"Bene." He took a sip of his brandy, pondering the question. To her, he wouldn't lie. Omit certain truths, perhaps, but never outright lie. So he swirled the amber liquid around in his glass and answered, "More or less."

An eyebrow quirked and he couldn't help a slanted, ironic smirk. "Other than the shock value recent events--which is probably terrible for my blood pressure--things are good, yeah."