“Yes.”
She didn’t recognize the tone in his voice. It was strained and tight. “As your friend, I think you deserve the best. I want you to find someone who will truly love you, Duncan. You deserve that.”
He looked rather surprised at her choice of words, but then his expression hardened again. “And that person is not you.”
“No, I don’t think it is. I don’t think I’m the sort of person who falls in love.”
“Really?”
Again, she heard that strained, detached sound in his voice. “I’ve thought about this a great deal. After all, my parents are still wildly in love even after close to forty years of marriage. My brother just married and seems completely smitten with Lady Emily. But I’ve never felt that way about anyone. I’ve had my share of suitors, but I’ve never felt more than a passing affection for any of them.”
“I see.”
There was a long silence she forced herself not to break.
“Well, at least we have friendship.”
She could see his face now that it was growing light outside. He wore a bemused expression that didn’t match his bitter tone.
“Yes, and I don’t want to lose that. It might be best if what happened here tonight”—she indicated the cot—"was not repeated.”
Duncan didn’t speak, didn’t move for a long, long moment. “You do realizeyouare the one who attacked me?”
“Attacked?”
“Ravished then.”
Lucy crossed her arms. “I admit, I had a moment of weakness. And I would love to repeat it, but I am trying not to be selfish.”
Duncan let out a breath and shook his head. “Another mistake.”
A sudden feeling of defensiveness took hold. “It’s not as though I didn’t warn you. You asked if I would see this as a mistake in the morning, and I said—”
“Probably. I recall.”
“And you said—”
“Let’s make the most of our mistake tonight or something to that effect. You’re right. You haven’t misled me. Nor am I some lovesick youth who needs to be coddled. This is a bit of sport for you. Nothing more.”
“I wouldn’t put it like that.”
He raised his brows. “How would you put it?”
“I do care for you, Duncan. I have a great deal of affection for you.”
“Lucy.” He held up a hand. “I do not need to be coddled. Nor do I need you to console me with the sorts of placating words and phrases I have uttered to lovesick women more times than I would like to count. I understand how this works. You want to keep emotions out of it.”
“I want to focus on the mission. But if things get...out of hand again...I want us to be clear.”
“We’re clear,” he said. But his tone of voice suggested he was rather unhappy about it.
“Duncan—”
“Do you want to go back first or should I?” he said, looking over his shoulder at the dawn breaking. “The servants will be up soon. We’d best hurry.”
“I’ll go first.”
He went to the door and opened it for her. “Be careful,” he said as she slipped through it. She turned to say something else—to tease him that she did not need to be careful as she was excellent at evasive maneuvers—but he’d already closed the door in her face.
