「Oh, yes,」 said Lyra. 「Im safe from everyone here. Where I used to live, in Oxford, there was all kinds of dangerous things. There was gyptians—they take kids and sell em to the Turks for slaves. And on Port Meadow at the full moon theres a werewolf that es out from the old nunnery at Godstow. I heard him howling once. And theres the Gobblers....」
「Thats what I mean,」 the man said. 「Thats what they call the Oblation Board, dont they?」
Lyra felt Pantalaimon tremble suddenly, but he was on his best behavior. The daemons of the two grownups, a cat and a butterfly, dido notice.
「Gobblers?」 said the young woman. 「What a peculiar name! Why do they call them Gobblers?」
Lyra was about to tell her one of the bloodcurdling stories shed made up thten the Oxford kids with, but the man was already speaking.
「From the initials, dyou see? General Oblation Board. Very old idea, as a matter of fact. In the Middle Ages, parents would give their children to the church to be monks or nuns. And the unfortunate brats were known as oblates.
Means a sacrifice, an , something of that sort. So the same idea was taken up when they were looking into the Dust business....As our little friend probably knows. Why dont you go and talk to Lord Boreal?」 he added to Lyra directly. 「Im sure hed like to meet Mrs. Coulters protegee....Thats him, the man with gray hair and the serpent daemon.」
He wao get rid of Lyra so that he could talk more privately with the young woman; Lyra could tell that easily. But the young woman, it seemed, was still ied in Lyra, and slipped away from the man to talk to her.
「Stop a minute....Whats your name?」
「Lyra.」
「Im Adele Starminster. Im a journalist. Could I have a quiet word?」
Thinking it only natural that people should wish to talk to her, Lyra said simply, 「Yes.」
The womans butterfly daemon rose into the air, casting about to left and right, and fluttered down to whisper something, at which Adele Starminster said, 「e to the window seat.」
This was a favorite spot of Lyras; it overlooked the river, and at this time of night, the lights across on the south bank were glittering brilliantly over their refles in the black water of the high tide. A line of barges hauled by a tug moved upriver. Adele Starminster sat down and moved along the cushioned seat to make room.
「Did Professor Docker say that you had some e with Mrs. Coulter?」
「Yes.」
「What is it? Youre not her daughter, by any ce? I suppose I should know—」
「No!」 said Lyra. 「Course not. Im her personal assistant.」
「Her personal assistant? Youre a bit young, arent you? I thought you were related to her or something. Whats she like?」
「Shes very clever,」 said Lyra. Before this evening she would have said much more, but things were ging.
「Yes, but personally,」 Adele Starminster insisted. 「I mean, is she friendly or impatient or what? Do you live here with her? Whats she like in private?」
「Shes very nice,」 said Lyra stolidly.
「What sort of things do you do? How do you help her?」
「I do calculations and all that. Like for navigation.」
「Ah, I see....And where do you e from? What was your name again?」
「Lyra. I e from Oxford.」
「Why did Mrs. Coulter pick you to—」
She stopped very suddenly, because Mrs. Coulter herself had appeared close by.
From the way Adele Starminster looked up at her, and the agitated way her daemon was flutteri