Today, Baldrick was back in the classroom, but he looked a little different than usual. (Sadly, he didn't smell a little different than usual.) He was wearing a powdered white wig, one of Blackadder's more threadbare frock coats, and the same pair of shiny blue pantaloons that Edmund had tried to get his students to try on during the very first class.

"Since today's subject is maintaining one's sanity in the face of idiots one can't openly abuse," Edmund said, standing just out of whiffing distance and pointing at his dogsbody, "Baldrick is obviously not the most accurate example, so he's standing in for someone who is. In this case, he's pretending to be royalty as well as my boss, but you needn't go that far to find someone stupid in a position of power, as we discussed last week."

"So. How to express one's frustrations - or get what one desires - when one can't do it openly?" Edmund flicked his hand through the air like he was about to produce a silk rose from his sleeve. "Passive-aggression via the stealth insult, of course. One of the few pleasant things about idiots in power is that the more idiotic they are, the less likely that they will be aware that you're insulting them. In that sense, Baldrick -- pardon me, Prince George -- is an outstanding assistant today."

"Oh, Mister Blackadder, truly?" Baldrick's sooty hand covered his heart. "Nobody's ever told me I helped them before!"

Edmund's eyebrow lifted by the smallest fraction of a millimetre. "You shock me, Your Highness."

He should have known better than to expect Baldrick to remember he was supposed to be in character - though to be fair, drop the Mister and substitute Bladders and it still made a halfway decent impersonation.

"I'll remember it to my dying day!"

"Please accept my sincerest hopes that I live to see that vow come true."

"You know, you're never this nice to me when I'm being me..." Baldrick complained, tugging awkwardly on his wig.

Edmund rolled his eyes. "You don't pay me, and your socks have very little resale value." To his class, he said, "So, the object here is to express your negative opinions without your personal imbecile realizing he's being derided -- if you're very good at it, he might even think it's a compliment."

[Open!]