Page 44 of The Mysterious Miss Lydia
“Painfully so.”
“I see.”
He went quiet.
“What do you see?” she finally asked.
“I thought...” He cleared his throat. “Oh, you likely don’t want to know what I thought.”
“Indeed I do!” she said, surprising herself with not only the quickness of her response, but how forcefully it came out. “I find I am most confused by your behavior.”
“I can only imagine,” he sighed.
“I’d thought at first that perhaps you’d set out to...to...”
“To what, Lydia?” he murmured, his voice gentle. And even though it was likely wrong that he was using her given name like this, it felt right.
It put her even more at ease. She drew in a deep breath as that registered. “I thought perhaps it was a joke. That you were...”
He was quiet for a moment. “That I was being cruel in seeking you out the way I did?”
She nodded. Which was silly since he couldn’t see her. But he seemed to understand, nonetheless.
“I wasn’t being cruel, Lydia. Not intentionally, at least.”
She swallowed hard. “Then...”
He sighed. “I was an idiot.”
“I’m sure you weren’t,” she started. She stopped when she realized he could have been. What did she know?
“I was. For a man who’s always prided himself on his intellect, I have been a complete fool where you’re concerned.”
“Explain, please,” she said softly.
At first, she thought he wouldn’t. But then suddenly he was regaling her with a tale of espionage that left her jaw hanging open and her lungs short of breath.
“You think...” she started.
But she didn’t even know where to begin.
“Yes,” he said, as if he knew the question.
“But...do you honestly think Wendell is the traitor?” she asked, her voice high with shock.
He went quiet and she hurried to assure him, “I won’t repeat that. You have my word.”
He exhaled sharply. “I do. But your father is right that I have no proof.”
“It’s just your...your instincts,” she said.
“Mmm.”
She sat with that for a moment. She’d never once thought to consult her instincts. “I’m not entirely sure I have instincts.”
He laughed. “Of course you do. You just haven’t learned to listen to them.”
“Possibly for the best,” she shot back. Surprising herself once again with her quick speech. “I wouldn’t want to accuse the wrong person of espionage.”
