❛ Some people seemed to get all sunshine, and some all shadow. ❜
He dropped his head in a respectful bow, but also averted his eyes from her and found the tips of his boots to be the target of his fascination, rather than meet her eye. “You have my thanks for your sympathies, your grace. But I need no reminding of the shadow that is cast over my life.” He then looked back up to her, with a fake, manufactured smile that turned to a sad grimace the higher it travelled up his face. “I am here to celebrate your husband, my friend, our king. I would drink in his name, rather than to drown.”












