“I try not to let it bother me much,” Barnaby corrected gently, because that was really all one could do to come to terms with their lot, when their lot had been unchanged for three centuries. That was rather a long time to mourn oneself, even by his own self-centred standards.
And it was lonely: that was the worst of it. And, he considered wistfully, that some things were forever beyond his reach. To feel – to be loved – even to manage the barest touch. He suffered more than he let on, and even felt a pang of it here, because even Mr. Browne, the dead herring, would be set above him in those categories, no matter what he did.
“I am a most accomplished mathematician,” Barnaby declared grandiosely, half to amuse her and half to cover his despair, as he began to count vials on the shelves. “I am at your service,” he added, with a nod to express his surrender, that he understood. No more hospital visits, then. Banished to the streets like a dog. Such was his lot.
And it was lonely: that was the worst of it. And, he considered wistfully, that some things were forever beyond his reach. To feel – to be loved – even to manage the barest touch. He suffered more than he let on, and even felt a pang of it here, because even Mr. Browne, the dead herring, would be set above him in those categories, no matter what he did.
“I am a most accomplished mathematician,” Barnaby declared grandiosely, half to amuse her and half to cover his despair, as he began to count vials on the shelves. “I am at your service,” he added, with a nod to express his surrender, that he understood. No more hospital visits, then. Banished to the streets like a dog. Such was his lot.
