He inclines his head, shoulders leaning in slightly along with, mannerly. (He thinks. Fairly certain it's the same here, and it would be wildly inappropriate for him to do anything like extend a hand.) Well met, well met, as he attempts to mentally place which man inside might be Herr Eggers, if he should know anything about the family's trade, or positions of importance; a lost cause. Doesn't matter where, he has no head for social networking.
"You're free to steal away, Fraulein," he pronounces it awfully flat, forgive him, "though I fear my dry perspectives on sailing aren't any more interesting when I can breathe properly."
His tone is easygoing, because this is a perfectly fine event and everyone has been very kind and welcoming. Crozier appreciates more than he imagined he might, in fact— the Admiralty was initially deeply unhappy about the idea of indulging in these events in foreign countries, feverishly protective of any potential military intelligence to be sifted out of exploratory ventures. But the reception to purely scientific topics has been enthusiastic. Not as enthusiastic as the desire to hear about adventuring, of course, but fortunately Captain Ross is deft as anything at describing those, even through a translator.
"Is there much of a garden to walk through, out here?"
There is a moment of hesitation, the usual binding constraints of morality and expectation that lay in stark contrast to the pursuit of more time in an even more private setting between a man and an unmarried woman. Ellen is aware of all the kinds of scandal that may be inflicted upon her (her, not likely him, and even if so, he has a handy escape route.) But the refusal does not come when she reaches for it. A whisper in her mind tells her they will not be found.
Ellen inclines her head toward the path from she came from.
"This way."
Gravel softly crunches under her steps as she turns toward the darker edge of the courtyard where the garden begins to take its shape. The noise of the house thins to a distant, harmless murmur, as if they have passed behind a veil. Summer has long since withdrawn from the garden, late blooms clinging stubbornly to the hedges, trees once abundant with fruit now a crooked mangle of nearly bare limbs. Somewhere unseen, the sound of water slips through a fountain.
"It is.. difficult to inquire about a place that I can barely fathom," she admits. Frozen miles of silent nothingness at the end of the Earth.
"It must be a good place to disappear to. And breathe."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
"You're free to steal away, Fraulein," he pronounces it awfully flat, forgive him, "though I fear my dry perspectives on sailing aren't any more interesting when I can breathe properly."
His tone is easygoing, because this is a perfectly fine event and everyone has been very kind and welcoming. Crozier appreciates more than he imagined he might, in fact— the Admiralty was initially deeply unhappy about the idea of indulging in these events in foreign countries, feverishly protective of any potential military intelligence to be sifted out of exploratory ventures. But the reception to purely scientific topics has been enthusiastic. Not as enthusiastic as the desire to hear about adventuring, of course, but fortunately Captain Ross is deft as anything at describing those, even through a translator.
"Is there much of a garden to walk through, out here?"
no subject
Ellen inclines her head toward the path from she came from.
"This way."
Gravel softly crunches under her steps as she turns toward the darker edge of the courtyard where the garden begins to take its shape. The noise of the house thins to a distant, harmless murmur, as if they have passed behind a veil. Summer has long since withdrawn from the garden, late blooms clinging stubbornly to the hedges, trees once abundant with fruit now a crooked mangle of nearly bare limbs. Somewhere unseen, the sound of water slips through a fountain.
"It is.. difficult to inquire about a place that I can barely fathom," she admits. Frozen miles of silent nothingness at the end of the Earth.
"It must be a good place to disappear to. And breathe."