A regretful shrug. "Alas," he responds, his voice light - but his eyes are trained on hers. "And then I shall have to disappear, and another will come to take my place. And you'll have lost your pipeline to Ferelden...at least until you sniff out my replacement. And then they will say the same thing to you - that they will keep no secrets from the Queen - and they will be sent packing, and the cycle will begin anew."

His head tilts to the side. "You want something from me. I'm not opposed to giving it. Indeed, I'll cheerfully bend all of my not-inconsiderable skills to your cause - but not if doing so means I am forsworn. Besides - " A little flutter of his fingers. "You'll be reading over my reports, won't you? Don't you think you're keen enough to edit out any parts that might be sensitive?" And finally, a shrug - "And they already know about you, you know. I wrote about you months ago."