Re: the thin and red/the actress
This was not what he wanted.
He wanted to sweep a woman off her feet. He wanted to surprise her, to startle her, to shock, perhaps, a little bit. Most importantly, he wanted a spark, a flicker of something now lost to him, something he wore at his throat, the old monogram of someone gone.
This was not a woman who would be swept, it seemed, or charmed, or perhaps who even burned. If she did, it was not for him, and he would not argue with her that she ought to.
He stepped to the side. Whatever effect had glittered in honeyed words and bright eyes dissipated almost immediately. He smiled at her. His expression had, for just a moment, leaked something a little desperate, a need, a desire, but now it had closed. He would still have a difficult night ahead after all. But that was still better.
"Not for a person that wanted it," he said. "Who was willing to spend a little time by my side. And if that is a catch, my dear, I do not think we are to be."
One last look at the fine white skin of her neck, at her eyes, at her red lips, and he nodded his head in a respectful farewell. Then he slipped through the door into the hall, leaving her alone in the cabin.