When Bert had thanked her (rather curtly) and left, Alain rubbed his temple gingerly and reached over to retrieve his own guns, buckling them on in silence. Now that he wasn't arguing with Bert, he had fallen back into his usual patterns, taking a while to consider what he said before he said it.

"I fear I slept through the part of the conversation where you told us your name," he said at last, sounding genuinely apologetic. "But whoever you may be, sai, thankee for your hospitality. I hope we haven't imposed."