"I'm not saying anything," he protests, deliberately holding up his hands in a peacable gesture and smiling. It's not his genuine, slightly lop-sided grin, but something more charming. Perfectly symmetrical. "I just..."

Pause, like he's trying to think how to phrase his feelings when really he's rapidly trying to calculate just what those feelings should be.

"I didn't realise you and Patricia were friends." Neither did Patricia, for that matter. He looks at her now, none of his worry about her sudden brainwashing showing on his face. "I just didn't want Karen spending her night worrying about strangers, you know?"