As soon as Bartimaeus leaves the room, Nathaniel performs the Indefinite Confinement spell. Elsewhere in the house, Martha expresses her concerns about Nathaniel to Arthur, who brushes them off. He believes that Nathaniel is only worried about his alleged first summoning. When Nathaniel later asks to leave, secretly planning to throw the tin in the Thames, Martha denies him since he is meant to choose his name with Arthur. In Arthur’s study, they spend more than an hour looking at available names in the Almanac. Though Nathaniel initially wants to be named after William Gladstone, his idol, they settle on John Mandrake. Once done, Nathaniel is allowed to wear lenses that permit him to see different planes of perception. Arthur tells him that they will attend the state address at Parliament in three days, and for once, Nathaniel is genuinely enthused. Two hours later, Nathaniel makes his way to the Thames and throws the tin into the water, making good on his threat to Bartimaeus.

Still embittered by his persisting binding, Bartimaeus spies on Simon in his home as a pigeon for three days. On the morning of the third day, he sees a messenger imp leave the house. He follows him and accosts him in Hampstead Heath.