It's either nice or very suspicious that she has his favored drink on hand. Jury's out.

"There's been some unrest in the northern islands," John says at last, delicate around the edges of the rumor itself. "And I'm concerned for the well being of someone I left behind there."

Tilting the cup in his hand, John smiles faintly.

"I suppose the question becomes, do you have someone well placed to seek someone out in the north?"

And, unspoken, what is that favor going to cost me?