The minister of war snorted. "Not if he had to follow you on a horse," he said. - Megan Whalen Turner

He was confident, I think, of the success over both Eddis and Attolia right up until the world heard that the Thief of Eddis had stolen the queen of Attolia and meant to marry her.

The dandified Attolian who had spoke, a patron, but not a baron by any means, glanced at the queen to see if she approved, but she was looking the other way. The king shrugged his shoulders slightly and said, "I could send you to ask them."
The man laughed. "It would be a long trip, Your Majesty. I would so much rather hear the answer from you."
"Oh, the trip would be much quicker than you think," said the king pleasantly. "Most of my male cousins are dead."
The silence that had begun at the head table had spread to the edges of the hall. The Attolian's smile grew uncertain.
The king didn't smile back. Those who understood shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

"Surely I am a better mistress to serve?"
"You are more beautiful, Your Majesty." The queen smiled again before I finished. "But she is more kind."
So much for discretion. The smile disappeared. You could have heard a pin drop onto the stone floor as her alabaster cheeks flushed red. No one could ever accuse the queen of Attolia of being kind.