"Overwhelm my- Innattention to-" Well if she was going to be rude, she could just leave! "Miss Tay-lor. You, as well as that insufferable portrait, are guests in MY office... and I am... I am..." His mind went to thoughts of the former minister and that stick he had and what he could do with it... when he proved he was a magician... wizard... whatever... did this woman have his stick?

"I am... delighted you came and introduced yourself Minister." He said a bit nicer... if she had that stick she could make him blow up or kill him... or worse! Cut off his mustache! "Thank you for offering to repair it, but it was an antique and I'm afraid the glue may melt with the heated water..." Not to mention how unsightly the cup would look. "It's alright... Antique is just another word for... old..." like his gran... he thought painfully.