"Thank you, Gabriel," he said, dry as dead grass. "That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said about me."

Barnaby thought about that one for a moment before replying to Loki. "A little," he conceded. "Not usually as concentrated as this manor seems to be, and... probably not for the same reason. I think the culture there just attracts them."

At Loki's other statement, he doubled over in a sudden and not at all suspicious coughing fit, narrowly avoiding knocking his glass over.