[Rook only laughs aloud at that, clearly delighted to have earned the protest in spite of the way Jade scolds. How could he not be, when Jade is usually so stoic?]

That's exactly why I'm saving the interesting bits for later, and taking care of all this right now. It seems to me you might find it something of a relief to have the choice of talking things over taken away from you, if you find it distressing enough to leap out a window to avoid a conversation. Am I wrong?