In honesty, while Cornelius didn’t think that Seneca was desperate to get married in general, though he wasn’t so naïve he hadn’t considered the point of this ball was to promote the fact she was ‘on the market’, so to speak, he did wonder if she was expecting an answer of some sort from him. Was she asking him if he would be willing to court her? Asking him if she married him, would he be willing to allow her to work in the Department of Mysteries? He couldn’t be sure and he honestly thought it would be far too forward if he simply just asked her to clarify what she wanted from him. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder.

It would seem he would have to put a pin in that thought process because he was immediately distracted, like a dog who just saw a squirrel, when the conversation of academics came up. “Ah! I haven’t read that one in some time - it’s a great read; highly recommend it,” his whole body language seemed to perk up as well, “I understand, however. I always welcome an invitation to attend events like these, I don’t have anything against you or your parents, but I do agree I’d rather be immersed in my work than attending society balls.” He only attended them so he wouldn’t be labeled a total recluse and have it reflect poorly on his family; especially his sister, Lucretia. “If you don’t mind, I could send you my notes from the last time I read Heracletus’ Alchemic Principles. I would love to see what you think of them - if you agree with my findings,” he offered.