She looked back up at him after that confession.  Even in the liberated West, she knew how seriously that sort of - disinterest - could be interpreted.<br/><br/>"Well, now you have proof you're not," she replied with a bit of a smile.  "Or should we check further?"  She actually blushed a little at her own boldness.  At the beginning of the semester, those words wouldn't have entered her<em>mind</em>, much less come out in conversation.