Earnest Ben cont.

Lucy was of two minds about seeing Ben. She knew the whole thing was her own fault, yet she also knew it was supposed to have been harmless fun. She adored Ben and hated to think she got his hopes up for no reason. She had no real reason to be apprehensive; even if he did guess her "secret," Lucy would be alone in the room with him. No one else would know.

Ben was waiting for her. He stood up from the edge of the bed when she came into the room. He always let her sit in the room's only chair, a gentleman. Lucy smiled. Ben returned the smile, his wide mouth shoving aside assorted freckles, green eyes sparkling. He was very quiet and even mannered for a redhead, Lucy thought.

Lucy sat on the hard chair, began her daily battery of questions. Be could hardly contain himself, but Lucy was determined to do things properly. She tried to keep her smile to herself, to move through the process deliberately, but his excitement was infectious. At last they were done.

Very well, she told Ben he make could make another guess. Ben puffed up with pride and spoke very carefully. Lucy decorated herself with art, art she let no one see. Why did she have art if no one could see it? Art was for showing, Ben said. They had told him all about museums and he had been to art classes where everyone had shared their paintings.

Lucy went white, whiter than usual. She bit her lip. After a moment, she made up her mind.