A smile, a proper smile, flashed over to her in response. Rebuttal or confirmation, who can say?

"A man can be a sad bastard without complaining of it," Ellis points out mildly. It is the second time in so many days he's been party to some consideration of what peace of mind might be open to him. Or the absence of it. "Suppose being a sad bastard as a rule gives me a better sense of when I've nothing to point to as a cause of it?"