“You lied to me too.”

“It’s not the same and you know it. We were on equal footing when we were strangers happening upon each other during a chance meeting in the woods. But the moment you realized we shared a past, a terrifically tragic past that led us together at this very intersection in time, you gained an advantage, one you held onto while playing me for a fool.”

“You’re no one’s fool, Bryony. And, for what it’s worth, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Intentions are worth nothing without follow through. If you didn’t want to hurt me, then you should’ve told me the truth or left like you’d planned to that night.”

“I couldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know.”

“Another lie. Shocking.”

“I’m not lying.”

“Then whoever trained you to be an assassin is a terrible master. An assassin should always keep their enemies closer than their most trusted allies.”

“I’ve never thought of you as my enemy.”

“So that never entered your mind?”

Ludo scratched under his eye patch, as though there was an itch on that scarred flesh that he could never quite eradicate. “I didn’t say that. But that doesn’t mean I couldn’t have had more than one reason.”

“What other reason could there be? To slit my throat in the dark? If so, you are a poor assassin indeed as my throat is unmarked.”

“I would never kill you.”

“But you would kill my father while I watched.”

“I…I had to. Or at least I thought I did.”

“And yet once you realized our motives were aligned you refused to offer the killing stroke. Are you determined to make me hate you?”

“That is the last thing I want, I can assure you. Also, you’re infuriating, has anyone ever told you that?”

“No. Yes. Maybe a few people. But not everyone. Some people like me.”

“Name one.”

“Farrow.”

“Sounds made up.”

“He’s not. I’ll have you know I warmed his bed on more than one occasion.”

“Scandalous. No wonder he put up with you.”

“You…” She wished she had something to throw at him. She was almost willing to sacrifice her prized book at this point, though she didn’t know exactly where it was and could only hope it hadn’t been lost during…well, everything that had happened. In any case, Ludo’s body language softened, as though the tension had been melted away by an act of will rather than by some external force.

“Look, you’re right. I should’ve told you as soon as I realized who you were. I purposefully withheld my knowledge of our shared past from you to maintain an advantage. Old habits. I’ll apologize a thousand times if that’s what it takes for you to forgive me. But can you honestly say you wouldn’t have done the same thing?”

She said nothing, biting her lip.

“Your silence is all the answer I need.”

“Where is he? Where is my father?”