"Never fear, Miss Lane," he assured her smoothly, "You have not failed my expectations in the slightest."
Here, he paused, and disappeared into his thoughts so completely that his eyes seemed to look straight through his guest. He took a breath, and his smile turned strange....and then wry. His eyes focused on her again -- and sharply.
"If your keen reporter senses are telling you something different, it is not because of that." Another pause -- but this time, he didn't disappear. Rather, he seemed to be gathering himself. "You see, Miss Lane," he continued. "I haven't been strictly forthcoming with you. The truth is that I far prefer the company of pen, ink, and vellum to that of those I now find myself managing."
Erik paused again, then rubbed his bottom lip briefly with a black-clad thumb. "The season will be the best I've seen since I first stepped foot... You'll see. But it has not been easy." One more pause -- and then the smile that slid into place closed his face, rather than opened it.