Mostly on instinct and reflex rather than any form of conscious thought, Tiberius returned her violent gesture with one of his own and struck her across the face with the back of his open hand. It wasn't the first time he'd hit his wife, but it might have been the first time he'd done so with so little apparent provocation. He certainly didn't make a habit of abusing her in hallways where any servant might happen by and become a witness, but he had been restless and irritable since the storm, and he was clearly in no mood to be detained so that she could jeer at him.