her.
You must not return to the University , growled the hat from the depths of its box. Rincewind nodded distractedly. The idea certainly didnât seem attractive.
âAnyway, they donât allow women inside after dark,â he said.
âAnd before dark?â
âNot then, either.â
Conina sighed. âThatâs silly. What have you wizards got against women, then?â
Rincewindâs brow wrinkled. âWeâre not supposed to put anything against women,â he said. âThatâs the whole point.â
Sinister grey mists rolled through the docks of Morpork, dripping from the rigging, coiling around the drunken rooftops, lurking in alleys. The docks at night were thought by some to be even more dangerous than the Shades. Two muggers, a sneak thief and someone who had merely tapped Conina on the shoulder to ask her the time had already found this out.
âDo you mind if I ask you a question?â said Rincewind, stepping over the luckless pedestrian who lay coiled around his private pain.
âWell?â
âI mean, I wouldnât like to cause offence.â
âWell?â
âItâs just that I canât help noticingââ
âHmmm?â
âYou have this certain way with strangers.â Rincewind ducked, but nothing happened.
âWhat are you doing down there?â said Conina, testily.
âSorry.â
âI know what youâre thinking. I canât help it, I take after my father.â
âWho was he, then? Cohen the Barbarian?â Rincewind grinned to show it was a joke. At least, his lips moved in a desperate crescent.
âNo need to laugh about it, wizard.â
âWhat?â
âItâs not my fault.â
Rincewindâs lips moved soundlessly. âSorry,â he said. âHave I got this right? Your father really is Cohen the Barbarian ?â
âYes.â The girl scowled at Rincewind. âEveryone has to have a father,â she added. âEven you, I imagine.â
She peered around a corner.
âAll clear. Come on,â she said, and then when they were striding along the damp cobbles she continued: âI expect your father was a wizard, probably.â
âI shouldnât think so,â said Rincewind. âWizardry isnât allowed to run in families.â He paused. He knew Cohen, heâd even been a guest at one of his weddings when he married a girl of Coninaâs age; you could say this about Cohen, he crammed every hour full of minutes. âA lot of people would like to take after Cohen, I mean, he was the best fighter, the greatest thief, heââ
âA lot of men would,â Conina snapped. She leaned against a wall and glared at him.
âListen,â she said. âThereâs this long word, see, an old witch told me about it . . . canât remember it . . . you wizards know about long words.â
Rincewind thought about long words. âMarmalade?â he volunteered.
She shook her head irritably. âIt means you take after your parents.â
Rincewind frowned. He wasnât too good on the subject of parents.
âKleptomania? Recidivist?â he hazarded.
âBegins with an H.â
âHedonism?â said Rincewind desperately.
â Herrydeterry ,â said Conina. âThis witch explained it to me. My mother was a temple dancer for some mad god or other, and father rescued her, and â they stayed together for a while. They say I get my looks and figure from her.â
âAnd very good they are, too,â said Rincewind, with hopeless gallantry.
She blushed. âYes, well, but from him I got sinews you could moor a boat with, reflexes like a snake on a hot tin, a terrible urge to steal things and this dreadful sensation every time I meet someone that I should be throwing a knife through his eye at ninety feet. I can, too,â she added with a trace of pride.
âGosh.â
âIt tends
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