abjectly anticipatingly anticipatively anticipatorily anxious apprehensive apprehensively aside bashfully behind the curtain behind the scenes behind the veil between the teeth covertly diffidently expectantly expectingly fearfully for fear of hopefully humbly in a corner in a whisper in an aside in darkness in hidlings in secret in suspense in the background in the dark keyed-up meekly modestly mousily nobody the wiser on all fours on bended knee on edge on tenterhooks on tiptoe out of earshot quakingly quivering secretly shrinkingly shyly sotto voce sub rosa submissively taut tense timidly timorously tremblingly tremulously under the breath under the rose undercover underground with breathless expectation with due deference with muscles tense