Ah, that was the question, wasn't it? He still hadn't figured out how to ask, not in a way that would be acceptable if someone overheard him and not in a way that she might answer. He ought to have let her walk away, he realized — this conversation wasn't one they could have here, and even if they didn't have the barrier of the crowded ballroom, it wasn't a conversation he had any rights to anymore.

But he'd already stopped her. He couldn't just say nothing.

"Are you okay?" he said eventually. The earnestness in his tone made it clear he meant the question as more than superficial small talk.

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