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Plutarch's Staff
"Terribly sorry-"
"Hush, Francis, it's not that late. Well, not by my standards."
"You may have to put up with quite a bit of this from me, I'm afraid."
"If you put up with the mess, we can call it a draw."
The Secret of the Swordfish
"At least home's unharmed."
"Yes, that's lucky. I don't know where we'd have gone."
"We?"
"Well, er, I don't know what my plans would have been, let alone yours, Philip."
"I didn't have a plan, so I expect I'd have tagged after you anyway."
The Valley of the Immortals
"How do you keep doing it, anyway? Popping up in disguise, just when I need you?"
"I can't promise I'll make a habit of it, but I'll try."
"I'll try to limit my scrapes to your area of purview."
"Well, when it's you… my area of purview is flexible."
The Last Swordfish
"Like this? … I take that to be a yes."
"Yes!"
"And now?"
"Mhm."
"Mhm is a yes?"
"Anything, Philip."
"Francis, you aren't helping."
"As long as you don't stop."
“I’m not going to.”
The Mystery of the Great Pyramid
"Say, what did you do with that ring?"
"Kept it, of course. The Superintendent had other things to worry about."
"Not planning on wearing it, are you?"
"Of course not, it would look absurd - Blake? Why?"
"No reason."
The Yellow M
"Quite frankly, I don't remember."
"You made an entire speech about hubris, and the tragedy of Dr. Septimus, and something about humanity. It was a bit odd at the time. Kendall told me to get you home."
"And that's all?"
"More or less. You really don't remember a word?"
"I remember seeing your face again."
The Septimus Wave
"At any rate, it's over."
"Mmm."
"I don't like that sound. Is there something you aren't telling me, Francis?"
"Always, dear."
The Call of the Moloch
"... Philip, you didn't seriously think I wanted to sit down and spend an evening reading the rules of rugby union?"
"Well, it is what you suggested."
"I have a number of suggestions, but I wasn't about to rattle them off in public. First and foremost, just to have you in my arms, for a little while."
"As we go over the rules of rugby union?"
"Ha! No one reads those, least of all the referees."
The Francis Blake Affair
"I wasn't going to leave you without a word - not after Egypt."
"More of a cryptic crossword than a word - but I'm glad."
"As am I."
The Strange Encounter
"Honestly, I would like to see their faces."
"Whose?"
"'The leaders of every nation in the world, without ideological distinction.'"
"When they hear about poor Macquarrie and Dr. Z'ong?"
"And the rest. By Jove, I'd give anything to be a fly on the wall at Khrushchev's briefing - though I expect they'll leave out the part about Olrik carting a fifteen-megaton warhead down the highway."
"Oh. Oh… Do you think they'll actually tell anyone?"
"Not a chance."
The Curse of the Thirty Denarii
"Did you know, Philip, we didn't break any laws in Greece?"
"That seems incorrect, though I'm hardly an international lawyer."
"All right, then, a few. But you know which one I mean."
"Oh? I remember, er…"
"Three years, now, since they repealed that law in Greece."
"Oh. … But that's just Greece."
"It is. But I thought you might like to know."
The Oath of the Five Lords
"Francis."
(That was all, that night. For the most part.)
The Atlantis Mystery
"At any rate, if that's the last we see of Olrik, I count it worth the frustration of no one believing us."
"If."
"The entire cavern collapsed, Francis. We're damned lucky it didn't trigger a tsunami."
"Oh, you're right. I just operate on the assumption that the Colonel is behind every case of petty theft and insurance fraud on the continent of Europe, and I'm not about to change that. How often have we seen him utterly fail to die, after all?"
"Optimistic as always, Francis."
The Voronov Plot
"You didn't happen to keep that beard, did you?"
"I might have turned it in, though possibly I just threw it out. Why? … What's so funny?"
"Just the idea of you turning in your beard."
"Miss Osbourne takes great pride in her work. Now that I think about it, I'm sure she wanted it back."
"Any more where it came from?"
"Plenty, Miss Osbourne usually goes for a similar style. I wonder when William's going to catch on."
"William Steele?"
"Precisely, old chap. It's a little joke MI5 has had running at his expense, for some time now. They look quite different on different faces, of course, but most of the false beards imitate his style. It's not strictly allowed, but I'm sure I can get one for you if you want."
"Never mind."
"What for, anyway? You already have a beard."
"It suited you."
"..."
"I wish you hadn't mentioned Steele. Rather spoils it for me, if you get my drift."
The Sarcophagi of the Sixth Continent
"Anything I can do?"
"No, Blake - just rest, and quiet."
"I'll do my best."
The Gondwana Shrine
"It's risky."
"I don't care."
"Nastasya and Sarah are next door."
"We can be quiet. Please. I need you."
S.O.S Meteors
"We don't know why it rains?"
"Well, in a manner of speaking we do; it's the details that haven't been worked out yet."
"I'm no meteorologist, but I thought it was something on the lines of the way steam condenses."
"That's the idea, but the physics are rather complicated."
"Hmm. Well, you've been negligent, Professor. Best get working on that."
"It's not exactly my specialty, Francis."
"You have a specialty? First I've ever heard it."
"Not meteorology, at any rate."
"So, no plans to solve the great mystery of rain?"
"Spare me, Francis, or I will physically silence you."
"Have you considered that the evaporation process may purify salt water -"
"With force."
"Or perhaps that ice crystals forming in the cold of the stratosphere -"
"I'm just playing into your hands, aren't I?"
"Has the total fresh water on the planet - aah!"
The Testament of William S.
"Not a single dull moment. And Sarah was delightful, as always."
"...Francis, you can't be serious."
"Serious about what?"
"It's been decades."
"Yes?"
"She's a friend, Francis."
"Philip, do you actually think I'm jealous?"
"That's what I thought you meant."
"I meant exactly what I said! Sarah's excellent company, and she told me quite a few stories about you."
"Oh - oh no."
The Time Trap
"I distinctly heard you tell the doctor you'd be gentle."
"I haven't throttled you."
"Fair."
"Philip, I was half out of my mind."
"And I was entirely so. Forgive me, Francis."
"I suppose I'll have to, when you ask like that. There should be a law against green eyes."
"I'll make it up to you."
"Now you're talking."
The Affair of the Necklace
"It still irks me, that he got away."
"May as well accept it. Personally, I plan to take full advantage of his absence. Where were we?"
Professor Sato's Three Formulae
"Did you know, Francis, the Japanese have baths to rival those of Atlantis? A nicer colour, too."
"You'll have to show me."
"Oh, I intend to."