He placed one hand on her back and gently tangled his fingers in her hair; he had never seen her with her hair down before, and so rarely saw any woman with her hair down, that there was a novelty to it. (There would be a lot of novelty, tonight.)

And the question of a drink. He did not want to seem too over-eager; he could use gin to alleviate some of his nerves. "Maybe a small drink," Noble said; he whispered it into her ear.