Renaud looked himself thoughtfully in the mirror, still disliking the stranger that stared back at him. He disliked these rooms, he disliked being on land, and most of all, he disliked being under investigation. As if he had been a criminal, just waiting to be hanged.

"I had an interesting encounter earlier today" he said, looking at Iolanthe's reflection in the mirror rather than the woman herself. "Admiral Romain. It seems that the rumors that he did not die was true after all." He straightened his shirt a little, he liked being impeccable when he was in a mood, even in civilian clothes.

Iolanthe raised an eyebrow. "I see he has you fidgeting with your clothes," she teased. "I wasn't exactly doubting them," he said. "What did he have to say? Was he jealous?"

"More amused it seems, but he always struck me as a man that is very careful what feelings he shows to people. Merde" he cursed softly, turning around to face her. "He did not appear here by chance. He has something that he claims can cure my consumption, and is offering to sell it like all the other snake-oil merchants that dogged my steps when I was Grand Commandeur here."

Iolanthe raised her eyebrows. "He wouldn't be here if he were lying. He does lie, but not about things he can be caught at. And what did you say?" she asked.

"That it was dealt with for the moment, but I would think about it." He had started pacing again, restless like he always was these days. He was not a man suited to inaction. "I know where he is staying." His frown deepened a little, and he stopped his facing to face her. "He had a hard time believing I was the man he wanted, this is absurd ma cherie, I'm an impostor in my own body. If I can't resolve this soon, I might as well give up my career. He had to interrogate me about you before he believed I was the man he sought."

Iolanthe grinned. "Why not give up this career?" she asked. "No one will know where to look for you. You're young, attractive. You could do every single thing you thought you'd missed out on." She crooked a finger at him. "Come here, love."

"I am a navy man" he said, though his thin lips quirked in the slightest of smiles. "I serve the Empire, whatever the rumors might say." But he had to admit that at the moment, it looked as if the Empire did not want his services. "I do not feel comfortable on dry land, and the other choices are merchantmen, which would bore me to tears, or piracy." He walked over to her, slowly, teasingly. "He warned me about you. Told me not to turn my back."

Iolanthe reached for his hands. "You could be a pirate," she suggested, curling his fingers around hers. "You'd make a very dashing pirate. And you know all the tricks already. And I wasn't in love with him," she reminded him.

"I have no illusions about the life of a pirate, there are no dashing heroes but in the books, ma cherie." He bowed and kissed her hands before straightening his back again. "Did you love me from the start then?" The question was a teasing one, because he was fairly convinced that it had not been the case. "Our marriage started as one of convenience as well."

"Of course not," Iolanthe replied nicely. "You didn't love me from the start, either, may I remind [i]you[i]." She pulled him onto her lap. "You can let me out of your line of sight," she promised. "I won't do anything you wouldn't like."