"Thank you," Henrietta said with a wave of relief, though beneath it there was a touch of annoyance that it had taken him so long to do something so basic. Diverting one's eyes from a lady's distress ought to be considered commonplace, shouldn't it? That, or helping, but with his cane he was clearly unable to offer her much in the way of assistance.

She scooted to the edge of the stairs, glancing over her shoulder to ensure no one was coming up behind her, then reached up for the rail and pulled herself back up to a standing position. She glanced down the stairs at her fallen fan, a little wistfully — she liked being able to hide behind something — but thought she'd best end this interaction, formally, before flitting off to retrieve it.

"Um," she said, unsure how to alert the gentleman to her renewed presence on the top floor. "You can turn back around, now, if you like."