[What they'd had is gone, but there are still signs of hope that friendship can happen, and nobody ogles any friend of his who doesn't want to be ogled. He fills his glass and takes a sip, raising an eyebrow after a moment. It's good. Her mother is clearly intent on this.]
Are there any who would... simply leave you be? Accept a wedding as financial contract alone, make no demands upon your time, someone who could satisfy you as well as your mother?
[The person who would be suitable, no matter how much there's a part of his heart that wishes otherwise, would never be him. It wouldn't even have been Detlef, because Justice was still part of the picture. But his feelings do mean he's looking down at his plate as he talks, rather than at her.]
no subject
[What they'd had is gone, but there are still signs of hope that friendship can happen, and nobody ogles any friend of his who doesn't want to be ogled. He fills his glass and takes a sip, raising an eyebrow after a moment. It's good. Her mother is clearly intent on this.]
Are there any who would... simply leave you be? Accept a wedding as financial contract alone, make no demands upon your time, someone who could satisfy you as well as your mother?
[The person who would be suitable, no matter how much there's a part of his heart that wishes otherwise, would never be him. It wouldn't even have been Detlef, because Justice was still part of the picture. But his feelings do mean he's looking down at his plate as he talks, rather than at her.]