Mercedes did not know how to reply. He merely stood there for a long moment, throat dry and his mind blank. When he did manage to reply, his words were quiet, "I... Señorita, there is really, really no need... You see I...There is someone..." He swallowed, and pulled himself together properly, "You do not need to thank me, Señorita Sabana, no need at all. You owe me nothing."
It had hardly been many months since he was last propositioned, in the same cabin, in much the same way. Then, of course, he hadn't felt so inclined to decline the offer of companionship.