I met a man, once, who kept them. Brutal, vicious creatures, but they minded him. Killed for him. It must have made him feel-- properly invulnerable. No one in their right mind would try to battle through tigers to get to him.

[A soft laugh.] And then someone did. [He's mentioned Richard Sharpe before, he's certain, but it isn't important now.] And... for a long time, I thought it wasn't possible for anyone to be more... utterly vicious than a man who would throw himself against a tiger to survive.

Do you follow me, darling?