Palmerston Gruff is a Bulldog of no club, stubborn in public and soft hearted in private, a proper comic boulder. Palmerston Gruff has named every cracked tile near the glassbird roost and refuses to share the list. On busy market days Palmerston Gruff carries a rusted tag with half a name like a small flag, and stallkeepers nod as it passes. Every passing hour with Palmerston Gruff feels like one more clue from a planet that inherited too many secrets.