I hadn't noticed when he had finished, because I barely heard him say, "Ken?" "Hmm?" I asked, looking up.I hadn't noticed when he had finished, because I barely heard him say, "Ken?" "Hmm?" I asked, looking up. "You're thinking again. You've been staring at that glass for almost ten minutes." "Yeah," I said. I looked up into his face and said, "Do you think I'm duplicitous?" "Do I think you're what?" he asked. "Dishonest." "I don't see why I should think that. What makes you ask?" "Because I think I am. Do you remember the incident with the wine a few days ago?" "You mean with that bottle of deSchane '49?" I nodded. "What if I had meant for that scene to work the way it had?" He waited. "I mean, we know what happened. I offered you, a known oenophile, a glass of what some people consider the best wine on the Ring. And I confessed that I did it because I wanted you 'be in my power.'" "To owe you something." "Right. But what if I told you all that just to do what happened next, which is gain your sympathy." "I don't think you did." "But what if I did? It's not that complicated. It sounds like it is, but I knew enough about you that I could have done that. And it required no setup, just a second's flash of inspiration, the kind every really intelligent person has." "Waste of a good epiphany," Aaden said. I laughed. "Yeah, true. And listen to me now. What are you hearing?" "I'm not sure. What am I hearing?" "Well, I'm telling you that I have the capacity to be a really effective liar, cheat, and conniver. But the message you're getting is, 'Trust me because I'm being so very honest.'" "And all that's just one more message in itself." "Yeah," I said, frowning. "How do intelligent people trust each other with reasoning like that?" "I'll tell you how," he said, leaning over and pushing me down to the blanket. He straddled me and kissed me on the neck, sending little shivers down my body. |