Lancelot exhales slowly as Faolan starts in on his topic, feeling rather as if he might want something stronger than water to last it. He hesitates, sips at it a little regardless.

"You know what they're 'playing at'," he begins quietly, "they're frightened of what Midnight might do if they teamed up with the fae, of how close we were to having them on our doorstep. It's Norrell's pet thing, and I suspect he's behind most of it. After all, I --" Lancelot hesitates again, looking nervous for a moment before pacing away out of the kitchen with his water to sip it again. "I spoke to Sylvia about this when I handed in our report. I advised fairly close to the opposite of this. Giving them a forum, hearing them out even if only for show, making them feel listened to. Yet Norrell's stirring things up, and I suppose she can't ignore that. He does make himself rather difficult to ignore in general."