He cleared his throat and slid the cup back onto the end table. “I suppose I thought you might have more questions for me.”

How could her blink be so powerful? Perhaps because of the way it first hid and then revealed those eyes. “Were you lying when you said you had no evidence to support or dismiss my suspicions?”

How could she sit so still? No movements in her fingers or her legs or anything. Just a spine stiffly aligned and each limb arranged as if she were a doll. “Of course not.”

“Then what good would more questions do me?”

A smile tugged at his lips, though they didn’t seem to curve up evenly. “Well, one never knows what unexpected details one might learn through the right questions. For instance, why have you dismissed the attention of the half-dozen men who have tried to catch your eye this past year?”

He was aiming at a response, and he got one. She jerked as if he’d hit her with a dart. “How do you expect to get any useful information from a question whose very premise is flawed?”

Press his lips together as he might, still the grin slipped through. “Oh, I just got plenty. I learned that the admiral was quite right when he described you as oblivious to the attention, as evidenced by your shocked reaction to my question. And the fact that you think my premise flawed not only corroborates that, it shows that you genuinely think the idea ridiculous. Though I haven’t yet determined why you’d think so.”

She stared at him for a long moment, her mouth a bit agape. Then she shook herself and returned to her previous perfect posture. “Several reasons. First of all, I have no interest in such attachments, so the idea is ridiculous. Secondly, there is no reason for the admiral to have mentioned such a thing. And finally, no one would show such interest anyway.”

Drake lifted a finger. “What is so ridiculous about finding someone to support and encourage you through the ups and downs of life?” He lifted a second finger. “The admiral had reason to mention it in response to my interest.” The third finger joined its friends. “Which goes also to your third point. And why would you think no one would show interest, anyway? You’re intelligent—”

“More intelligent than any young man I’ve ever met. They don’t like that.” She didn’t look apologetic. If anything, the twitching of her lips looked smug.

And why not? Why apologize for one’s strengths? Of course, she no doubt assumed she was smarter than him too. And maybe she was. He didn’t know her well enough to say, but Dot certainly thought so.

His smile didn’t budge. “Plenty of men take no issue with that. Especially given that you’re also beautiful—”

A snort interrupted him this time. “Hardly.”