Elliot sat down in one of the other armchairs, because she still hadn't left and this was starting to seem as if it would be a longer conversation. He watched her, and sighed, because this certainly would have been easier if he had paid calls on her. But when she'd debuted, he'd been busy — thinking of her in terms of his recently having been her professor, and by the time they had both aged significantly past that, he'd been busy going to war with his Sight, she'd been in Italy, or he'd been hiding bodies with his siblings. The timing had never worked in a way that left pursuing courtship attainable, and now he was here — being scolded.

"Miss Reid," Elliot said, after a beat, "I suppose the question is — would you like for me to pursue a romantic relationship with you, or not?"