"Indeed it does," she said with a hint of a bitter laugh. This wasn't the first time she resented her sex strictly because of how difficult it made her career. Some men wouldn't even respect her opinions because what did she, a delicate woman, know? One of the only positive things to come out of her situation with Zach was how little time she actually had spend dealing with such men.

She shrugged. "I doubt there'll be many buyers for advanced texts on Ancient Egypt, at least not in the next few hours." It would take time for her to get word to her mentor's husband, after all. Mr. Crawford was frightfully intimidating when he thought to be. "I'll manage."

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Alfred let out a mirthless chuckle. "You're assuming the folks buying illicit cargo on the black market know how to read," he pointed out. Books in general weren't the most valuable thing to try and offload, from what he understood, and loose papers even less so. In that light, maybe she did stand a chance of getting her things back. On the other hand, if the crew could find anyone willing to buy books, they'd probably take treatises on Ancient Egypt just as readily as they'd take anything else. Fences didn't have a nose for what would sell and what wouldn't when it came to things like that.

He could have offered to help. He wasn't that intimating, but he had a reputation around the docks as someone noteworthy and he knew how to speak in a way that made sailors listen. He probably could have gotten her things back, but she wouldn't have wanted his help. He could have made a joke to diffuse the tension a bit — his last comment had come close — but he didn't know whether or not she would laugh. All at once, Alfred felt the depth of how much he missed Jo. It was easy to forget when he had so many other things to think about, with the Sanditon and the house and Zelda, but sitting here next to her with nothing to distract him from how painfully awkward their interactions were, he really felt it.

"But yeah, I'm sure you'll manage," he said, looking back out at the water off the edge of the dock.

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

"In Arabic, of all languages." Jo pointed out with another brief, humorless laugh. She spent hours translating those texts whenever she came into a new one, as the charms were often ineffectual or mistaken with the interpretation of a word. It was tiring work, but it kept her in the field she loved and was a steady income in her pocket. There were worst things she could do to afford the small room for her and Ilona.

She shifted further onto her knees, as if gauging her abilities to stand, only to just as soon land back on her heels. He obviously had no pressing desire to rekindle their friendship (not that she ever expected him to) and she knew he was only remaining on the dock with her out of some misplaced sense of chivalry. Should she offer him an out again? Would he even accept it and walk away guilt free? Jo had no wish to cause any sort of tension between him and Zelda, and if his remaining here would do so then she was obligated to tell him to go, was she not?

"I'm truly alright now if you need to continue about your day," she told him in a gentler tone than she had the first time around. "My colleague's husband will retrieve my parcels, you needn't put yourself out for longer if you'd prefer not to."

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beautiful set by mj

Alfred offered a thin smile at the line about Arabic, but didn't look back over at her. She'd offered him another out, and this time she wasn't choking. He ought to take it. He still felt a little strange about leaving things on such an anticlimactic note, but he knew better than to think that staying was going to make things any less awkward. There was no resolution to be had between the two of them, so nothing was going to come from prolonging this.

"Yeah, alright," he said eventually, scooting away from her on the dock so that he could retrieve his boots. He slipped one on — still wet, but at least not sloshing — and reached for the other.

"Zelda mentioned you came by," he said, without knowing why he was bringing it up.

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Jo had joined him in staring out at the harbor as he pulled on his boots. While she knew she had no place in his life anymore, for this to be their final piece of closure stung in a way she couldn't quite name. A piece of her would always miss him and mourn the lost of their friendship, that same piece would always regret the way things ended.

She was prepared for him to walk away without further comment. Saying goodbye felt too final for her to want to wave him off, which she secretly hoped he also felt. Except, he hadn't walked away or said goodbye. He mentioned her visit to Zelda of all things.

"I ... I needed to make things right with her." Jo explained hesitantly. Looking back now, there had to be some doubts in their minds that Jo was there for Zelda at all. Zelda had never been her best friend, nor had she been the keeper of Jo's secrets.

Jo paused then, sudden alarm creeping down her back. Ilona. Ilona's existence was meant to be a secret until such a time that Zach was ready to publicly claim her. Jo doubted Alfred would ever out her, but without the bond of their friendship it was impossible to know. "Did she tell you about ...?"

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beautiful set by mj

Alfred pulled his other boot on with more force than was necessary. He knew what she was talking about, but not because Zelda had mentioned anything. Jo had said my daughter the last time they'd run into each other, when she hadn't recognized him, and the news had stopped him in his tracks. When he'd later told Zelda that he'd run into Jo, he'd left that part out without knowing exactly why.

Apparently Zelda had done the same thing.

"No," he said, pushing himself up to his feet. "She didn't."

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

"Okay." Nothing was okay. Was he being purposely obtuse? Had Zelda told him and he was lying to show he'd keep her secret? Panic coursed through her system like fire whipping through a dead forest. Jo couldn't very well question him on what he didn't know, except she was almost certain he did.

She pushed herself up on unsteady legs, her attention now thoroughly on him for any kind of indication one way or the other. "Okay," Jo repeated, now entirely unsure of herself. Merlin, she never should have gone to see Zelda, what a mistake that had been.

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Alfred picked up his coat and shrugged it on over his wet shirt. His crate of rat poison was nearby, but he wasn't in much of a mood to do anything about it after this. If Zelda had known about Jo's child and decided not to mention it to him, why? Jo was obviously anxious about the idea of him knowing, too — why did they both seem to think he couldn't be trusted with the information?

"'Bye, Jo," he mumbled, moving past her without looking at her.

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Fuck. She couldn't let him leave, not when she was entirely unsure if he knew about Ilona or not. Any thought of the future Zach and she shared was contingent upon the secret remaining so until they were ready to act upon it. If Alfred knew and was angry ... who knew what he would do?

"I have a daughter." Jo called out to him before he was more than four steps from her. "Zelda promised to keep her a secret since at that time I hadn't yet reached out to her father. I ... I'm sorry if this causes any difficulties between you and she. She was only protecting my daughter."

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beautiful set by mj

So Jo and Zelda had had a conversation about the father of Jo's daughter. Alfred wanted to know more about that conversation, but he couldn't ask Jo; he didn't trust that she was telling him the truth, even now. He hoped there was some truth in it, because he hoped that at least it was clear to Zelda that he had nothing to do with Jo's daughter. Obviously he and Jo would have both known nothing had ever happened between them, and he'd told Zelda that, but — had she wondered? Had she doubted him? Was that why she hadn't brought it up?

No — if she'd really thought that, she would have confronted him with it. Zelda wasn't the sort to hide from things because they might have been uncomfortable. At least, she had never done so before — but she'd never been pregnant with his child before. Who knew how that might have changed her approach to the issue? There was more at stake now — more to lose if he changed his mind. Didn't she trust him?

"She kept your secret," he returned stiffly, picking up his crate.

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

"I told her Ilona wasn't yours, she knew it before I even said anything." Jo said a bit uncomfortably. She wasn't trying to meddle or cause any kind of tension between husband and wife. Merlin knew Jo had caused enough issues there for a lifetime. "I'm sorry ... I'll stop talking now. I'm sorry again, Alfred."

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beautiful set by mj