From the unlaced purse hidden on the floor a tiny head thrust itself
out, followed soon by a pair of minuscule shoulders.
"Have you studied this Terran game?" queried Perat curiously, "or don't
you know enough to seize the center on your first move?"
"Have I made an error already? Was that the wrong move?"
"It's the first move in a complete defensive system, but few people
outside of Terrans understand it. Pawn to queen four."
She had blundered in attempting the French Defense, but it was not too
late to convert to something that could be expected of a Scythian woman
beginner. "Pawn to queen three."
The grey doll was out of the purse, sidling through the shadows to the
door, which stood slightly ajar.
"So you don't know the book moves, after all. You would really have
astonished me if you had moved your queen pawn two squares. I'll play
pawn to king bishop four. Will you have some _terif_?"
He spun around upright and reached for the decanter, looking full at
the door ... and the tiny figure.
Evelyn was up at once, cutting off his line of vision. "Yes, I think I
will have one."
Telepathically she ordered the little creature to dash through the
crack in the doorway. She heard the faint rustle behind her as she
picked up the glass Perat poured.
"You know," he said thoughtfully, "for a moment I thought I saw your
little doll...."