“It certainly did.” Her laughter faded as he produced a handkerchief.
“Here, take it.”
She dried her tears with that handkerchief, smiling at him.
“If this is the real you, Edward, then who is the man who goes to the assemblies and balls? Who is it that graces the scandal sheets with his rakish ways?” she asked, desperate to know.
“As I hinted to you before,” he said with a sigh, “he is the face I wear when I don’t want anyone to know the real me.”
“Why do you need to hide at all?”
“Because I lost someone.”