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flourish. He swept off his hat and bowed, which was so ridiculous Claire almost laughed.

Inside was a little room with a little table, and a very plain cot with clean white sheets. There were lamps, and in the dim light Claire made out tapestries on the walls. He'd put some colorful rugs on the floor, too. It looked oddly . . . nice.

"Is this your bedroom?" she asked, and turned to look at him. Myrnin straightened and jammed the big red floppy hat back on his head. The feathers waved back and forth.

"Don't get any ideas," he said. "I'm far too young and innocent for that kind of thinking."

He backed out, closed the door, and she heard the lock snap shut. Panic kicked in immediately; no matter how nice it was, this was a prison. Myrnin held the key, and she didn't trust Myrnin to remember tomorrow that she was still here. Claire dumped the food and drink on the table and rushed to the door, banging on the wood. "Hey!" she yelled. "I said I wouldn't run! I promised!"

She didn't think he'd answer, but he did. "It's for your own good, Claire," he said. "Eat, rest, and I'll see you in the morning."

No matter how much she shouted after that, he didn't answer.

Claire finally ran out of fury, although the fear seemed there to stay. She went back to the table, sat down, and took out the burger and fries. She didn't really feel hungry until the first bite, and then she was ravenous and ate everything, even the pickles. She was getting sleepy even before finishing the Coke, and had time to wonder what exactly Myrnin had done to her drink, then stumble to the bed, before she collapsed and fell into a deep, dark sleep.

Chapter Six

SIX

The next day started with breakfast, provided by Myrnin again. He set it on the table while she was still lying on the bed, blinking at the lights. Claire said, "You drugged me."

"Well, only a little," he said. He was wearing a violent-looking Hawaiian shirt, all pinks and yellows and neon greens, a pair of checked pants that had probably been ugly when checks were in style, and flip-flops. "Did you sleep?"

"Don't drug me again."

"It wouldn't be appropriate in any case. You won't be able to sleep, you know. Not until we're finished."

"Don't remind me." She got up, stretched, and wished she had fresh clothes. These were wrinkled, and starting to smell funky. Not that Myrnin would notice, probably. "What's for breakfast?"

"Doughnuts," he said cheerfully. "I like doughnuts. And coffee."

Claire was doubtful about the coffee, but he'd provided some cream and sugar, and the chocolate-covered doughnut helped wash the taste away anyway. She drank it all, with plenty of sugary bites to help; she was pretty sure she'd need all the caffeine she could get.

Breakfast didn't last nearly long enough.

She couldn't have said what made her aware that something had changed; she'd developed a kind of sixth sense for these things, being around Myrnin for a while. Maybe it was just that he'd fallen silent for what seemed like too long. She looked up and saw him standing in the doorway of the room, watching her with big, liquidly dark eyes that seemed . . . wistful? She wasn't quite sure. He could have moods about the oddest things.

He smiled, just a little, and it seemed very sad. "You reminded me of someone just then."

"Who?"

"It wouldn't make you feel better to know that."

She could guess anyway. "Ada," she said. "You had that thinking-about-Ada look."

"I don't know what you mean."

"You look like you miss her," Claire said. "You do, don't you?"

His smile faded, as if he didn't have the strength to hold it anymore. "Ada was my friend and colleague for a very long time," he said. "And there was . . . a great deal of respect between us. Yes, I miss her. I've missed her every moment that she's been gone, strange as that may seem to you."

He pushed away from the doorframe, as if he was about to leave. She couldn't stand to see him walk off with that lost expression, so Claire asked, "How did you meet her?"

That brought him, and the smile, back. It seemed less wistful this time. "I heard of her first. She was brilliant, you know. Brilliant and charming and well before her time. She understood the concept of computing machines from the very beginning, but not only that--she was a student of a