There was ostensibly nothing to be afraid of, but Alfred thought he knew what she meant. He didn't feel fear, exactly, but trepidation. This moment felt like a precipice. She had canceled dinner in order to skulk in the bath. Something was happening — maybe had even been happening for a while beneath the surface and this was the culminating event. Whatever it was, cresting this peak meant they would be on the other side of it, in the uncharted territory of strange lands. And he was on uncertain footing here; one wrong step could start a rockslide and irrevocably change the landscape of whatever was to come.

He thought for a long moment about the possibility of holding her hand. It would have been awkward to do, given the edge of the tub between them and the angle of their bodies and the mug of tea she was holding. Maybe if things had been warmer between them at the moment none of those things would have mattered, but right now it felt like the very act of offering his hand meant something, and doing it in spite of obstacles meant something more. There was a danger of doing too much in a situation like this, like stepping too confidently out onto ice that might crack.

He brushed his fingers against her upper arm briefly, just to establish some kind of physical contact. It was time to peek over the summit. "Tell me."

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