"I did not know but it does not surprise me." He lets her talk, otherwise, lets her finish, and then lets the silence sit for a long moment while he figures out the best way to address the thing lying on the table between them.

"I expect for you to be able to make them believe you do, at least," he says, finally, "I have always needed them. You now need them. And they will not only not rally to your banners but actively desert mine if you do not. We must bridge the gap and if we cannot do that by making either side understand the plight of the other, we must stand balanced in the middle."

"You took your power, by virtue of who you were and what you believed in. I was elected to mine. I hold yours to be the truer power, make no mistake, but if I am immediately unelected because my wife poses an imminent threat to the nobility, there will be more bloodshed," it's said very matter-of-factly, though it's far more open than he would normally be with most anyone. It's becoming a bit more clear, throughout dinner, how he's managed to climb so high.