Chapter 7 Chapter VII Many Come to the Royal Residence

Charmain was restless all night.Part of the reason is of course because of the "Memoirs of an Exorcist", the author obviously has a lot of ghost experiences, and he described it as if it were real, which made Charmain feel that ghosts really exist, and they are all malicious.She shivered most of the night, wishing she knew how to turn the lights on. And some harassment comes from Waif, who feels she has a right to sleep on Charmain's pillow. But the biggest problem was her nervousness, and also because Charmain didn't know the time.She kept waking up, cranky.What if I oversleep!She woke up before dawn, listening to the birds chirping outside, it was almost time to get up.But somehow she fell asleep quickly again, and when she awoke again it was broad daylight.

"Help!" she yelled, throwing back the quilt and accidentally throwing Waif to the ground.She stumbled all over the room looking for the beautiful clothes she had brought out on purpose.After putting on her most beautiful green dress, she finally remembered the most important thing to do. "Uncle William," she cried, "how do I know what time it is?" "You're going to tap your left wrist," answered the gentle voice, "and say 'time,' dear." Charmain found that the voice was weaker than before.She hoped it was just that the spells had weakened, not that Uncle William himself had grown weaker, wherever he was.

"Time?" she asked while knocking. She waited for a sound, or more likely a clock.The folks at Upper Norland are good at watchmaking.She had seventeen clocks in her own house, and one in the bathroom.She was a little surprised that Uncle William's house didn't even have a cuckoo clock, but she immediately understood why: she knew the time now.It's eight o'clock. "It'll take me at least an hour to walk over there!" She hurriedly slipped her arms into her prettiest silk blouse and rushed to the bathroom. She was more nervous than usual when she brushed her hair inside.Her reflection—and the water dripping on it—looks remarkably youthful, with red braids hanging down her shoulders.He'll find out I'm just a schoolgirl, she thought.But now there is no time to take care of it.Charmain rushed out of the bathroom, stepped back through the same door, and turned left into the warm and tidy kitchen.

There were five bags of clothes now leaning against the sink, but Charmain didn't think about that.Waif rushed at her, twitched his nose pitifully, and ran back to the fireplace, which was still blazing happily.Charmain was about to bang on the fireplace for breakfast when she discovered Waif's problem.Waif is now too small to get his tail near the hearth.So Charmain tapped on the fireplace and said, "Dog food, thanks," before ordering himself a breakfast. She sat at the clean table eating a hastily breakfast while Waif finished his own quickly at her feet.Charmain couldn't help thinking that it would be more comfortable to have a clean and tidy kitchen.I think Peter could be of some use, she thought, pouring herself one last cup of coffee.Then it occurred to her to tap her own wrist.Knowing that it was six minutes to nine o'clock, she jumped up in panic.

"How did it take so long?" she yelled, rushing back to the bedroom to get her coat. Perhaps because she was wearing her coat while running, she turned in the wrong direction when she opened the door, and she found herself in a strange place.It was a long, narrow room, surrounded by pipes, with a large, dripping sink in the middle, mysteriously covered with blue fur. "Oh, hell!" said Charmain, stepping back towards the door again. She went back to the kitchen. "At least I know how to get from here," she said, crossing from there to the living room and running to the front door.When she got outside, she nearly kicked a bottle of milk, which must have been for Rollo. "He doesn't deserve it!" she said, slamming the front door behind her.

She ran down the path by the front door, through the clipped hydrangea bushes, and out the gate, which slammed shut behind her.Then she slowed down, no matter how far the royal house was from here, it would be foolish to run there, but she walked briskly along the path, and just at the first turn she heard the garden gate behind her. Closed again.Charmain turned around.Waif ran as fast as he could to catch up.Charmain sighed and walked back towards her.Seeing Charmain come back, Waif jumped up and down with joy, making squeals of joy. "No, Waif," Charmain said. "You can't follow. Go home." She pointed firmly at Uncle William's house. "go back!"

With both ears drooping, Waif sat on the ground, begging. "No!" commanded Charmain, pointing again to the house. "go home!" Waif dropped to the ground, pretending to be pitiful, only his tail wagging. "Oh, really!" said Charmain.Waif seemed determined not to leave the middle of the road, and Charmain had to pick her up and rush back to Uncle William's house. "I can't take you," she explained, panting as she walked, "I'm going to the king, and no one takes a dog to the king." She opened the door of Uncle William's house and took Waif Throw it on the garden path. "Stay there. Now, stay still!"

She closed the door, Waif got a look of reproach on his face, and Charmain strode down the path again.As she walked, she tapped her wrist eagerly and said, "Time?" However, she had already left Uncle William's territory, so the spell didn't work.Charmain knew only that it was late.She began to trot. Behind her, the door creaked open again.Charmain looked back to see Waif running towards her again. Charmain groaned, turned, and ran back to Waif, picked her up, and threw her back into the garden. "Now, be a good dog and stay here!" She gasped and ran away again. The door opened behind her again, and Waif ran towards her again. "I'm going to scream!" said Charmain.She turned around and threw Waif back into the garden for the third time. "Stay there, you stupid dog!" This time she ran away to the city.

Behind her, the door rang again.The little feet came pattering along the path. Charmain turned and ran back to Waif, yelling, "Oh shit, Waif! I'm really going to be late!" This time, she picked Waif up and took her with her to the city. Rickey, gasping loudly, "Okay. You won. I'm taking you because otherwise I'd be late, but I really don't want to take you, Waif! Do you understand?" Waif was happy, and wriggled up to lick Charmain's chin. "No, don't," Charmain said. "I don't like it. I hate you. You're such a nuisance. Hold on or I'll dump you."

Waif fell into Charmain's arms with a sigh of satisfaction. "Eh!" said Charmain, walking on his way. As Charmain passed the ledge of the cliff, she wanted to look up to see if a Lubbock would come crashing down from the grass above, but she was so anxious that she completely forgot about Lubbock and kept on going.To her great surprise, as soon as she rounded the mountainside, the town seemed to be right in front of her.She didn't think it was that close.The houses and towers, dazzling and colorful in the daylight, seem to be within reach.I think Aunt Sembroni's pony must have taken a detour, Charmain thought as he passed the first row of houses.

The road leads to the town after crossing the creek and gets dirty.Charmain thought, remembering that this fringe of town was uncomfortably messy, and quickened her pace nervously.However, although most of the people she met on the road did look poor, they didn't seem to pay much attention to Charmain—if they did, it was only Waif, who was always restless from Charmain's arms. Inside looked out. "Nice puppy," said a woman carrying onions to the market as Charmain passed. "Pretty little monster," Charmain said.The woman looked surprised.Waif twisted in protest. "Yes, you are," Charmain told her, and they went out into the wider street and the nicer house. "You're a villain, a liar, and I'll never forgive you if you make me late." The town clock had just struck ten when they came to the market.So, Charmain suddenly didn't need to be in a hurry, but began to think about how to spend the remaining half hour on this ten-minute journey.The royal residence is just around the next street corner.At least she could slow down and calm herself down.At this time, the sun had emerged from the mist in the mountains, and with Waif's warm body, Charmain felt that he was extremely hot.She detoured for a walk in a clearing by the river, whose rapids flowed down to the Grand Canyon just outside the city.Three of her favorite bookstores are down the road.Pushing aside the other promenades, she looked eagerly into the window. "What a beautiful puppy," said several people as she passed. "Hmph!" said Charmain to Waif. "They don't know anything!" The clock had just begun to strike half o'clock when she came to the Royal Square.Charmain was delighted.But when she crossed the square and walked in the direction of the bell, she felt a little unhappy, and she no longer felt hot.She felt cold, small, penniless.She felt really stupid for doing this.She is a fool.They'd take one look at her and let her go.The glitter of gold bricks on the roof of the royal mansion dazzled her.She was glad that Waif's little warm tongue was licking her chin again.As she climbed the steps to the heavy gates of the mansion, she felt so nervous that she almost turned and ran away. But she told herself firmly that this was what she really wanted to do in the world—although I'm not sure I really wanted to do it right now, she thought.And everyone knows that the bricks on the roof are just made of tin, and by magic it looks like gold!She thought, lifting the gold-painted knocker and knocking bravely.Then her knees began to bend in fear as she wondered if she could run away.She stood there, trembling, hugging Waif tightly. The door was opened by a very old servant.Probably the steward, Charmain thought.She felt like she had seen the old man somewhere before.I must have run into him on the way to school, she thought. "Uh...," she said. "My name is Charmain Baker. The King has written me a letter—" She put one hand down Waif to get the letter out of her pocket, but before she could reach it, the steward opened the door wide. up. "Come in, Miss Charmin," he said in a trembling voice. "His Majesty is waiting for you." Charmain found himself entering the royal mansion with his legs trembling almost as much as the steward.He was hunched so badly that his face was as high as Waif in Charmain's arms as Charmain walked past him trembling. He stopped her with trembling hands. "Please hold your puppy tight, miss. Don't let it run around here." Charmain felt he hesitated and couldn't speak clearly. "I hope it's okay for me to bring her in, she will follow me, don't worry, I will take her with me when I leave, or I—" "Very well, ma'am," said the steward, closing the door. "His Majesty is fond of dogs. In fact, he has been bitten a few times just to make friends with dogs - well, the thing is, madam, our Rajput cook has a dog, and he Bad. He's said to have killed other dogs that invaded his turf." "Oh, dear," said Charmain feebly. "That's true," said the old steward. "Come with me, miss." Waif writhed in Charmain's arms, and Charmain held her tightly as he followed the Steward down a wide stone corridor.It was cold and dark in the mansion.Charmain was amazed to see that there was very little decoration here, that there was hardly anything royal about it, except for one or two dark paintings with old gold frames.There were huge pale squares all over the wall where the painting had been taken away, but Charmain was too nervous to think about it.She just felt colder and thinner and more insignificant until she felt she must be the same size as Waif. The steward stopped and creaked open a huge oak door. "Your Majesty the King, this is Miss Charmine Baker," he announced. "With her dog." Then, he staggered away. Charmain also staggered into the room.It must be so eye-catching!She thought to herself that she dared not curtsy lest her own knees should collapse. This house is a huge library.Dark brown bookshelves lined up on both sides.The smell of old books, which Charmain usually liked, was a little too much.In front of her was a huge oak table, piled high with books and piles of old, yellowed papers, with some newer, whiter papers at the other end.There are also three huge carved chairs over there, surrounded by an iron basket with charcoal fire inside.Underneath the basket was what looked like an iron pan, and under that was almost worn out carpet.Two old men sat on two of the carved chairs.One of them was a tall old man with a neatly trimmed white beard, and when Charmain finally had the courage to look up at him, he saw kindly blue eyes, wrinkled.She knew that he must be the king. "Come here, dear," he said to her, "sit down, please. Put the dog by the fire." Charmain tried to do as the king ordered.To her relief, Waif seemed aware of the importance of manners here.She sat demurely on the carpet, wagging her tail politely.Charmain sat on the edge of the carved chair, trembling all over. "Let me introduce you to my daughter," said the king. "This is Princess Hilda." Princess Hilda is also very old.If Charmain had not known that she was the king's daughter, she might have thought that the princess was as old as the king.The biggest difference between them is that the princess is twice as royal as the king.She was as tall as her father, with neat iron-gray hair, and wore a very plain tweed coat, the color of tweed, so that Charmain knew that it was really a nobleman's clothes.Her only jewelry was a large ring on her aging finger. "What a lovely puppy," she said, her voice strong and direct. "what is her name?" "Waif, Your Royal Highness," Charmain stammered. "Have you kept her long?" asked the princess. Charmain could sense that the Princess wanted her to relax, and this made her more nervous than ever. "It's not...uh...it's that," she said. "In fact, she is a stray dog. Or...uh...Uncle William said she was. And he probably didn't raise her for a long time, because he didn't even know that she was...uh...a female...uh...I Means she's a girl. William Nolan, you know? A wizard." At this, the king and princess said together, "Oh!" said the king, "then you are a relative of William Nolan, my dear?" "We are old friends," added the princess. "I—er—he's my Aunt Sembroni's great-uncle," Charmain confessed. Fortunately, the atmosphere has become much more friendly.The king said hopefully: "I don't think you know the current situation of Wizard Nolan?" Charmain shook his head. "I don't really know, Your Majesty, but when the elves took him away, he looked very ill." "As expected," said Princess Hilda. "Poor William. Now, Miss Baker—" "Oh—oh—call me Charmain, please," stammered Charmain. "Yes," replied the princess. "But we're going to get down to business now, boy, because I'm leaving soon to have my first guest." "My daughter will stay with you for an hour or so," said the king, "and she will explain to you what we do in this library and what you can do to help us. For we judge from your handwriting that you Still young--it seems so now--probably inexperienced." He gave Charmain his most charming smile. "We really appreciate your willingness to help us, dear. It never occurred to anyone before that we would need help." Charmain felt his face heat up.She knew that her face must be very red. "You're welcome, Your Majesty—" she said in as low a voice as possible. "Pull your chair up to the table," interrupted Princess Hilda, "we are going to work." Charmain stood up and pulled the heavy chair over. The king said kindly, "I hope the brazier next to it won't make you feel too hot here. It's summer now, but the old people still feel cold." Charmain was still chilling with tension. "Never mind, Your Majesty," she said. "At least Waif is happy," the king said, sticking out a gnarled finger.Waif turned on his back on the ground, dangling on all fours in the air, warming himself by the heat of the brazier.She looked much happier than Charmain. "We are going to work, father," said the princess gravely.She picked up the glasses hanging around her neck and put them on her aristocratic nose.The king also picked up a pair of pince-nez.Charmain put on her own.If she hadn't been too nervous, she would have laughed at the fact that all of them had to wear glasses first. "Now," said the princess, "this library contains books, letters, and parchment scrolls. After a life's work, my father and I have sorted and sorted about half the books—by title and author's name—to each The books were numbered, and a brief excerpt was made from each. Father is still working on it, and you have been my main task, sorting letters and scrolls. I am afraid I have only just begun. This It's my list." She opened a folder, and the paper inside was full of dense and elegant fonts, and the princess spread one of them in front of Charmain. "As you can see, I have several headings listed: Family Letters, House Bills, Historical Archives, etc. Your task is to go through each pile of letters and figure out what each letter is about. Write a brief description and place the letter carefully in one of those labeled boxes. Is that clear?" Charmain leaned forward and glanced at the beautifully written list, afraid that he would look too stupid. "And what if," she asked, "there are some letters I don't know which heading to put under, ma'am?" "Excellent question," replied Princess Hilda. "We are expecting you to find many letters that cannot be sorted. If you find them, ask my father at once, they may be important. If not, put them in the box marked 'Other'. Now, this is the first pile of letters you're going to read. I'll watch over you while you sort it out, to see if you're doing well. Here's the paper for your notes. Here's the pen and ink. Go ahead." She put A stack of torn and yellowed letters, tied with a pink ribbon, was pushed in front of Charmain.The princess sat back in her chair and observed. I've never encountered anything so confusing!Charmain thought.Trembling, she untied the pink knot on the strap and tried to unfold the letter inside. "When you take a letter, take two opposite corners," said Princess Hilda. "Don't push." Oh my God!Charmain thought.She looked at the king next to him, who picked up a worn leather book and carefully flipped through it.That's the kind of thing I'd like to do, she thought.Sighing, she carefully unfolded the first fragile letter. "My dearest, charming, beautiful darling," she read. "I miss you so much..." "Well," she said to Princess Hilda, "is there a special box for love letters?" "Yes," said the princess. "Here. Take the date, and the name of the writer—who wrote this letter?" Charmain read the end of the letter. "Hmm. Signed 'Big Dolphin.'" The king and princess said at the same time, "All right!" and laughed, the king especially. "It was from my father to my mother," said Princess Hilda. "My mother passed away years ago. But that's okay. Put it on your list." Charmain looked at the yellowed and fragile letter paper and thought it must be many, many years ago.She wondered that the king didn't seem to mind her reading these letters, and neither he nor the princess seemed worried at all.Maybe people in the royal family are different, she thought, and continued to read the next one.It begins with "Dear Little Fatty".Oh alright.She continued to complete her task. After a while the princess rose, and pushed her chair carefully back to the table. "It's very satisfying," she said. "I must go. My guest will be here soon. I still want to ask her husband, father." "Impossible, dear," said the King, continuing to take notes without looking up. "No way. He's someone else's royal wizard." "Oh, I know," said Princess Hilda. "But I also know that there are two royal wizards in Ingrid. And our poor William is ill, and may die." "Life is never fair, dear," said the King, still writing with his quill. "Also, William's progress is not as smooth as ours." "I thought of that too, Father." Princess Hilda said and left the library.The door slammed shut behind her. Charmain continued to read the next pile of letters, pretending not to listen to their conversation.That seemed intimate.The pile of letters seemed to have been bundled for a long time, and the papers were glued together, brittle and yellow, like the honeycomb Charmain had found in the attic of their home.So she began to busily separate the letters layer by layer. "Hmm," said the king.Charmain looked up to find him smiling to himself, the quill suspended in the air, looking at her over the top of his spectacles. "I know you're a smart girl," he said. "You must have sensed from our conversation just now that we - with your great-uncle - were looking for something important. The titles my daughter listed will give you some clues as to what we're looking for. Your attention The key words are 'treasure,' 'income,' 'gold,' 'half-elf.' If you see any of these words mentioned in a letter, please let me know at once, dear." The thought of finding such an important thing made Charmain's fingers cold and clumsy holding the fragile letter paper. "Yes, of course, Your Majesty," she replied. To her relief, the pile of letters was just a list of items and prices—all looking cheap. "Ten pounds of candles, at twopence a pound, twentypence," she read.Well, it sure looks like two hundred years ago. "Six ounces of fine saffron, thirtypence. Nine fragrant applewoods, for the main drawing room, quarterpenny." Etc.The following page was filled with the following: "Forty-arm's length of linen drapery, forty-four shillings." Charmain finished his notes carefully, and put the papers into a box labeled "Household Bills." , and then opened the next one. "Oh!" she exclaimed.The next one read, "Sorcerer Merrick, pay two hundred guineas for conjuring a hundred square feet of tin brick into a roof of gold." "What is that, my dear?" asked the king, stopping what he was doing, and marking with his finger the place in the book he was looking at. Charmain read him the old bill.He secretly smiled and shook his head. "It must be magical, right?" he said. "Frankly, I've always hoped that it would be real gold, wouldn't you?" "Yes, but it does look like gold," Charmain reassured him. "That magic is really good, it's been two hundred years," said the king, nodding. "Very expensive, too. Two hundred guineas was a lot of money in those days. Well, well. I never thought of solving our economic problems that way. And, if we climb up, go get all the gold bricks out of the And off the roof, that's terrible, too. Go on, dear." Charmain continued to watch, but all she could see was that someone planted roses in the garden and got two guineas, another repaired the treasury and got a dozen—no, it was either the other person or the one who conjured up the roof That wizard Merrick! "Merico is very good at this, and I like it," said the king, hearing what Charmain read. "I feel like he's a guy who specializes in counterfeiting precious metals. Of course, the treasury was empty by then. I knew my crown was fake years ago. It must have been done by this Merricko. Are you hungry? , darling? Feeling stiff with cold? We don't usually eat lunch - my daughter doesn't like it - but I usually ask the butler to bring some snacks at this time. You might as well stand up and stretch your legs, I'll Bell told them to serve refreshments." Charmain got up and walked around, Waif rolled at her feet, watching her curiously, while the King walked slowly to the door and tugged at the rope holding the bell.He is too weak, Charmain thought, but very tall.For himself, it seemed a little too high.While waiting for someone to hear the sound, Charmain seized the opportunity to look at the books on the shelf.The books seemed to be of all sorts, piled up haphazardly, algebra next to travel books, geography next to poetry.Just as Charmain opened a book called "Unraveling the Universe", the door of the library opened, and a man wearing a tall chef's hat walked in with a plate. To Charmain's amazement, the King moved swiftly behind the table. "Honey, pick up your dog!" he ordered hastily. Another dog came in, clinging to the cook's leg as if disturbed, a sad-faced brown dog with rough ears and a tattered tail.When he came in, he kept barking.Charmain thought it was the same dog that had killed others of his kind, and rushed to pick Waif up. But Waif jumped out of her arms and ran towards the chef's dog.The dog began to bark, and the hair on its thin back stood on end.He looked terrible, and Charmain dared not come near him.Waif, on the other hand, seemed unafraid.Joyfully she ran straight up to the barking dog, stood up on her hind legs, and touched his nose lightly with her own.The other dog started backing away, and surprisingly, he stopped barking.Then he pricked up his clumsy ears and carefully nuzzled Waif too.Waif cried out excitedly, jumping up and down for joy.Then, the two dogs happily run around in the library together. "There!" said the King. "I think it's all right. What's the matter, Jamal? Why you and not Sim?" Jamal, Charmain saw, had only one eye.He came over apologetically and put the tray on the table. "The princess has called Sim to receive her guests, Your Majesty," he explained, "and I am left to deliver the meals. My dog ​​will follow. I think," he continued, looking at the two romping dogs. , "My dog ​​has never been so happy." He bowed to Charmain. "Please bring your little white dog back to play often, Miss Chamin." He whistled to his dog.The dog pretended not to hear.He went to the door and blew again. "There's something to eat," he said. "Come and eat squid." This time, the two dogs ran over together.To Charmain's dismay, Waif followed the cook's dog to the door, which closed behind them. "Don't worry," said the king. "They seem to have become friends. Jamal will send her back. Jamal is a very reliable guy. If it weren't for his dog, he would be the perfect cook. Let's see what he sent, okay?" What Jamal sent was a jar of lemonade and a large plate of crispy tan stuff covered with a white cloth."Ah!" said the king, and eagerly lifted the cloth. "Eat a piece while it's hot, dear." Charmain readily accepted.As soon as she took a bite, she was convinced that Jamal was a good cook, even better than her father—Mr. Baker was the best cook in town by all accounts.The tan morsel was crispy and fluffy at the same time, with a warmth Charmain had never tasted.You'll be craving lemonade after eating this.She ate the whole plate and drank the lemonade with the king.Then, they went back to work. By this time, their relationship was very much like that of friends.Charmain was not shy now, and would ask the king all kinds of things she wanted to know. "Why do they need two pots of rose petals, Your Majesty?" she asked, and the king replied, "In those days they liked to have petals under their feet in the dining room. It seems to me that the habit is too old. Listen to what the philosopher said about the camel Evaluation, my dear." After finishing speaking, he read a passage from the book, and the two of them laughed together.The relationship between the philosopher and the camel is obviously not good. After a long time, the library door opened again, and Waif walked in, looking happy.Jamal followed behind her. "The Princess has news for you, Your Majesty," he said. "The madam is settled, and Sim is taking tea to the front hall." "Ah," said the king. "Have pancakes?" "And muffins," Jamal said before leaving. The king closed the book and stood up. "I'd better go say hello to our guests," he said. "Then I'll go on with the bills," Charmain said. "If there are problems, I will pile them aside." "No, no," said the king. "You come too, dear. Bring the puppy. You will save the embarrassment. The lady is a friend of my daughter. I never saw her myself." Charmain immediately felt high tension again.She found Princess Hilda to be intimidating, her aristocratic air unrelenting, and her friends probably were, too.But she could not refuse, and the king opened the door expectantly for her.Waif was already walking behind him.Charmain had to stand up and followed. The lobby is very large and filled with faded sofas with frayed armrests and worn edges.There were more white squares on the wall where the pictures must have hung.The largest framed the marble fireplace, which, to Charmain's relief, was burning.The antechamber was as cold as the library, and Charmain felt himself froze with tension again. Princess Hilda was sitting upright on the sofa by the fireplace, and Sim had just pushed a big wheelbarrow past.When Charmain saw Sim pushing the cart, she remembered where she had seen him.It was the old man she had seen when she got lost by the conference hall, pushing a cart through a strange hallway.too weird!she thought.Sim was shivering as he put a plate of buttered pancakes on the stove.Waif's nose twitches at the sight of the muffins, and he rushes towards them.Charmain just grabbed her.She stood there with her arms around the writhing Waif.Then said the Princess, "O my father, the King," and everyone in the drawing-room rose to their feet. "Father," said the princess, "let me introduce you to my dear friend, Lady Sophie Pendragon." The king stepped forward slowly and stretched out his hand, which instantly made the large room look much smaller.Charmain hadn't realized how big he was before.As tall as those elves, she thought. "Lady Pendragon," he said. "Nice to meet you. Our daughter's friend, and our friend." Mrs. Pendragon surprised Charmain.She is very young, much younger than the princess, wearing a very fashionable peacock blue dress, which sets off her golden-red hair, and her blue-green eyes are perfect.She is so cute!thought Charmain, with envy.Lady Pendragon curtseyed as she shook the king's hand, and said, "I will do my best, Your Majesty. But I can't promise." "Very well, very well," answered the king. "Sit down, please. Sit down, everyone. Let's have a cup of tea." Everyone sat down, and a polite, courteous conversation began.And Sim staggered and brought teacups to everyone.Charmain felt like a complete outsider.She felt like she shouldn't be here.She sat alone on the sofa in the corner, trying to observe other people.Waif sat quietly on the sofa next to Charmain, looking shy.Her eyes were keenly fixed on the gentleman serving the pancakes.The gentleman was so quiet and inconspicuous that Charmain forgot what he looked like as soon as he averted his eyes, and had to look at him again to remember.The other gentleman's mouth seemed to be closed even when he spoke, and she guessed that it was the king's minister.He seemed to have many secret things to say to Mrs Pendragon, who kept nodding her head—and blinking her eyes now and then, as if she had been surprised by what the Minister had said.The other lady looks older, looks like Princess Hilda's maid, and is very good at chatting about the weather. "I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't rain tonight," she said.At this moment, the inconspicuous gentleman walked up to Charmain and gave her a piece of pancake.Waif's nose follows the plate eagerly. "Oh, thanks," said Charmain, glad that he had not forgotten himself. "Take two dollars," said the inconspicuous gentleman. “国王陛下一定会把剩下的都吃完。”国王当时正吃着两块松糕，两块叠在一起，同时还和瓦伊夫一样急切地看着煎饼。 查曼再次感谢了那位先生，拿了两块煎饼。那是她见过的涂了最多黄油的煎饼。瓦伊夫用鼻子轻轻地蹭了蹭查曼的手。“好了，好了，”查曼低声说，小心地掰下一块，努力不把黄油滴下来弄到沙发上。黄油从她的手指上淌下来，差点滴在她的袖子上。她想用手帕擦掉，此时，那位侍女似乎聊完了天气，开始转向潘德拉根夫人。 “希尔达公主告诉我，你有一个很迷人的儿子，”她说。 “是的，他叫摩根，”潘德拉根夫人说。她似乎也弄上了黄油，正用手帕在擦手指，看起来有些慌乱。 “摩根现在多大了，索菲？”希尔达公主说。“上次我见到他时，他还只是个婴儿。” “哦——差不多两岁了，”潘德拉根夫人回答，擦掉了一大滴金闪闪的黄油，没让它落在裙子上。“我把他留给了——” 客厅的门开了。走进来一个胖胖的小男孩，穿着一件脏兮兮的外套，脸上流着泪水。“妈妈——妈妈——妈妈！”他一边哭，一边摇摇晃晃走进房间。但他一看到潘德拉根夫人，脸上就露出了笑容。他张开双臂向她跑去，把脸埋进她的裙子里。“妈妈！”他叫着。 跟在后面跑进来的是一个看起来很激动的蓝色生物，形状像一滴长长的泪珠，脸长在前面。他像是火焰构成的，给房间带来一阵暖意，也让房里的每个人都惊慌地倒抽一口气。他后面还跟着一个更加激动的女仆，一起冲了进来。 女仆身后，跟着一个小男孩，那是查曼见过的最像天使的小孩。他长着一头金色鬈发，白里透粉的面孔像极了天使。一双大大的蓝眼睛显得非常腼腆。动人的双颊下是一条很白的褶边领口，优雅的小小身体穿着一件淡蓝色的天鹅绒外套，上面镶着大大的银纽扣。他走进来时，那张如花蕾般的粉色小嘴露出腼腆的微笑，脸颊上露出迷人的酒窝。查曼不明白为什么潘德拉根夫人会如此惊恐地瞪着他。那真是个令人心醉的小孩。他那睫毛好长好卷！ “——我的丈夫和他的火魔照顾，”潘德拉根夫人把话说完。她的脸变得火红，从她裙边的小孩头上盯着那个小男孩。