Love's Quiet Revolution — War and Peace

Andrew refuses a public betrothal and grants Natásha freedom to leave after six months while he keeps formal distance, kisses only her hand, and visits daily as the household slowly learns he is not from another planet.

Quiet intimacy grows: they recall their artificial past, Andrew blushes when asked about his son living elsewhere, and Natásha reads his scrutinizing gaze with mingled fear and pride while the thought of separation terrifies them both.

On the eve of departure Andrew brings Pierre, asks Natásha to turn only to him in trouble, then leaves; she says don't go without tears yet functions mechanically until a fortnight later she wakes changed, as after illness, with a new moral face.