With the nod of his head and a murmured thank you to the maid, he stepped into the house, and glanced about. He had been here before, when Georgina's children were otherwise distracted, and several times for dinner. But now, of course, Georgina was not her, and although she had invited him, he could not reveal that. Instead he must appear to have come of his own resolve, and in the back of his mind, he could not help but feel rude.

He stepped forward a little more, and glanced up at the staircase, where the subject of his affections would descend from. "Miss Rochester." He said, smiling slightly, "Have I disturbed you?"