"I should introduce him." Harlan is actually the perfect place to start introducing Percy to people here. He is delightfully uncomplicated. While she has slept with him once, it was a matter of convenience and to help him out with a punishment the Duchess had put on his head.

No feelings.

No conflict.

Nothing difficult to explain.

"I should introduce you to a lot of people. I've made some—well, at least some of them deserve to be called friends." She takes a long sip, gathering her courage for the next part. She'll have to address this eventually, and it won't get less scary if she waits. "One or two more than friends."