She thought she had guessed right, to assist him without thinking rather than shrinking back: his skin was not so pale to be a vampire’s - too sun-kissed - and despite his imposing stature, had proven nothing other than polite, though he swiftly picked a wall instead of her shoulder.

Well, fair enough.

“Oh, it’d take more than that to flatten me,” Carmelina said, with a bright sort of confidence. She surveyed him with a conscious scrutiny, sure he would notice what she was doing, but as he hadn’t answered whether he was alright - well, he was obviously not. Certainly something was wrong; and Carmelina couldn’t imagine it was the wave of weakness sometimes caused by a too-tight corset and the heat of the summer in this case. “Won’t you tell me what’s wrong?” She pressed, not about to let her curiosity lie in pursuit of politeness.

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