Oh, a mediwitch — had he known that about her? The corner of his mouth twitched up briefly. "You wouldn't happen to know of anyone who'd want to stand-by as a healer for a duel, would you?" he asked lightly. It wasn't exactly the sort of thing healers lined up for, after all. It was illegal, and healers as a general class tended to be very by-the-book types. Mediwitches perhaps less so, since she'd had a child out of wedlock and then invited Ben into her home to meet him, but still.

It occurred to him only after he said it that the implication that they might be in need of a healer might distress her, or at the very least she might not consider it a very funny joke, given the circumstances. "Sorry," he said in a much more sober tone. "Not a great joke, probably. Timing's all off."