Like so many people who forget where they came from once they make it.
Those years in the slums.
For Toby.
They were forbidden territory.
A past he never wanted anyone to mention.
His face twisted in an instant. He looked like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, fur standing on end. He jabbed a finger at me and screamed.
"You piece of trash! You want to die?!"
"A broke nobody like you doesn't get to bring up my past!"
"Keep talking and I'll cut your tongue out and feed it to the dogs!"
I watched him lose control, and that cold smile stayed right where it was.
"Cut my tongue out?"
"You really think you have what it takes?"
"Try not to go running back to hide in your woman's arms and cry about it."
"You..."
Toby choked on his own rage, finger still pointed at me, unable to get a single word out.
His face cycled between white and red.
It was the shame and fury of a man whose truth had been ripped wide open.
"Duke Gilbert, you're a dead man today."
Toby locked his eyes on me, and the look in them was pure venom.
The atmosphere in the restaurant shifted in an instant.
The noisy private dining room went dead silent, quiet enough to hear a pin drop.
The way everyone looked at me changed too.