Thom tensed as the conversation turned towards the game. There was no disguising what she actually intended to say, despite the fact that the words she used were mundane. It was too much to ask, he supposed, that they could actually have gotten through three minutes of conversation without addressing it in some fashion; the letter she'd sent him loomed too large in the corner of both of their minds for them to pretend it had never happened. Still, he looked at his cards rather than at her as she spoke, and as he considered his response; it was easier.

"You speak as though I've been playing ruthlessly," he said, placing a card from his hand down on the table deliberately. "And I don't think that is the case. At the very least, you must know it was never my intention. Your cards are entirely beyond my control, so I hope you don't blame me for the current state of your hand."