"All the better," Strange remarks. That smug smile fades into a smaller, more gentle smile as he continues talking. "England is full of magicians. Anybody who wants to use magic should be able to do so."

Granted, Childermass is still right: it would probably be better should Norrell or Strange be there in the first place, if only because some of the new magicians would be liable to listen to them than to Childermass. But it's not like they could do anything about it now, could they. After all, Strange doesn't have any idea how to break the curse in the first place.

"You'll do fine, though. You managed to keep one magician out of trouble for who knows how many years, you should be able to wrangle a few less troublesome magicians."