Cuthbert laughed, lifting his glass. "I'll drink to that!" Then, "Oh, don't give me that look, Jamie. If anything here's poisoned, it's the rabbit stew, and I'm pretty sure our friend's only avoiding it because of the gout. I'll bet you a dollar it's nothing so subtle they've got planned."

"Fuck you, Allgood," Jamie retorted, and then turned crimson as he remembered Nariko was there. "Cry pardon."

"I'd steer clear of that friendship with him," Roland remarked under his breath to Nariko, with the hint of a smile on his lips. "It's a headache from start to finish, for his mouth's hinged in the middle and runs at both ends. Ever has and ever will." Whatever thoughts had been consuming him, they seemed to have passed. Now he turned to her, pushing a stray lock of hair back from his face, and shook his head. "I cry your pardon. Feasts and festivals ill-agree with me." Once, he had loved them. But then, he hadn't been constantly on watch.