[ He stops when she does; because of the way he's holding her (and not being held), he's able to slow himself down without being jerked. She sounds annoyed with him — which is better than the note of pity he thought he'd detected in her voice. Yes, much better.

Happily: ]

I say, have I offended you in some way? Oh dear, I hope I'm not causing you too much trouble.

[ Knowing that she's irritated with him actually makes it easier for him to ask her questions. He otherwise would have been tempted to use Mad Hatter to explore, and even he has to admit that is not so good an idea, these days. ]

So this is some sort of a hallway, right? Lots of rooms opening off it? Or does it connect somewhere else?