"Indeed," he replied, as if he understood.

And he did, if in the opposite direction. How many times had he 'made calls,' as Quintus put it, only to have some fool bungle it down the line?

"And less than she was known for, I'm sure. Once she realized I am a difficult man to cow--" and he clearly had no shame in saying so, the words said with the same, purred confidence as everything else, "--things simplified."