"Now, now," said Vale in a sickeningly sweet voice reminiscent of a nursery nanny. "I already gave him a drubbing for courting Emmie." Reynaud raised his eyebrows. "You did?" "He did not," Hartley said even as Vale nodded happily. "I threw him down the stairs." Vale pursed his lips and looked skyward. "Not my recollection, but I can see how your memory of the event may've become hazy."