"We are," Juliana agreed, with a slight smirk. "And don't think I'd hold it against you. I didn't agree when you asked me," she pointed out. An entirely different context, of course; a reporter asking to interview Marlowe Forfang compared to a researcher asking to interview an anonymous subject. Still, it was similar enough that she hoped the meaning was still clear; she understood the safety that was offered by being able to hide behind a letter, and she hadn't meant to strip it from him. This was probably as close as she could get to saying I didn't mean to figure you out while they were still in public.

"But I'm glad it all worked out this way," she continued cheerfully. "I wasn't sure, right up until the last minute, but it's —" Someone walked close by the table and Juliana quickly amended what she'd been planning to say, adding a bit more of the vague conversational facade they'd been using on and off. "— such a pleasant surprise to find we have such compatible theories about Forfang."