Juliette was alarmed by the assassin’s sudden movement, though even before she learned the cause of it she did not bother to react. There was nothing she could do with only a hidden dagger strapped inconveniently to her leg—the weapon might as well be a thousand miles away for all the good it would do her if LeChance turned violent.<br/><br/>The former officer did not even have to look to know that Nira had trained her crossbow on the blind man. Juli repeated the subtle hand signal that told the younger woman to stand down once she realized what had happened.<em>He’s high-strung, isn’t he? Then again, if I had no sight and extremely sensitive hearing, I’d hate unexpected noises just as much.</em>One thing was for certain—her decision not to needlessly antagonize LeChance at this dinner had been thoroughly vindicated.<br/><br/>As for Prince Henrik’s reaction... if his words were conveyed with little emotion, at least their content had revealed one thing—he seemed genuinely concerned about the peace process to have bothered cautioning LeChance at all. That and Lenally’s regard for him somewhat mitigated the cold first impression he had made. Once the situation had settled down she answered the prince. “I would enjoy a game of chess—I don’t have the opportunity to play nearly as often as I would like. And earlier I promised you a friendly contest of swordsmanship as well. Between the two I imagine we’ll learn a lot about each other.” Though no doubt working out Henrik’s emotions and motivations would be far more than a day’s work, if it were possible at all.