How did Noah react to Delphine?

Noah becomes infatuated with, and devoted to, Delphine almost at first sight (Chapter 3), but is unable or unwilling to reveal his feelings to her until the dance on the showboat (Chapter 8), shortly before he goes off to war. The narrative never explicitly comments on whether this latter circumstance plays an important and/or triggering role in his decision to ask her to dance, but it would be reasonable to assume that it might. The adult Noah is a distant, but intriguing, presence in both the prologue and the epilogue (Chapters 1 and 15).