He let out a slow breath of relief, that at least it could be worse than how things were now. And so what if she wasn't doing it out of any kindness or clemency to them or pity for Elsie, but for how it would look - what did that matter? Neither he nor Elsie were in any position to argue.
It still felt awful, though, however not-bad it was. Things would have to change. Things were already changed, irreversibly. Of course, if Elsie's cousin kept this quiet, that at least gave him room to work things out, a chance to make official first impressions on his own time and preferably not in a "groping in someone else's library" kind of way.
If the evening hadn't unfolded how it had, Tyb might have had no trouble in making some sort of counter about Elsie being just about the gentlest and most forgiving person he knew. But - that was before he'd heard the way she'd talked to her cousin, and that Elsie seemed a lot more uncompromising. He had to suppress the faint smile at the memory, at the thrill and privilege of having gotten to see such a mythical moment, by lifting his glass again. "Maybe not," he hummed into it, not wanting to offend her by agreeing outright, but.
It still felt awful, though, however not-bad it was. Things would have to change. Things were already changed, irreversibly. Of course, if Elsie's cousin kept this quiet, that at least gave him room to work things out, a chance to make official first impressions on his own time and preferably not in a "groping in someone else's library" kind of way.
If the evening hadn't unfolded how it had, Tyb might have had no trouble in making some sort of counter about Elsie being just about the gentlest and most forgiving person he knew. But - that was before he'd heard the way she'd talked to her cousin, and that Elsie seemed a lot more uncompromising. He had to suppress the faint smile at the memory, at the thrill and privilege of having gotten to see such a mythical moment, by lifting his glass again. "Maybe not," he hummed into it, not wanting to offend her by agreeing outright, but.
