'THAT'S over! I couldn't have done another stitch of justice if you'd offered me the crown of Egypt! Now come into the garden, and we'll have a nice, long, cosy talk.' She led them through long, narrow corridors whose walls they somehow felt, were very, very thick, into a sort of garden courtyard.

There were thick shrubs closely planted, and roses were trained over trellises, and made a pleasant shade--needed, indeed, for already the sun was as hot as it is in England in August at the seaside.
Slaves spread cushions on a low, marble terrace, and a big man with a smooth face served cool drink in cups of gold studded with beryls.

He drank a little from the Queen's cup before handing it to her.
'That's rather a nasty trick,' whispered Robert, who had been carefully taught never to drink out of one of the nice, shiny, metal cups that are chained to the London drinking fountains without first rinsing it out thoroughly.
The Queen overheard him.
'Not at all,' said she.

'Ritti-Marduk is a very clean man.

And one has to have SOME ONE as taster, you know, because of poison.' The word made the children feel rather creepy; but Ritti-Marduk had tasted all the cups, so they felt pretty safe.