When asked by a group of toying aristocrats whether he has an opinion about certain events in world politics, Stevens, the British butler of Kazuo Ishiguro's award-winning novel, The remains of the day, replies to one of the gentlemen in the group, “I'm very sorry, sir; but I am unable to be of assistance on this matter” (p. 195). It is the kind of indirect apology that Rosina Marquez Reiter would find delicious and perfect proof of her working thesis that British speakers (especially when compared with Uruguayan speakers) try to maintain “face” as much as possible while at the same time trying to mitigate potential threats that might arise between speakers.