"It is," Alfred agreed with a smile. He was mildly surprised by the sincerity he sensed in her tone; he'd been expecting a polite response, but little more. If anyone was going to understand it, though, perhaps it would have been her, given her family's industry. Evander had told him at the beginning of the courtship that Miss Delaney had nothing to do with that at all, but given the way she'd just responded, Alfred had to wonder a bit.

"Well," he said, pushing himself up out of the chair. "I probably shouldn't keep you. I'm sure we'll have plenty of other opportunities to talk coming up," he concluded with a slightly teasing grin.