The soldier seemed to take the silence as an invitation. He straightened slightly, and his smile widened.
"Heard you filled your exile with brothels and borrowed women," he said. "Can't blame you, I suppose. When a man has nothing left—"
"Enough."
The voice came from the left.
One of the Duke's knights had appeared from the side passage. He walked into the corridor and stopped between Julian and the group ahead.
"You're addressing the young lord of this house," he said. "Choose your next words accordingly."
The broad-shouldered soldier looked at him.
Something shifted in the group's energy. They looked at each other briefly. One of them said nothing, simply watched, while another adjusted his footing, as if preparing to take an offensive stance.
"Young lord," the broad-shouldered soldier repeated. "The young lord who was sent away for what he did. That young lord."
The knight's expression hardened. "I said enough."
