His smile dropped ever so slightly as she fixed him with quite a formidable stare, and he briefly ran through the growing list of items that he'd placed in the back of his mind that he might have said to offend her. But then her smile reappeared and he realized she'd been joking. He laughed then; partially to release the sudden nervousness he'd felt out of fear he'd offended her and partially because their conversation had provided him with the evidence that neither of them would be likely to take a day off in the next few days. "Deaf ears indeed, Miss Skovgaard," He said, still chuckling as he placed his empty teacup down. "Your healer's instincts do you credit!"

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