"I'll be shocked if that quote doesn't come back to haunt me for some time to come," he said, "either from you or the populace at large. You know that horrible woman will take delight in spreading that around. And if I were you, there's no way I'd let me live it down any time soon. You're better off without that Navarran. With them it's all talk about how big their lances are." He dropped his voice. "I suspect overcompensation for something."

He sat back, fighting his smile. "That's something we can just about count on. Something else is going to happen. Look at where we live."