It's not that Bianca isn't aware of a side of Koschei he rarely lets show. Rather, she's proud of how well he has it under control - far better, she knows, than she does.

She would, she reflects, have liked to have seen him in a war, by turns compassionate and fierce, and she has a moment of bitterly resenting this girl, who she doubts has the wherewithal to have properly appreciated it.

"He's going to get me out of here," she says, and because Bianca has taught herself patience, she doesn't scream or fly at the girl with her teeth and fingernails, or beat herself against the wall. She barely even tenses up.

"There's a half-bottle of tequila in my robe. Would you mind passing it over?"