"I know," she says. "I never felt like you were a danger to me, Clive."

She looks at him for a long moment before she speaks again.

"I'll remind you of that. You're no brute. I would let you know when anything was too much for me, and I will remind you that there's nothing terrible about us giving voice to what we like or dislike."

She can at least do that.

"Did I cross a line on the sofa, before?"