I thought, perhaps, that you were smart enough not to make this more difficult for yourself.

[His answer is an impatient growl from the other end of the room. He shifts, but does not emerge from the woolen blanket to look at her. He is still deciding how best to punish her come morning — or if it was best to try one last time to encourage her to give him the benefit if the doubt.]

What exactly was your plan, had you succeeded? You would have woken my men, and they would have come in here and killed you before you could say “uncle”.

[Now he sits up to look at her, squinting in the darkness.]