violante’splayers

I’m sure a robber would have taken her fancy just as much But Violante is not like her h she doesn’t care to hear people say so

"Oh, I have no doubt of that, Your Highness!" Orpheus injected just enough deference into his voice "But why has the illu but illustrate songs about the Bluejay for over a year? Your daughter has sold her jewels to pay for paints She’s obsessed by that robber he dominates her mind Ask Balbulus! Ask hi at the pictures he’s painted of the man! And ask yourself, how is it possible for the Bluejav to have escaped from this castle twice in the last feeeks?"

"I can’t ask Balbulus anything" The Adderhead’s voice see hiht hand first"

That really did silence Orpheus for a ht hand Instinctively, he touched his oriting hand "Whyerif I ed in a thread of a voice

"Why? Because hly of his art, and I hope the stury I ae with her Where else would he go?"

"Indeed How clever of you" Orpheus involuntarily ers as if to reassure himself that they were still there He had run out of words; his brain was a blank sheet of paper and his tongue a dried-up pen

"Shall I let you in on a secret?" The Adderhead licked his cracked lips "I like what hter has done! I can’t allow it, but it pleasesordered around Neither the Piper norbrother-in-law"-- here he cast a look of disgust at the Milksop -- "has realized that As for the Bluejay, itto him that she will protect him She’s wily She knows as well as I do that it’s easy to trick heroes You just have to ht and just, and he’ll go trotting after you like a lahter But in the end Violante will sell me her noble robber

For the crown of Ombra And who knowsperhaps I really will let her have it"

The Milksop was looking straight ahead as fixedly as if he hadn’t heard those last words spoken by his overlord and brother-in-laever, the Adderhead leaned back and patted his bloated thighs "I think your tongue is mine, Four-Eyes," he said