Her first words - and her tone - seemed to hint that her father had not been of the apparently rare breed of ascendant one could be proud of. Porthos didn't ask, but took up stroking his fingers across her back. "I only knew my mother," he replied, with a shake of his head. That was an easy answer to give, compared to anything to do with his father. The grief was much older. "She died when I was a child. Then I grew up in the Court of Miracles."

He watched her face to see if the name would register with her. He had no idea whether the Court might survive to her days, never mind whether an Australian lady would have heard of it.