Clumsy as the delivery had been, the announcement still had her holding her breath, waiting to see his reaction. When he said he already knew, her face fell. "Oh," she said, trying not to look as disappointed as she felt. She'd always been able to mask her emotions well, but this may have been an exception. She couldn't recall the last time she'd felt something this profoundly.

He already knew. He hadn't wanted to write to her, obviously, and he had not wanted to talk to her. If she had felt ridiculous before, now she felt properly absurd.

Should she just leave? He didn't want to see her. Juliana hesitated.

"You're angry?" she asked uncertainly. He seemed angry, but it had been so long since they'd actually interacted that now she doubted whether she was reading his body language and his (lack of) tone correctly.

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