"Then I'll find you something very long. Something so sincere that it isn't in the slightest bit amusing." This, all cheerful patter like they are still exchanging jokes (or as if she could drag him into doing so by sheer force of will; how grim he's become since returning from the Anderfels).

"I've missed having such a sympathetic partner. Mister Stark is far too busy for the sort of reading we do, and truth be told I don't know if Valentine cares much for fiction. We mostly discuss essays. It is good," she says, tightening the angle of her arm briefly about his. "To have a companion in this sort of thing. I'll say so even if you can't bring yourself to."

Unconfessed indeed.