A ring on her finger had suggested the thought, but whether it were on the proper finger or not was beyond his knowledge of such little details.
"What makes you think that ?" she asked.
"The ring on the finger." "But that's not the right finger." "Isn't it ?" "No.

My grandmother gave me that." He held her eyes--forced her to see the comprehension in his.
"Then you won't help me ?" he said.
"Help you?
How ?" "You don't want to tell me anything about yourself ?" "But I have nothing to tell.

I'm a very uninteresting person, I'm afraid." This was shyness, this dropping into conventional phrases.

He led her deftly through them to a greater confidence in his interest, as you steer a boat through shallow, rapid-running water.

He wanted to get to the woman beneath it all, knowing that the woman was there.
So he made for deep water, guiding her through the shoals.