He grins and gives Faolan's shoulder a squeeze of reassurance, slides around to sit in his own chair and pushes a knife toward him for the cake.

"I guessed," he admits. "So I thought it might be fun."

Reaching over he gently extracts the candle from the soft sponge and thin icing, setting it aside and looking hesitant.

"I thought coffee and walnut seemed a good bet," he adds, "but if I've made it too sweet for you don't feel obligated to eat a lot. I can always feed people at work with it, after all."