“Fine,” I said. He jerked and stared at me in sudden dismay. “What?” “Fine!” I said. “You just demanded—” “And now, for the first time, you make no effort to negotiate—” He pulled himself up short, his face glitter-flushed again, and I had a deeply sinking feeling even as he said, bitterly, “We are agreed. And may you complete as much of your task as you can.”
