The timber of the man's voice behind her was deep and soothing. A note that didn't remind her of the past year. It was a welcome change, a change she could lose herself in. Slowly, Bells stopped herself, turning and looking at the man. He had a face that looked as if it was prone to smiles, an enchanting cleft in his chin, and this close up she could see the crinkles of laugh lines by his eyes and mouth - and he had dimples. Bells smiled broadly back at him, allowing it to reach her eyes.

"Oh! Thank you. I should very much have hated to lose it, it's my favorite you see." She refused to glance back at Mary. She didn't need to to know that the woman was likely containing herself from bouncing in her seat. In fact, Bells was certain she'd be lucky if Mary was not blatantly staring at them. If Mary were it would likely give up the game much too fast and now that it had worked Bells certainly was not going to risk ruining it. Oh no, certainly much safer to keep the man focused on her than to risk looking at Mary.

"It reminds me of daffodils." She confided, leaning in slightly forward him as if this were a secret. It was not of course, but it hardly mattered that this was a fact she would cheerfully share with anyone, asked or unasked, it was all a part of the dance. That careful dance between an unmarried man (one quick glance at his left hand assured her of this) and an unmarried woman. Let him think he were on the end of a delightful admission, wonder what else she might enchant him with. Granted, she might have miscalculated and the man might simply wander off, annoyed by her cheerfulness. It was a gamble, but Bells was firmly of the belief that if one could not handle her entire self then they were not worth wasting the time on. If she had wished to be cosseted into the life of what was expected she would have chosen a different life entirely - one full of ballrooms and dreadful dinner parties where each person was as stiff and boring as the next.