"There, see?" Cuthbert smirked at Roland, shaking his head. "She's got more sense than you." Then, in a stage-whisper to Nariko, "He's scared that if you get to know me, I'll tell you all his secrets. But he's got nothing to worry about. The only secrets of his I'd ever tell are the ones he wears on his sleeve. Like that he's only kicking me over this because it's easier than kicking himself."

"To be fair, Bert," Alain commented in a low drawl, "it's also a good deal more enjoyable."

"You. You are not my dinh." Cuthbert raised one finger warningly. "You, I can kick right back."

Alain shrugged amiably, turning back to his conversation with Jamie and Roland. Laughing, Bert looked back at Nariko. "Cry pardon. You were saying?"