Edric dropped his briefcase in the corner of the room and, removing his coat, plopped down in the leather chair opposite Febby. "Oh, you know, technicalities and legalities. That's what they're always doing, but it moved into the main offices this morning," he answered blandly, his eyes immediately drawn to the newspaper on the table. She'd obviously heard—not that he'd expected her to remain oblivious.

Even if she wasn't oblivious, he hoped she'd pretend to be—if only for a little while—for the sake of their newlywed bliss. But with his eyes flickering down to the paper every few seconds, combined with the apparent stiffness in their words, he doubted the topic would remain avoidable. (That didn't mean he wouldn't try, though.)

"That's good," he chided, but his face quickly dropped at her next comment. Edric had adored Mrs. Harding from the moment she'd baked him cookies for rescuing Febs that one fateful day; she hadn't deserved whatever treatment the Lynch family had given her. Without hesitance, he responded: "I'll hire her, of course. I planned on stealing her from your parents anyways. But for now..." The Umbridge family already had a housekeeper, and he couldn't fire a woman he didn't employ. "... she'll be a guest. We have a few spare rooms."

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