The Superversive - Silliness in manuscript

For the essai I am supposed to be preparing, I am reading bits of The Passing of the King, which, on the present plan, is Book V of the Magnificent Octopus. It is, I should say, roughly two-thirds finished, though the existing text is in some slight need of revision. A bit of ‘business’ leapt to my eye, which I should like to pass on, because it may amuse some of you, and contains no spoilers to speak of. Our Hero is in hiding from the authorities, and scratching for his bread in a slum district under a false name:

The shopkeeper had a parcel of fresh work for me, and nearly a crown in cash. ‘You’ll be out of debt soon, Mr. Stonehelm,’ he told me as he counted out the coins. ‘I’ll have to find some other way to bind you to me. A reliable copyist is not so easy to find.’

‘You could marry me to your daughter if you had one,’ I gibed sourly.

Tarlan Bow grinned. ‘If you’ve twenty years to spare, I can start one for you.’