Once he'd established that his face wasn't actually going to explode, Eugene risked looking across to where Rapunzel was sitting, pixie-like, on the window-seat.

"Good morning."

"Nyggr."

"You enjoyed the coronation ball last night."

"Glgygglyr."

"I was impressed in a way, I hardly noticed you drinking that much."

"Wasn't. S'mth'g happ'n'd."

"What?"

With tremendous care, Eugene managed to pull his cheek off the pillow, while the counterweight of his brain swung back and forth and the unpleasantly blue-white light drilled into his eyes and tried to climb out of his ears.

"I did not drink enough to be that drunk. That drunk that I… I…"

"Sang a song about feeling like a sweet little fishy to the French Commissionaire, then told me to come and dance with you but fell asleep on my shoulder as soon as you tried to waltz?"

"I was asleep on your shoulder?"

"I'm not saying we stayed vertical for very long. A couple of guardsmen picked us up and carried you to bed."

"Did everyone notice?"

"Not many people. Only the Spanish Ambassador who you were explaining to how grateful you were for thumbs, because without them we'd be land dolphins." She made a movement that Eugene realised was flicking yarn that she was knitting.

"Oh, gods…"

"But you say you didn't drink that much?"

"I know what it was. It was Captain Westergaard."

"No, Eugene, I'm pretty sure it was you."

"No, no, not- ow- I'm too hung over to explain- Captain Westergaard was there, wasn't he? Prince Hans of the Southern Isles, when he's on land?"

"Yes he was. He helped us to a drink just before they announced Queen Elsa."

"Yes. I remember now. All makes sense now."

"…maybe to you?"

"I'm not sure the glass he gave me just had champagne in it, that's all."

"Really?"

Rapunzel is giving him that look, familiar now- it's not incredulity, it's something rather worse, that says Is this story going to take a long time or a very long time?

"Well… I you remember I told you I did some sailing, back in the day?"

"You mean piracy."

"I don't mean piracy- ugh- I didn't have the startup for piracy. Smuggling, at worst."

"Go on."

"Well I remember Captain Westergaard and what's more, I could tell he remembers me. And I've a feeling he didn't want to reminisce, in polite society, and certainly not in front of your cousin."

"Well you do have a bit of a reputation for reminiscing to people you don't know. At length. I'd have thought that was your problem. He had the law on his side and you didn't."

"Well, it's like this. You know the expression 'Worse things happen at sea?'"

"Yes?"

"Well Captain Westergaard is one of them."

"Right. That doesn't tell me anything."

"I don't want to talk about it. I didn't talk about it, did I?"

"No."

"Right. So I just have half of the high society of the continent remembering that I passed out on the dancefloor on top of my wife. Great trip."

"Actually… actually I don't think anyone is going to remember you being drunk. It wasn't the most memorable thing that happened at the ball, not by a long way."

"…good…?"

There was something really weird about the light. In fact now that Eugene followed Rapunzel's gaze, out of the window…

"…What?" he said. "Wait a minute… exactly how long have I been asleep?"