He smiled for once. Lord, but she was a beauty and she was talking to him. He was not used to interacting much with the ladies beyond what was polite chit chat. Suddenly, his schedule seemed to open up and he decided that he would take a chance and perhaps get acquainted with Miss. Brennan. "I am Maxim Ennington," he said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Brennan." She had his full attention, especially the depth of her blue eyes.

"I was just looking at buying my mother or sisters some trinkets. Perhaps you can give me some advice," he offered as a means of an opening line. He sounded rather sharp, and he didn't have that uppity vibe going on that his peers might have. He might know he is handsome but he didn't care, his mind was usually enough to push women away. He was constantly battling mathematics in his head, not thinking up good prose to impress a young miss with.