I could feel my face burning, slipping into a tight expression of concern, or maybe anger. It took much to spur me to anger, but this was one such; a man like Greg holding himself to a standard in the name of a lover who clearly did not esteem him half as much as he was worth, thinking himself a hypocrite when he was in truth doing no more than he had right, and fully less than I would have done in his place.

Swallowing and forcing myself to choose my words carefully, I said shortly, "I would not put myself in the position of tale-telling for anything in the world, but I cannot hold silent when you speak thus. You ought not to hold yourself to so high a standard when he has proven that he cannot reach it, and continues to prove it. I wish you could have imparted some measure of your own resolve to him, else I might not have to tell you that he was far less able to resist Alcuin's charms than you are to resist mine."

I fell silent and forced myself to keep my eyes on his face, knowing I did not want to watch the hurt this would give him show on his face, but knowing too that as the bringer of it I could not flinch away from it.