“Oh,” I said witlessly. I stopped to admire a white rose bloom, unable to think of anything else to say. Courting was such a complicated riddle. I was supposed to be modest and agreeable, yet also lively and spirited. But not too spirited. I wasn’t a horse, after all. And intelligent, but only mildly, as too much intelligence was undesirable in ladies. Inevitably, when I tried to banter, the expectations—and constraints—overwhelmed me.

A violin solo began in the concert area, the sound such a rich, plaintive wail it raised the hair on my arms.

Lieutenant Duncan tilted his head, listening. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Like grief, if grief were music.” Just once could I say something soft and feminine?

He looked over sharply. “Miss Coates, you have put my very thought into words. That violin is undoubtedly in mourning. In moments like this I feel such devotion to my king and country—and such thankfulness not to be ruled by the nonsensical American Congress. Can you imagine a world without music? How can this glorious sound possibly contribute to depravity and idleness?”

“I thought it was only theater.” We began walking again. “Was it music, too?” I’d heard Congress had prohibited theater performances, but it had never affected New York.

“The injunction was against any entertainment that diverts the mind away from the defense of the freedom. Have you ever heard such irony? ’Tis as though they are saying, ‘We want rights, so we shall take away rights.’ Forgive me—I did not mean to bore you with politics.”

“Not at all. I was thinking how right you are.” And how this conversation suddenly interested me. Officers were always talking about war and politics near me, but never with me. This was a refreshing change. “I wonder, Lieutenant, if the rebels have told themselves that the ends justify the means?”

“That is what I tell myself all the time. War is hypocrisy. We are fighting to restore peace, after all. And the right to attend theater.”

“The sword for the sonnet?”

“Madam, you are brilliant. I must amend the Duncan arms. In ferrum pro verbum.”

“It does have a good steely ring. But do you mean to say that you have qualms about the war?”

“No indeed. No qualms here. Just earnest deliberation and respect for the complexity of the situation. I never want to be a man who makes easy with war—I hold my honor too high for that. But I shall never fail in duty to my king, nor do I fear walking difficult paths. One only becomes stronger through adversity.” He stopped, so I did as well. “Miss Coates, is it normal for you to elicit private confessions from people you have just met or am I such an easily picked lock?”