“It’s sexy how you can do that.”

“Do what?”

“Trick people. Make them think -“

“I’m not tricking them, Mary. They’re tricking themselves. They can think what they want.”

“I just mean, they don’t want to do something, then they do. Because of you.”

“No, that’s wrong. They want to do it the whole time. I just make them realize it.”

“I don’t think they’d see it that way.”

“Do you?”

“Pardon?”

“Do you see it that way?”

“How do you mean?”

“Well, you’re one of them. You didn’t want me and now you do, and here we are.”

“No, Robert, I’ve always loved you.”

“Exactly.”

Mary drew her hand from his shoulder. In the instant of their conversation, he appeared to dim; the light she always saw around him was gone. The illusion had been broken: she had fallen for his scheme just as she had fallen for him.