"I'm not sure..." he drawled, taking a moment to think back over the time they had known each other. It was not very long by this eras standards, he was led to believe, but perfectly sufficient by his own.
"You had me interested by the ball, or I should never have corresponded with your cousin. I knew I liked you very well soon after, but I suppose... when you were so kind and good to me when I was sick," he decided after a moment. "And then your filthy little letter that shocked and scandalised me just sealed the deal," he added cheekily.