There! Breaking free from the crowds... No, it seemed the crowds were falling away from him, in such a way as water at the apex of a fountain falls away.... She blinked, then closed her arms around her waist and held. Her desperation and terror had driven her to find Mssr. de Lioncourt, but now that he was... standing in front of her, she was uneasy all over again.
Swallowing her double-fear, she nodded. "I'm so sorry," she said, barely managing not to stammer. "I'm so sorry, I know you're ... I'm sorry to intrude, but I..."
She realized belatedly that everything she'd just spat out had been in rich, Old World French -- not the common language that The City gave her when she first appeared here. There was little hope for her if she continued on like this, and she knew it. She was already asking a lot, and she didn't want to be here -- in front of him -- at all. Pull it together! she all but shouted at herself. With a hand that vexingly shook, she brushed aside her hair from her forehead and then forced herself to breathe twice, slowly. She tried again.
"I was just visited by a man named Eric. I understood from his.... his conversation with me that you and he were previously acquainted. I dared to hope that you would take pity on me and share what you know of him. It seems I have attracted his attention, and... I..."
She faltered to a stop, feeling her eyes grow hot and watery. Biting down on her bottom lip, she wrapped her arms around her waist again and held her breath. You're made of sterner stuff than this, she chided herself. Don't abandon yourself to this...
But she was afraid it might be too late to talk herself out of the panic that had all but seized control of her. She was shivering, and it was a warm, warm night.