"Oh," August said. He felt an awkward heat set into his cheeks. "Of course, Miss." He looked up at the ceiling. Maybe this was why he should avoid places like the opera; he didn't know how to conduct himself here. The rules were easy to follow at balls, where August made conversation and did not dance and eventually accidentally flirted with married women and then impregnated them.

Maybe he should actually become a shut-in again, he thought, studying the ceiling.

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