‘Darling! That’s so like you to downplay things. You know,’ she said with a wink, ‘I like emerald rings too.’ She held up her hand, rubbing her thumb against her marriage finger. Well, well, well. Byron’s flirtation with me had been all about the manipulation; I doubted that he was the marrying kind. He certainly hadn’t appeared unhappy when the giggly Sidhe girl came onto him. Maybe good old Tipsy was prepared to agree to an open marriage.

Byron coughed. ‘I need to take Integrity up to her room. I’ll come and find you later, alright?’

She beamed. ‘I’ll look forward to it.’

Taking my elbow, he led me away. Once we were out of earshot, I couldn’t help myself. ‘You and Tipsy, eh? How long has that been going on?’

‘It’s complicated,’ he grunted. ‘And I’m sorry you had to bump into her like that. I know she wasn’t very nice to you when you were a kid.’

Wasn’t very nice? That was an understatement. ‘You weren’t very nice to me either, Byron.’

He didn’t look at me. ‘No,’ he said after a long pause. ‘I don’t suppose I was.’

We lapsed into silence. I still wanted answers to my questions about the naming but I sensed this wasn’t the right time. He’d shoved his hands into his pockets and was looking particularly grim. I’d find someone else to explain - Byron apparently had far weightier things to worry about.

He deposited me in a small suite of rooms in the high reaches of the castle without saying another single word. It wasn’t until he was preparing to leave that he grunted that someone would come to help me settle in. Whatever that entailed.

Still, I was finally getting some much-needed solitude. I looked around the rooms approvingly. While I was betting that the other Sidhe were housed in far more luxurious quarters, the simple elegance here pleased me. Until I sat down on the bed; it was rock hard. I tried bouncing up and down and received nothing more than a sore arse for my efforts. I snorted. Well, it wasn’t like I was here to sleep.

Checking the door and the corridor and satisfied that I was well and truly alone, I opened my bag and pulled out the letter opener. I had been rather mean to Bob the last time we talked and I needed him on my side. Especially now. Steeling myself for some grovelling, I unsheathed the blade and gave it a good rub.

Bob appeared with the now-familiar flash of light. That was a start at least. He was, however, clearly put out. I received a petulant grimace before he turned his back on me, sat down and crossed his legs and his arms.

‘Come on, Bob,’ I soothed. ‘Don’t be like that.’

He didn’t answer.