The rebuff stung as a hand placed on a hot kettle, but he hid his displeasure easily enough. 'Desperate'? What did she take him for?

He was amused as the wolf appeared, and he could not hold back a laugh when it threatened to 'drive' him away. If it came before him, the only thing stopping him from snapping its neck would be to avoid upsetting its mistress.

"If you have nothing else, I should return to my duties. There is much still to do," he said, gesturing at the ruined and flooded building behind him.