Daoud stayed for dinner, and made no comment on the quality of the food. In fact, by the end of the meal he seemed almost happy—to be speaking his own language again, as an individual at a table of equals, out from under the shadow of his erstwhile employer.

After Stephen went upstairs, ostensibly to study for his imminent reentry exam, they adjourned to the library for drinks and the welcome warmth of the fire. Lillian, who had been looking at the accounts when Daoud dropped in, mourned the last of a decanter of Tolishnaughcaul. That was an extravagance they couldn’t sustain.

«Will you go back to Sykes House tonight?» Lillian asked, watching Daoud navigate the complexities of the peated whiskey.

He cleared his throat. «I should. My things are there. And it is too late now to go looking for new accommodations.»

«We would offer you a place here,» said Jinadh, who had been briefly apprised of the situation. «Unfortunately, the spare bedrooms aren’t exactly inhabitable right now.» As in, they both lacked beds, and most other necessary accoutrements.

Daoud shook his head. «It’s all right. I’m a grown man; I shouldn’t mind.»

«If only that were how aging worked.» Jinadh tipped the rest of his whiskey back and then said, «Bad manners, but I’m afraid I need to get to bed. You two stay up as long as you like.»

«No, no.» Daoud stood, too. Lillian noticed he had not finished his drink. She was above pouring it back into the decanter once he’d gone, but certainly not above finishing it for him.

There was an awkward moment in which Jinadh and Daoud didn’t quite know how to say goodbye—Daoud put his hand out for a shake and interrupted Jinadh’s attempt at a cheek-to-cheek air kiss. If this had been an embassy ball or some other diplomatic occasion, Lillian would have blanched. But instead it gave her a spot of sorely needed mirth.

“Before you go,” she said, after Jinadh had left them, “I have a favor to ask.”

“Of course.”

“In the future,” she said, sweeping the library ladder from the corner, “you might ask what you’re agreeing to. I’ve avoided too many scrapes to count, that way.”

His laugh was rueful. “I will make a note.”

She lined the ladder up beneath the third decorative panel from the wall and climbed past empty shelves. Depressing a latch disguised as an ivy leaf, she released the panel from the wall to reveal a combination safe. “Hold this?” she asked.

Failing to hide his surprise, Daoud took the panel from her.