Love was long gone, in her. She got by on a starvation diet of loyalty these days. - Lois McMaster Bujold

Perhaps the absence of risk should not be mistaken for the presence of fortitude.

And what goes on in the head of a walking dead man? Miles wondered. What personal failure could he possibly fear more than death itself?

“Damn,” said Elena in a hushed voice. “If I didn’t know you, I’d think you were Mad Yuri’s understudy. The look on your face…am I reading too much into all that innuendo, or did you in fact just connive to assassinate Gregor in one breath, offer to cuckold him in the next, accuse your father of homosexuality, suggest a patricidal plot against him, and league yourself with Cavilo—what are you going to do for an encore?”
“Depends on the straight lines. I can hardly wait to find out,” Miles panted. “Was I convincing?”
“You were scary.”
“Good.”