Arthur did not let the immediate regret he felt for his words show on his face as he was stared at.  It was hard.  For a day, now, he'd tried so hard to please Miriam and make a good impression of himself on her.  And in less than a minute, he had thrown it all out.

It was harder to care when he heard Malachi's laugh, short as it was.  Harder still when he reminded himself that he was going to kill Miriam very soon.  Really, her impression of Arthur would not matter for very much longer at all.

The salt was handed to him by someone Arthur couldn't even muster up the pride to look at.  He didn't even need it, and set it beside his plate as Miriam and Levi left the dining hall in a huff.  Mara's comment surprised him, and Malachi's even more so.

"She - what?"  The question was quiet as Arthur looked between Mara and Malachi frantically, eyes wide and cheeks pink.

So that comment before - she had been flirting with him, then!

Hadn't he told her he had a lover?  Lied about the sex of the person, but a lover nonetheless.  What a shameless woman, Miriam was.

He ignored Mara's comment to look instead to Malachi, the remorse finally bleeding onto his face.  His hand never left the thigh it rested on.

"I'm very sorry, Malachi, I don't know why I said that.  Her - she bothered me with that comment.  Is she always like that?"  Finally he turned to Mara.  His distrust of her had seemed to vanish completely, if only for a moment.  "I'm sorry you had to see that, ma'am.  They - she..."  Arthur gestured vaguely to where her husband and mother in law disappeared.

"The idea they have any civility is... a unique stance to take.  But I should not add fuel to the fire."