He looks mildly confused until she gets that last word out, and then he grins, almost bashful, gaze dropping for a moment. "It's all right," he insists, raising his eyes again. "I get that a lot. I've kinda gotten used to it by now."

He shifts the cauldron to his left hand, raising his right arm to hail one of the carriages. "And I'm glad I didn't cause any offense. I wanted to be sure." Now it's his turn to pause, his turn to try to find the right words. "Where I'm from? It's kinda common for fellas to assume that every lady they come across needs their help, without, you know, asking them. So I just wanted to make sure you knew I was offering help because I really wanted to offer it, not because I was being like those meatheads and assuming you couldn't do something because you're a lady."