As she blocks his strike as pushes back their swords he's forced to back off.  He keeps an eye on her footwork so he might predict what her next move could be. It's hard to see though as her dress is almost constantly in the way. He shakes his head, giving up to see what she's up to, and then looks up at her to meet her eyes as she speaks to him.  "Just like the old days indeed. I got to say that you've become much better though. You might beat me one day." He chuckles amused as he remembers that he was usually the one that ended up on the ground with bruises. She always was too quick for him when they were younger.