Quinn’s question caught Cyril mid-sip, and startled him so much that he nearly ruined the white silken tablecloth with wine. Thankfully he managed to swallow with only a dignified cough, but the surprise remained blatant on his face, starkened by the candlelight. 

“[color=caffbf][i]Hate[/i] you?[/color]” he said, with as much emphasis as a private-tone could contain. “[color=caffbf]Why would you think—[/color]”

Then he paused, and it might seem to Quinn like his thoughts had caught up with her own. She had humiliated Casoban in their duel with Helburke, it had cleaved a rift into their union with Runa so deep it was nearly severed completely. There had been news stories aplenty calling her character into question, her allegiances, her motives. How could he be surprised? 

But then he giggled again, much less restrained. “[color=caffbf]Quinnlash,[/color]” he said. “[color=caffbf]The other day, RISC stopped the Modir from turning Casoban into a Westwel encore. We watched you, specifically, fight off half a dozen of them—with, as you mentioned, a little help. But all the same, Quinnlash Loughvein and Dahlia St. Senn [i]saved[/i] Casoban just as much as anyone in the CSC. I’m sure the news outlets in our homes will assign the weight of that accomplishment differently, but that’s just politics. Boring. What matters is what the [i]people[/i] think, how [i]they[/i] see you. And they saw you.[/color]” 

He leaned in on his elbows, peering at her over his glasses. “[color=caffbf]If you ask me, I think this day, literally today—you stepping onto the Ange, [i]Ablaze[/i] in our hangar—I think this is the safest anyone in Casoban has felt for a long, long time.[/color]” 

The maître de returned then, notepad in hand. He didn’t need to say anything, just smiled and waited as Cyril gave one last glance through the menu as a formality.

“[color=caffbf]Oh, alright, you know what? I think this is a special enough occasion to jump the line down to one I’ve been waiting for. The veal osso buco, [i]s’il vous plait[/i].[/color]”

The man scratched his order down, took the menu, then gave the same expectant smile to Quinn.