His candor surprised her and she blushed in spite of herself. 'I hope so too Mister Foxwood' Natsuko expressed with a small and demure smile. If candor it was - It was of course possible that he was saying what was expected of a well bred and gracious gentleman who was speaking to a friend of his cousins. She doubted it would do well for family felicity to offer an insult even if their future contact was incidental.
She dropped her gaze from his to that button in the centre of his jacket again, a safer bet than looking into his eyes, which after their conversation felt far too intimate for Natsuko to risk at this moment. The discussion of affection within a marriage had rather thrown her. It was something she had long since told herself was likely beyond her reach, that she ought to choose a pragmatic arrangement for her future and not bank on something that was impractical or foolish. It was why she had responded to Poppy's lonely heart to begin with.
As the waltz came to an end, marking the end of their time together on this evening, Suki stepped back gave a curtsey and stepped back breaking the contact between them, albeit a little unwillingly. 'Thank Mister Foxwood, I had a great deal of fun.' and she ventured a last meeting of her gaze from under her lashes as she stepped out of her curtsey.
As she walked to the side of the dancefloor to await the next gentleman on her dance card, 1 being the only acceptable number of dances a gentleman could have with a lady without expressing something rather portentous to the entirety of society, and she did so, resisting the urge to look back.
She dropped her gaze from his to that button in the centre of his jacket again, a safer bet than looking into his eyes, which after their conversation felt far too intimate for Natsuko to risk at this moment. The discussion of affection within a marriage had rather thrown her. It was something she had long since told herself was likely beyond her reach, that she ought to choose a pragmatic arrangement for her future and not bank on something that was impractical or foolish. It was why she had responded to Poppy's lonely heart to begin with.
As the waltz came to an end, marking the end of their time together on this evening, Suki stepped back gave a curtsey and stepped back breaking the contact between them, albeit a little unwillingly. 'Thank Mister Foxwood, I had a great deal of fun.' and she ventured a last meeting of her gaze from under her lashes as she stepped out of her curtsey.
As she walked to the side of the dancefloor to await the next gentleman on her dance card, 1 being the only acceptable number of dances a gentleman could have with a lady without expressing something rather portentous to the entirety of society, and she did so, resisting the urge to look back.
![[Image: 1h84GbB.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/1h84GbB.jpg)
Gin made something stunning