"Thank you," said Anton, but he regarded her as he did. It was clear from her silence that his description had struck a cord. He wouldn't have asked, in spite of the curiosity, but she chose to answer regardless.

"It sounds like a place worth visiting," he answered, and glanced around again. "Unfortunately nobility is in high demand these days. I would not claim to be so myself; but lacking nobility and striving for it are two very different things. I would rather perform the latter than be informed by the former."

It was one of the reasons he'd managed to hold on against the gist for so long.