She thought about that for a moment, then said, “As for you, well, all I can say is that I can just tell. You always look a bit surprised when you laugh, as if you don't expect to be happy.”
Blake's eyes widened imperceptibly, and without thinking, he whispered, “I don't.”
“And as for your other question…” Caroline said, a sad, wistful smile crossing her face. There was a long silence, as she tried to think of the right words. “I know what it's like not to laugh. I know how it hurts.”
“Do you really?”
“And I know that you have to learn to find your laughter and your peace wherever you can. I find it in—” She blushed. “Never mind.”
“No,” he said urgently. “Tell me.”
Caroline looked around. “What happened to the marquis? He seems to have disappeared again.”
Blake ignored her question. James had a talent for disappearing when it was convenient. He would not put it past his friend to play matchmaker. “Tell me,” he repeated.
Caroline stared at a spot just to the right of his face, not understanding why she felt so compelled to bare her soul to this man. “I find my peace in the night sky. It's something my mother taught me. Nothing more than a little trick, but—” She shifted her gaze to meet his eyes. “You probably think that is very silly.”
“No,” Blake said, feeling something very warm and very odd in the vicinity of his heart. “I think that might be the least silly thing I've heard in years.”