She had laughed, which made his chest feel light. Was it just the confidence boost of having told a successful joke or was it something about her laugh? She did have a lovely laugh. It was another of those things that he hadn't noticed previously, and was now struggling to imagine how he could have gotten through a whole interaction without noticing it. He'd been too distracted the last time they'd spoken, at the Flint Institute party (he recalled this vaguely without actually thinking about what it was that had been distracting him).
"You can trust me," he assured her earnestly (his tone perhaps a bit too sincere for the superficial level at which ballroom conversations generally stayed). It was true, though; he couldn't imagine her telling him anything that he wouldn't keep her confidences on. He had a fleeting impulse to put his hand on the table between them, maybe gently touch her elbow or her wrist — which was obviously not something he ought to indulge. At least not here in public, where it would certainly be construed as flirting. Which he'd been trying to avoid tonight, he remembered, though he couldn't exactly remember why. Of course he wouldn't have wanted to get her in trouble by starting rumors, or to give her the wrong impression about his intentions, but falling short of those crimes it didn't seem the worst possible outcome to indicate that he was enjoying her company. He was enjoying her company, and if some light flirting meant he was in it more often moving forward, it was hard to see a downside there.
She was still talking, though, and now the window of opportunity where he might have touched her arm seemed to have closed, so it was something of a moot point. Ford took another drink. If he hadn't already been leaning in he would have done as he listened. He could picture the display as she spoke, and was impressed both by the ease with which she seemed to talk about spells that he would have no idea how to begin casting, and her attentiveness towards her younger brother. Any indication he had that someone was a good sibling tended to raise them in his estimation, though in her case he didn't know there was much farther to climb. She had already demonstrated she was intelligent, and interesting, and down-to-earth, and — he could not recall anything about her that he didn't like, at least at the moment.
"That's lovely," Ford said, leaning his cheek on his hand. His eyes went one step further: you're lovely. "I bet he'll remember it forever."
"You can trust me," he assured her earnestly (his tone perhaps a bit too sincere for the superficial level at which ballroom conversations generally stayed). It was true, though; he couldn't imagine her telling him anything that he wouldn't keep her confidences on. He had a fleeting impulse to put his hand on the table between them, maybe gently touch her elbow or her wrist — which was obviously not something he ought to indulge. At least not here in public, where it would certainly be construed as flirting. Which he'd been trying to avoid tonight, he remembered, though he couldn't exactly remember why. Of course he wouldn't have wanted to get her in trouble by starting rumors, or to give her the wrong impression about his intentions, but falling short of those crimes it didn't seem the worst possible outcome to indicate that he was enjoying her company. He was enjoying her company, and if some light flirting meant he was in it more often moving forward, it was hard to see a downside there.
She was still talking, though, and now the window of opportunity where he might have touched her arm seemed to have closed, so it was something of a moot point. Ford took another drink. If he hadn't already been leaning in he would have done as he listened. He could picture the display as she spoke, and was impressed both by the ease with which she seemed to talk about spells that he would have no idea how to begin casting, and her attentiveness towards her younger brother. Any indication he had that someone was a good sibling tended to raise them in his estimation, though in her case he didn't know there was much farther to climb. She had already demonstrated she was intelligent, and interesting, and down-to-earth, and — he could not recall anything about her that he didn't like, at least at the moment.
"That's lovely," Ford said, leaning his cheek on his hand. His eyes went one step further: you're lovely. "I bet he'll remember it forever."
Set by Lady!