"Oh yes, that's him," Millie nodded, eager now that she noticed Mattie intrigued by the tale. She was always cautious about Muggle books, hesitating to recommend them when there were so many written by Magical authors instead. Her relief turned to astonishment when the older girl got close, suddenly timid as she recalled how larger than life Mattie seemed to her otherwise.

"Well, it starts out talking about an odd sort of gentleman, the type to get himself in drunken rows and the like." Millie began slowly, trying to remember the exact start of the tale. The twist had been so shocking to her, so revealing, that it was a struggle to remember how she had felt about the book before that moment. On another day, to another friend, the young witch might have remarked how innocent and carefree she had been before that moment as well. With Mattie, whose presence threatened to take her breath away, Millie felt the need to temper herself.

"But," she put in, unable to keep from adding just a touch of intrigue to her telling, "somehow he manages to smooth them all over with money. And no one seems to quite know how such a rough man has that kind of fortune."

Now that she had said it, Millie realized the book seemed more like it was about money than the mystery of Mr. Hyde's nighttime proclivities. "Oh, he's just such an odd character. Not quite evil, as one might think, just..." She stopped herself, about to spill too many of the details that would preclude Mattie from reading it herself. She found herself grinning at the older girl, "You'll have to read it, really. I can't say any more!"

"I dare say you've said quite enough for this shop," the seamstress was back, carrying a bundle of robes in her arms. Millie closed her mouth, turning her head away from the woman to hide the grin on her face. Only Mattie was in sight of her expression as the young witch tried to act more properly in the presence of an adult once more.

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