"It's even worse than you imagine," he answers with bitter humor. "In this 'whole city,' I am actually rather well-respected and liked. I very much wish to keep it that way. So, yes. Let's try no violence." He isn't explicitly threatening to use the good will he's cultivated here to make it her word against his, but the warning is clear.

"We are not required to like one another, but we will need to learn to live in each other's vicinity without animosity. This is not a large town."