A fraction less organized against the possibility of warmth. "Henderson," he said, "we'll continue later." Henderson, who possessed the comfortable equanimity of a man who had watched dukes come and go and found them largely consistent, said, "Very good, Your Grace," in the tone of someone quite content to wait, and who would also be thinking about this later. The Duke came out of the kitchen garden and fell into step beside her as she walked toward the pond. She did not comment on this. He did not explain it.
They walked in the manner of people who have arrived by some mutual and unspoken agreement at a point slightly beyond introductions. They stood at the edge of the pond together. "He has been here every morning since Monday," the Duke said. "I walk the lower garden before breakfast. He is always already in position when I arrive."
"He is a creature of considerable routine," she said. "Within the category of things he cares about, are all ducks alike?"
"I could not say. I have only known Dioynes. He may be specific."
Dioynes regarded them both with the serene superiority of a creature who had arranged things precisely as he wanted them, and saw no reason for anyone to be confused about this. She unwrapped the bread and broke off a piece, holding it in her left hand, low and steady. Dioynes paddled toward the bank with the measured pace of someone with no intention of appearing eager, but strong intentions regarding the bread. He took it from her hand with duck gravity, without particular gratitude, but with absolute intentionality, and stepped onto the bank, standing beside the Duke's boot. The Duke looked down at him.
Dioynes looked up at the Duke. "He sat with you," Felicity stated. It was not a question. The Duke was quiet for a moment. "On Wednesday," he said, with the tone of a man admitting something that didn't entirely fit the narrative he had been maintaining about his mornings. "For perhaps ten minutes, on the bank while I was walking." He sat because he wanted to. Ducks do not sit with people they do not like.