Marion's first instinct was to pull her hand away, but she resisted. Not only had they caused enough of a scene already, but it would be counterproductive to her stated goal of becoming closer to her husband. After a few moments, she relaxed a bit, her mind going over the last year and how they could both have managed to be so blind to the interests of the other.<br/><br/>Part of her wanted to blame him, entirely. Another part wanted to wallow in the guilt and take on all of the responsibility for the failure. But the problem was simply a lack of confirmation that the messages they were sending were being received with the desired intent intact.<br/><br/>They had come from vastly different backgrounds, and as such, they had entirely different methods of interacting. Where she understood the understated maneuvering for affection played out in the upper tiers of society, she was belatedly realizing such small things were far too subtle for someone not already aware of their import to even notice, much less recognize. They were both going to have to take some pains to learn the other's mode of communication and find a way to bridge the gap between them if their marriage was going to be anything more than one of convenience.<br/><br/>But they both cold learn. She knew she was up to it, now that she recognized that the problem wasn't lack of interest. And he was frightfully intelligent, one of the things that had helped her own acceptance of the match, and was already becoming a more savvy bidder. She couldn't help but smile approvingly at his attempt to hide his interest in that particular slave. It likely wouldn't matter at this point, but she liked watching him think and plan, even if she didn't typically understand what it was he was actually doing.<br/><br/>As much as she didn't really wanting him buying the creature, she knew that objecting would only drive a wedge between them and damage the repairs to their relationship before they'd even really begun. She'd have to see how things worked out once they had settled into whatever their new routine would be. Perhaps she might even be able to convince him to make her part of the domestic staff and leave the marital duties to his wife.