Now Tehr was on the defensive.  She certainly was an expert at maneuvering the waters of house and court politics.  She'd deftly sprung the obvious trap without getting caught in it.  She'd conceded that it was entirely possible that he wasn't the queen's consort, but allowed him to continue to 'court' her.  He'd fallen into her gambit now and he'd have to play well to make it out safely.  The problem that he saw was that house Dale was a much larger and more powerful house than house Wynt.  If he married Joanne, the two houses would be tied together.  As the weaker of the two Dale would grow in strength and Wynt would be looked at as a puppet.  But it wouldn't be without advantages either.  But Joanne seemed a bit headstrong and not like the kind of woman that would allow Tehr his freedoms for too long.<br/><br/>No, his fortune would be much better assured if he tied himself to a smaller house that wouldn't be overshadowed.  But now to get out of this gracefully.  "Joanne, if I may call you that, I'm honored by your permission to court you.  But there's one problem."  He took her hand and kissed the back of it, "As of this moment, I am not able to court anyone officially.  I trust that you can keep this to yourself, and you can resist asking me to divulge more information about why.   But the only social relationships that I can build currently are professional, friendly, and casual."<br/><br/>He was lying of course, and even if she saw that on his face she wouldn't know what he was lying about.  He hoped that she'd assume it had to do with the queen.  He finished by saying, "I hope you can understand however my greatest desire to remain friends with house Dale, because the future always lies around a winding path.  What we can not see today becomes clear tomorrow.  Choices unavailable to me now, might open in the future."