"The Queen is, yes, by her own words and seen with my own eyes," Jigano confirmed grimly. "I don't know exactly how many others, but some are known to me." Names Abasi had not earned, nor given any indication that he could be trusted with them.
The compliment earned a gracious nod of acknowledgment but no smile. It didn't seem to be just his otherworld upbringing and bias; there was something strangely off about the man's sense of morality, and Jigano was regretting that he had stopped to offer assistance. He tilted his head curiously at the obsession with Loren from one who had, he thought, arrived so recently, but the Launceleyn man could be charismatic when he wasn't in one of his moods.
Then, too, the family had an unnerving habit of collecting and controlling people through various combinations of fear and seduction, and Abasi seemed the type to throw himself eagerly into that mold. Jigano bit back a sigh and instead went to retrieve his books. "Well, it sounds like you have some thinking to do," he said with a shrug. "If I hear of anyone needing help with a burial, I'll let them know about you." At least in passing. "Have a good day." With a short bow he let himself out the walk, passing between the hedges and heading back to his own errands.
The compliment earned a gracious nod of acknowledgment but no smile. It didn't seem to be just his otherworld upbringing and bias; there was something strangely off about the man's sense of morality, and Jigano was regretting that he had stopped to offer assistance. He tilted his head curiously at the obsession with Loren from one who had, he thought, arrived so recently, but the Launceleyn man could be charismatic when he wasn't in one of his moods.
Then, too, the family had an unnerving habit of collecting and controlling people through various combinations of fear and seduction, and Abasi seemed the type to throw himself eagerly into that mold. Jigano bit back a sigh and instead went to retrieve his books. "Well, it sounds like you have some thinking to do," he said with a shrug. "If I hear of anyone needing help with a burial, I'll let them know about you." At least in passing. "Have a good day." With a short bow he let himself out the walk, passing between the hedges and heading back to his own errands.
