This is my favorite chapter thus far--it is all wonderful. This bit really jumped out at me.

"I can't cancel, Jon!" cried Stephen, a little more loudly than he meant to. "He's a busy man, he's like the father of the country, he's got ten other kids to look after, I have to take what I can get!"

"'Ten other kids'?" repeated Jon.

"I didn't say ten," corrected Stephen quickly. "I said three hundred million."

"It sounded like ten to me."

"Well, you heard wrong."

"'Ten' and 'three hundred million' don't sound anything alike."

"But I didn't say ten. Why would I say ten?"

Jon was quiet, and for a moment Stephen was afraid he was going to answer; but when he next spoke, he had dropped the subject.