"I never said you taught him," Merlin noted blandly. "Only that you were influencing him. I can't imagine who else it might have been. I'm certainly not irresponsible enough to teach angels bad habits."

"So it wasn't you who helped Raphael and I get Michael drunk last festival day in the Garden Coast, then?" Gabe asked innocently, and Merlin coughed.

"Certainly not." He grinned. "But I happen to know where the pictures are, in the event anyone is interested. In the meantime, Valkyrie, Fletcher, I think I should chaperone you on this outing of yours. From a distance, of course. Perhaps the other side of the carnival. It has been a while since I went to one."

The last was said rather wistfully, but with a twinkle in the Ancient's eyes, and a moment later all three of them were gone.

Still red, still half laughing at himself and Merlin and the whole situation, Gabriel turned to Skulduggery. And sobered rather quickly. "We should talk somewhere Kenspeckle won't overhear. That room over there should do."

It wasn't as if Gabriel wouldn't sense anyone coming close, after all; the main issue was making sure they weren't within earshot.