"I did, but not nearly as early as she seemed to think."

Archie offered a deeper explanation and honestly, Gold was a little grateful.

"Oh. I see."

He was talking about everyone else, not himself. Or rather himself in comparison to everyone else. Or at least that was how Gold was now choosing to read it. Because the alternative to that would have been that Doctor Hopper had been engaging in some loveless affair and literally no one had noticed or commented on it.

But then everyone was a little busy for a while.