Jacques stiffened. "Chopping off heads left and right?" he repeated, flushing. He pressed his lips together, clenching his hand around the stem of his wine-glass. "That is... quite an allegation. Spoken at the Embassy of the French Republic none-the-less. I can assure you, sir, that the National Assembly does not murder her citizens. She tries the traitors in a fair court of law, and, when and only when they have been found guilty of the severest crimes against the republic, they are humanely executed. The guillotine does not cause the criminals to suffer before their deaths, unlike hanging."