"You don't look like a gargoyle, either," Noble said — a little forward, but he didn't see any harm in it. What was the point of being worried about his reputation now? Ford was married, his wife was ruined. Daff was married, officially closing the door on everything Noble had ever thought he wanted.

Even with their romantic connection long over — it stung. He'd closed the door, mostly for his family, and now he did not see how the Greengrasses were ever going to escape their debt with even the girls intact.

So he could flirt with the pretty blonde healer.

"I'm not really sitting still," he added. And as an explanation: "People-watching."