Fate, it seemed, had other ideas: though Mr. Pettigrew, mercifully, did not try to press the matter—Dezzie was quite sure she would not hold out long if he did—the crowd itself seemed keen to inch the pair closer and closer to the destination in question.

“Very popular indeed,” she replied after quickly recovering from the near-miss with a small child. “In fact , the pair ahead of us in line were gearing up for their third go-round, which is, I suspect, quite the review.”