Ben grinned at her attempt at English. It was nice that she'd switched over for his sake, and though it really wasn't necessary since he was the guest in her country it did make him take a little more interest in her. It wasn't a common occurrence that debutantes at balls were willing to embarrass themselves, even for the sake of making a gentleman feel more comfortable, and she knew her English wasn't good.
"Beautiful," he responded blithely, in French. It was his standard compliment, but it was true. What French woman didn't have a beautiful name? If they existed, Ben had never met one. He handed her shoe back to her and it occurred to him that perhaps there might have been a reason for her willingness to embarrass herself. She wasn't young; maybe she'd already passed the gauntlet to the realm of married women, where one didn't have to be quite so careful about these things.
"It's unnecessary, the English for me," he continued, in broken French. "I can understand if you speak —" Slow, what was the word for slow? It had momentarily escaped him, so instead he supplied: "— easy with me. Madam?" he continued, with a questioning eyebrow raise. "Or Mademoiselle?"
"Beautiful," he responded blithely, in French. It was his standard compliment, but it was true. What French woman didn't have a beautiful name? If they existed, Ben had never met one. He handed her shoe back to her and it occurred to him that perhaps there might have been a reason for her willingness to embarrass herself. She wasn't young; maybe she'd already passed the gauntlet to the realm of married women, where one didn't have to be quite so careful about these things.
"It's unnecessary, the English for me," he continued, in broken French. "I can understand if you speak —" Slow, what was the word for slow? It had momentarily escaped him, so instead he supplied: "— easy with me. Madam?" he continued, with a questioning eyebrow raise. "Or Mademoiselle?"
MJ made this <3