“I don’t understand what you mean by ‘yes,’ but keep talking.”
“I don’t understand what you mean by ‘no.’ Keep talking.”
“Hey, take that thing off! It’s me.”
“It’s a useful garment, in its way, but I’m starting to think it’s overrated. Just don’t let my grandmother’s guards catch you with it.”
“I’m not going to ask how you got hold of this. It belongs to my grandmother… but I don’t suppose you’ll put it to any worse use than she does.
“Oh, you wondered about the inscription. It says:
“‘Turn once to change,
“‘twice to change back.’
“It’s pretty foolproof; you can use it over and over until you get it right.”
“The bottle genies I’ve met tend to be pretty crotchety, so they’re not good for much except destroying enemies. My father keeps a few around for military use.”
“You’d never guess it from listening to them talk, but lamp genies are hidebound traditionalists. If it isn’t in the classical literature, don’t bother asking for it.”
“This is nice workmanship. It should give a good, clear light.”
“Where on earth did you find this? It looks like something an eighteenth-century German might dream up. I don’t know how reliable it would be.”
“It looks all right to me. Ahmed, the clerk outside the audience hall, knows more about this kind of stuff than I do.”
“Oh, let me guess. That scatter-brained genie forgot to include the manual. I think I’ve got one.
“Here it is. It’s in any language you need.”
“Have you gone and lost the manual? Just remember ROLL, SIT, STAND, RISE and SINK.”
“I suppose that could be useful.”
“Are you looking for Jake? I haven’t seen him either, but I have a feeling he isn’t far away.”
(Call it woman’s intuition, which the late Isaac Asimov handsomely defined as logic working at speeds too great for the male brain to follow.)
“Do you need any help?”
“Well, you’ll probably find me around somewhere if you need anything later.”
“I’ll see you later.”
“I think you’ll find something useful in my grandmother’s dressing room. It’s on the second floor of the women's wing, overlooking the garden. You can find a lot of stuff in that part of the Palace if you know where to search.”
“I’m pretty good with inanimate objects. If you don’t know what something is good for, or how it works, show it to me or just describe it and I might know.”
“You cut that out!”
“Save that for when you really need obscurity.”
“Please, not now. The smoke makes my eyes water.”
“Don’t play with that. You might hurt someone.”
“You cut that out or I’ll take it away from you!”
“Why grandmother, what big feet you have! But seriously, do please take off that cloak. No one but me ever comes up here.”
(How the—?)
“Please be careful; some of this equipment is very fragile. If I have anything of value to you, I’ll let you know.”
“Could you do me a small favor?”
“Can I help you with anything?”
“Great. I need some clothes, basic men’s clothes, the kind you wouldn’t notice in the street. You could steal some from the laundry or buy them in a second-hand shop—I don’t want to know the details—and bring them back to me.
“I could bribe one of the servants, but someone always finds out and then my father raises a stink.
“Take your time; I’ll be here all day.”
“I can’t come with you myself—as you can see, I’m in the middle of an experiment.
“But you came at a good time. My father is hearing petitions in the audience hall, and his wives and my grandmother are listening from the purdah gallery. So you should have most of the Palace to yourself.”
“And don’t forget the clothes!”
“If I’m not here, you may find me in the market somewhere.”
“Too bad. Let me know if you change your mind.”
“Well, if I’m not here later, you may find me in the market somewhere.”
“Well, I’ll be stuck here for a while, so come by again if you need anything.”
“Thanks. If you ever meet someone in the public market who looks like me, keep quiet about it! Oh, and you may as well take these. I don’t think they go with the outfit.”
“Why don’t you step outside before putting that on again.”
“You don’t have to DROP it. Just take it off so I can see you.”
“You do look exhausted. Go ahead and use my bed.”
“Ohh…”
(An extraordinary range of expressions crosses Zainab’s face before she takes the note and tucks it away in an inner pocket.)
“Thanks, they’re fine.”
“Oh, don’t be silly, I don’t mean YOUR clothes. Just keep your eyes open.”
“Oh, really? Well, in that case go away and let me finish this.”
“I hope you realize that if you weren’t a friend of Jake, you would now be dead. Put that away!”
