She's surprised when he touches her hand out of nowhere, almost jerks it away -- she's been alone too long. After a beat to pull herself out of her own thoughts, she turns her hand palm-up and clasps his.

"Evidently." Her half-smile is deeply rueful -- this was going to be just another if-only between then, she thinks. "I suppose simply because it was not precisely appropriate for women to have male friends without a chaperone, for one."