"Miss Swan, are you perhaps interested in Mister Padt?" Helen looked suspicious.
Swan narrowed her eyes. Helen's reaction just gave her a strange and unpleasant idea.
"Was that question too strange?"
"Ahem. Just curious is all. You never cared much about who protected The Limpet before."
Swan's expression turned a bit harsh. "Are you in love with that man?"
Out of instinct, Helen tried to deny. But she saw Swan's stern look and decided to speak more truthfully.
"Mister Padt has… something on him, that attracts me." She leaned on the railings of the balcony and watched the morning sun with a serene look. "It's not love. Well, we've stayed on the same ship for a while, but we don't talk much. He just has all those things that feel so different from someone like me. Wisdom, generosity, he's kind… I like it."
"So you like him after all?"
"No." Helen shook her head. "Or I'm not sure anymore. But it won't matter."
"Why's that?"
