Albel paused, noticeably surprised at the compliment. It wasn't that he hadn't been trying to look nice -- or rather, that Mogdelina had managed to convince him it was important. He just hadn't expected it to be outwardly noticed or deserve a compliment. Men complimented women; and of course women could compliment men, but it wasn't expected.

There were a lot of social mores to navigate and Albel was hardly the most experienced with them.

He swallowed and came back to his senses. "Uh, thank you." He moved belatedly to pull out her chair for her.