Sam blinks in clear surprise, glad he cannot visibly blush. Remembers, vividly, Bucky sword fighting, pushing sweaty hair out of his face. Sam's smile is bashful, but rueful all the same.

"My brother offered to take me to a whore house. He meant well." A gesture back towards the palace. "The very privileged problem of my station is that there is nobody I wouldn't be taking advantage of and placing in danger. Anyone I would trust with this is technically a member of my staff, and they might not wish to say no to me, while knowing they'd be risking their necks. Those who aren't staff would risk catastrophic political incidents we cannot afford to handle. I must not be that selfish."

He looks at the ground, bites his bottom lip for a second. And cannot quite help but wonder...

"Were you volunteering, Sergeant? Is that why you're here?"