“I announced at the entry gate that I was your lover and had come to visit you. I'm afraid I've diminished you in the eyes of your countrymen.” Sincere confusion and puzzlement settled over his face. “How would such an announcement, a true and glorious one I might add, diminish me?” She must have made an odd noise because his eyebrows crashed together. “What's wrong?” If she weren't made of hardier stuff, her knees might have buckled. No practiced charm or seductive quip would ever equal in power what he just said to her.
