Handing the toy to the Duke’s guard, she noticed dejectedly that one eye was slightly higher than the other. Peytra hoped he would not notice or at least not point out this mistake before she did. The Duke turned over the piece in his glove hands. He moved the head, the tail, and the mouth mechanism. Peytra wasn’t sure what he thought of the toy, as his mask hid all emotion. She grew a bit anxious, hoping he wouldn’t point to the mismatched eye or that he would note another distressing detail she had overlooked.
“This is quite an unusual amount of detail for just a child’s toy, no?” the Duke said, again his reaction was more muted than Peytra would have liked.
“Your Grace is certainly kind,” Ottoh said. “Yes, my business partner is both an innovator and a truly talented arti—”
The Duke
