He was in the anteroom, a gilded and decorated parlor filled with overstuffed chairs and couches. There was a door at the far side of the room, and a woman suddenly came out of it holding a pocketbook in one hand and a large powder-puff in the other. She saw Malone and reacted instantly.
Her scream seemed to be a signal. The two other women sitting on couches screamed, too, and jumped up with their hands to their faces. Malone shouted something unintelligible but very loud at them and brandished a fist menacingly. They shrieked again and ran for the interior room.
Malone heard the roaring outside, and pressed his back tighter against the door. Then, suddenly, he broke away from it and ran over to Her Majesty and Lou. He looked down. Lou was apparently completely unconscious by this time, and there was a peaceful look on her face. The Queen looked down at her, then up at Malone.
“I’m sorry, Sir Kenneth,” she said, “but we really haven’t time for romantic thoughts just now.”
Malone passed a hand over his brow. “We haven’t got time for anything,” he said. “You can see what’s going on outside.”
“My goodness,” Her Majesty said. “Oh, yes. My goodness, yes.”
“Okay,” Malone said. “We’ve got to teleport out, if we can—and if we can take Lou with us.”
“I don’t know, Sir Kenneth,” the Queen said.
“We’ve got to try,” Malone said grimly, looking down. There was a crash as something hit the door. It shuddered, creaked, and held. Malone took a breath. Lou was too beautiful to leave behind, no matter what.
“I’ll mesh my mind with yours,” Her Majesty said, “so we’ll be synchronized.”