the terrible luck of never actually encountering monsters . I didn ' t choose a female companion for the very reason that I wanted to make Percy jealous .
Thunderboy looked between Percy and I and then nodded .
I led the native gentleman off the path and out into the grasslands . We walked some ways off from the group before I took out my binoculars to scan the distance for signs of life . I had not spoken to Thunderboy for some time , and to my surprise his first words were , " You love that boy ?" " I most certainly do not !" I said indignantly . " He has upset you ?" " Of course not . There may be a respectable friendship between us , but it is more of a work relationship ." I made certain to stress this point . I did not want people to start talking about Percy and I being " attached !"
" You like that boy ," he said , a little too matter-of-factly .
Well , I was not going to stand for that . Polite questions can be tolerated , but bold declarative statements with no basis in fact ? I said , " You are a stranger to our party , so you may not know that it is rude to make such bold statements towards a respectable English lady !"
" You are jealous of the little pictures ? The pictures of women ?"
" Well , I never !" I said . He may have had some insight , but it was still much too informal of an approach for a mere acquaintance . " If I knew you were going to ask me such invasive questions , I wouldn ' t have invited you on this ..."
And while my attitude was a trifle unladylike , my emotions quite got away from me . I was so busy disagreeing that I hardly noticed the bandits riding their humanoid machines that surrounded us .
Thunderboy produced a spear that he carried , which , at the time , I thought he was threatening me with — for being so vocal . " I daresay !" I cried ,