Lyall nods, suspicion confirmed. It's not quite the sort of triumph it would be if it solved a mystery or was a more joyous occasion. He finds that rather, he was hoping a bit that for once, his observations were leading him down an entirely incorrect path.

"We weren't properly introduced, I'm sorry to say," he answers. "But I did see the two of you at the wedding, and I knew you were together. I did hear --" He presses his lips together. It's an awkward sort of thing. "I'm -- a collection of news, quite a lot of the time," he finishes, half-apologetic, and tugs at his sleeve.

"I'm terribly sorry," Lyall says, knowing it's not very useful as a sentiment, even if he does mean it. He looks at the mailbox and tilts his head. "If it helps, I say do it. I lost a lover a very long time ago, and I'd still send him letters if I thought this thing would get them to him." Lyall doesn't speak of Alessandro often, to anyone. Few people here have any of the context, and he doesn't feel the need to bring him up to Biffy, really; they both know about each other's past. But it's true, and it feels like a moment to confess that sort of thing.