"Thank you," Laurent said, starting to reach for the bedside table, where he usually kept a little coin purse to tip the servants, but he wasn't in his own bedroom. Flushing with embarrassment, because showing appreciation to his servants was important to him, Laurent sat back again, trying to remember their faces so that he could arrange for something small later.

Thanking them again as one of the servants poured him a cup of tea, with cream and sugar the way he liked it, Laurent accepted his cup and settled back against Damen's side, happily nibbling at an indulgent fruit pastry in between sips of tea.