"So I have," Piper said, feeling slightly ridiculous for his wording of what he was doing. But he couldn't admit that he was just pretending to read the paper and felt incredibly restless. That sounded even more ridiculous to him. Thankfully she didn't sound rude or sarcastic to him, so the slight feeling of ridiculousness passed quickly enough.
"And air is easier to come by than a heart or a palace, though at least between air and a heart, I would think a heart would be the more precious of the two. You can live without it until you find it." My, my he really was getting into it, wasn't he? He blamed those happily ever after stories he'd heard as a child as well as his own ideals. If it weren't for them, he would probably be scoffing at such things as love and palaces in unseemly places. Instead, he was entertaining the ideas, if only for a little while.
"I agree with Mary. Pastries sound wonderful, especially in the park." There would hopefully be better air there, and he could stretch out a bit. And if he still felt restless, he could be a complete fool and run around until he felt properly exhausted. "What do you say, Miss Helene?" he asked, moving and extending his arm toward her. If she didn't take it or didn't want to go, he doubted he'd be offended. After all, he was merely trying to be polite, but in this part of town especially it wasn't easy to trust someone you'd only just met.