Re: Dinah and Hill
Hill could count on one hand, with fingers left over, the number of times a woman had laughed because of him - and generally, it was at him, because most of the women he met were either prostitutes, who found his law-abiding ways amusing, outlaws (and the prostitutes of outlaws) who felt similarly, and the matron and her gaggle of gowned girls who would laugh at anything if it meant an eligible man stuck around. This seemed to fit into none of the categories, and it felt a little...nice.
The scowl eased to something that was not a frown, though Hill still grumbled, "I don't want to grab a girl, and I don't remember making a compliment." It was blunt speaking, but, then, he had little experience with gentle manners among ladies.
Still, his blue eyes softened, just a little, at the mention of the husband being dead. Though that would solve the problem of getting his nose broke because some man took offense to anyone talking to his wife but him. "I'm sorry," still had to be said, and sincerely, and with that, the subject firmly dropped.
Of all the things to be worried about, the thought that she was bad for his reputation was funny, enough for the scowl to vanish entirely under a chuckle. "Ma'am, I'm a soldier," Hill explained, thoroughly amused. "I already have a reputation. Dancing with you could hardly tarnish it more."