Hanna knew she could not tell him he was going to be her husband. (Was he going to be her husband, or had Mr. Lochrin lied to her? Hanna was, the longer she was under here, starting to have doubts.)

She also knew she couldn't tell him more about destiny; that had been where she took a step wrong in the first place. So what did she do? The answer came to her from before she had found the amulet — because it had been one of her original schemes. And Mr. Hudson was a rake, so maybe it wouldn't work on him.

So something that was manipulative, but also the truth. Once they married — if they married — he would forgive her. Or he would leave her here, and she'd have her own answer.

"I — know how I look, and act, and what people say," she admitted, voice quiet. "And I don't want to be alone."