“Miss Greyback,” he echoed, mostly in relief – although there was something less sublime in knowing she was a Miss Greyback than a mystical water or forest spirit. Miss Greyback did not have quite the same poetic ring as Undine.
But at least they shared a secret or two, so her presence was not so stifling as everyone around the table. The smile she was resisting was like a breath of fresh air. (Or maybe that was just the faint breeze from her fan.) She had mentioned the hunt, and his face coloured ever so slightly at that. “Ah, I haven’t,” he said easily, biting the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from offering her a rueful smile no one else would understand – but there was a conspiratorial glimmer in his eye. “I’ve since decided hunting is not for me. I tried to fell a deer last time, you see, but it turned out to be a little more than I’d bargained for.”
He shot her a brief look along the table, and dropped his gaze again until he’d come up with a suitable innocuous question, something that would not raise eyebrows of any eavesdroppers. “Are you very fond of the outdoors?”
But at least they shared a secret or two, so her presence was not so stifling as everyone around the table. The smile she was resisting was like a breath of fresh air. (Or maybe that was just the faint breeze from her fan.) She had mentioned the hunt, and his face coloured ever so slightly at that. “Ah, I haven’t,” he said easily, biting the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from offering her a rueful smile no one else would understand – but there was a conspiratorial glimmer in his eye. “I’ve since decided hunting is not for me. I tried to fell a deer last time, you see, but it turned out to be a little more than I’d bargained for.”
He shot her a brief look along the table, and dropped his gaze again until he’d come up with a suitable innocuous question, something that would not raise eyebrows of any eavesdroppers. “Are you very fond of the outdoors?”
