[ she smiles and blushes a little as he kisses her hand, not used to such charming manners]

Oh... you're new, aren't you?

And here I am flapping around spilling wine on you and talking too much!

I really can't apologise enough.
It's a little hard to explain... erm... people get picked from their homes and brought here by some 'author'... that's really the extent of my knowledge. I'm sure someone else will be able to explain a lot better than me, but rest assured you're in no immediate danger.

Listen, let's get some wine and you can ask me questions if you'd like to and I'll see what I can tell you, though I don't promise I'll be very useful.