Henri had never seen a rainstorm start so suddenly, and she was left gasping in surprise as the rain pounded down on top of her. She nodded at his words, though she wasn't sure if it made any difference; with the wind and the rain like this he might not even see her nod from where he was standing. Her heart was racing, possibly because of the danger they were clearly in but also possibly because he was holding on very firmly to her wrist, which had never happened to her before.

Henrietta followed close behind him as he led them back towards the ballroom. They had only gone a few steps when the wind blew something onto the boardwalk right in front of them. It had come from the docks, it seemed, and it probably was not substantial enough to actually block their path, but it startled her and she reflexively moved closer to him, shielding herself from the worst of the wind with his body. She remained as close as practical the rest of the way back to the resort, until by the time they reached the door she was clinging to his arm. Even so, the force of the wind had left her shaky on her feet.

It was not quiet inside — they could still hear the impact of the wind and rain all around them — but it was so much calmer than it had been a moment ago that Henri was left shell-shocked again. She took a breath, tried to think of something to say, and ultimately made a noise that was something like a sob.

---