He laughs quietly, the sound a little more tremulous than he would like, and squeezes his fingers around her hands as she lifts one to her lips.

"Ninon, I have wanted you since I first saw you."

Well, perhaps not quite that long, as he has known who Ninon was since he was a child, but still. Since, at least, he grew old enough to know what wanting was, and to know that he would never have her. She was a safe woman to desire, because she was kept so far above him; it had not been a conscious decision to desire her, but since he would never have the chance to have her, he would also never have to suffer her rejection.

Now that he can have her, and has not been rejected, he's not quite sure what to do next.