George felt rather sorry for Maia. This should have been her day, but Rashaverak had partially eclipsed her.
“Look,” said George, nibbling at a sandwich. “How the devil has Rupert got hold of an Overlord? I’ve never heard of such a thing — but he seems to take it for granted. He never even mentioned it when he invited us.” Benny chuckled.
“Just another of his little surprises. You’d better ask him about it. But this isn’t the first time it’s happened, after all. Karellen’s been to parties at the White House and Buckingham Palace, and—”
“Heck, that’s different! Rupert’s a perfectly ordinary citizen.”
“And maybe Rashaverak’s a very minor Overlord. But you’d better ask them.”
“I will,” said George, “just as soon as I can get Rupert by himself.”
“Then you’ll have to wait a long time.”
Benny was right, but as the party was now warming up it was easy to be patient. The slight paralysis which the appearance of Rashaverak had cast over the assembly had now vanished. There was still a small group around the Overlord, but elsewhere the usual fragmentation had taken place and everyone was behaving quite naturally. Sullivan, for example, was describing his latest submarine research to an interested audience.
“We’re not sure, yet,” he said, “just how big they grow.
There’s a canyon not far from our base where a real giant lives. I’ve caught a glimpse of it once, and I’d say that its tentacle-spread is the best part of thirty metres. I’m going in after it next week. Anyone like something really novel in the way of pets?”