“It was none of my business.”
“But you were kind after we'd landed. At the hotel you arranged to breakfast with me.”
“I couldn't bring myself to believe you were guilty.”
“And yet, after you had believed, you followed me to Seafold.”
“The detective instinct.” He spoke testily. “Morbid curiosity.”
“No.” She said it wistfully. Her face softened. “You followed me because, even against your will, you still cared for me. You pitied me. You were chivalrous. You refused to condemn me unheard. You hoped there was some mistake. You followed me to make sure.”
“And you've made me sure.” He rapped out the words. “Since you insist on the truth, I came to Seafold hoping to find you innocent. If I had I should have fought for you. Whereas—”
“Whereas?” she prompted nervously.
“I found you'd done to me what you've done to every other man who ever befriended you—betrayed me and had me lured into an ambush where, for all I know, you'd given orders for me to be shot.”
“But you weren't.”