He can't see what's happening of course, but he can hear Gilbert's defeated sighing clear as day. Well, well. Time was, when Break himself had been a serious young man. Lady Shelly had taught him to laugh: at himself, at his awful circumstances. And then he had learned to smile, truly.

Maybe Gilbert can learn to laugh, one day. Maybe.

Break continues to lean back and flail, until he's bent so far that his hands touch the floor. A kick, and his legs come over. He springs upright again, bouncing on his toes.