Faustus, Mr. and Mrs. Bagshot, they were all acting as if this were all perfectly normal, which left Malou feeling as if she ought to just go with it. It was an usual feeling for Malou, so used to being on her own as she had been, but she allowed him to lead her down the stairs, baffled at the whole thing.

Ahead of them Mr. and Mrs. Bagshot had gotten into the carriage but Faustus stopped her at the gates. For the first time since she had spotted him in the entry way his face was serious. Malou looked up at him, headed tilted ever so slightly to the side in an unspoken question. But then there it was.

"Of course." Sincerity laced her words, her own gaze serious. Time and again Faustus had proven to her he could be trusted and if she were quite honest, next to Fallon, she didn't think she trusted anyone as much as she trusted the man before her.