William nodded in reference to all of Andrew's statements as they referenced the business at hand and shook his head to the last. He had no need or want to know the details of the final destination of his goods provided. In any other case that would just be the end of the transaction and he would fall away from the scene. Sometimes there were more requests later on, sometimes not and the nature of the business was never predictable. The only thing that was predictable was that he kept moving, town to town, beholden to the weather. In the summer months he was north when the ground was soft enough to break, in the winter he stayed south. It wasn't unlike the carnival circuit he had once thought, macabre as it was to link the two.<br/><br/>It seemed as far as business went, he and MacClery were set. All was well. They understood each other perfectly. But there was now this rising personal situation that had Lee taken somewhat off guard. He hadn't really seen it coming; such was the nature of MacClery that Lee had learned. The older man was intelligent, reserved and while Lee had felt at time the man may want to be closer, he seemed to keep it politely behind guarded propriety. As the man spoke on, Lee was drawn much more deeply into the conversation; Andrew seemed to be letting down that propriety a bit and was speaking very directly to less popularly acceptable inclinations. Andrew was going out on a limb and Lee found that his stirred him to see the man doing so given that there was an obvious difficulty to it for the man.<br/><br/>There was a pause while Lee processed all the things Andrew had just said; subtly and not so subtly. Andrew had first said something completely devoid of words; that was the look. He had looked Lee over and it had not gone unnoticed by the younger man. It was quite the opposite actually, Lee had picked up on that nuance immediately with all the rush that such looks gave him. Andrew had said he didn't want to force Lee out of his anonymity, but Lee thought that was a little bit of a social white lie. Smart, productive men, in the presence of a mystery, always wanted to know more. It was true of Lee; it was true of Andrew. Andrew talked more about himself which led Lee to believe he was willing, and even wanted to be more personal with him. Charmed; mutual interest; an illusion to physical attractiveness were all things Andrew brought up in a few short sentences. It was a lot for Lee to take in before replying in a manner that was timely enough not to be construed as hesitance.<br/><br/>He looked at Andrew as he did so; taking in the man before him more completely than he'd deigned appropriate or recommended before. He started to speak, then stopped. A less guarded and analytical expression washed over his face replacing the former with something warmer and relaxed. "Andrew, did you just tell me that you think I'm handsome and you're interested in me?" His warm countenance lighted with a soft endearing chuckle. He was flattered and perhaps suddenly just a bit flustered in it. "I...I don't want you to think you've misinterpreted anything. I mean, well..." He foundered over how to say the things he was trying to put organized thought to. "Well, what I mean is, I wasn't really sure of you. I mean, you're probably no stranger to the wider world out there, you know that a nod and a brush up is the most common form of signal of interest for fellows like us. At least for me, that is. I don't stay put for long so the sophisticated, less overt chance encounter is all but lost on me in my haste to be about my business and move on. You haven't misinterpreted; I simply hadn't figured you out yet." Andrew had talked about his marriage earlier. It wasn't an ideal situation he had said and Lee felt that perhaps something that looked a little more like the present situation was more ideal for Andrew. He stood up and walked with his drink over to window where he waved Andrew to stand with him. "I have though now, haven't I. We're alike in an uncommon but compelling way."