She had raised her voice and called him a weasel, and Oz had not expected either of these things — he was visibly taken aback for a beat before his brow lowered in a cross between confusion and irritation. "I know," he said emphatically (so emphatically that he might have also raised his voice a touch, not quite matching hers but louder than he'd been a moment ago). There was not a day that went by that he forgot the promises she'd solicited from him before she had agreed to his proposal: she would be allowed to work, she would not do 'society nonsense', and he was not to embarrass her the way Locke would embarrass his future wife. She had phrased the last very specifically, and he'd picked apart her words precisely to understand what she meant, and he'd carved out a space for his antics neatly within the letter of her law — running right up to the borders of what was allowed, but never crossing the lines. Until tonight, of course.
Going to the ballet tonight had been a mistake; he'd been thinking about Sophia too much and not enough about his commitments elsewhere, and he could see that now. He'd been sloppy, and that was what had led to this unfortunate predicament and this confrontation and Thomasina sloshing brandy over her fingers. But the original sin was the pregnancy; he'd only been so careless tonight because he was distracted by the overwhelming catastrophe in the future, the train he was trying to divert before it ended in a spectacular wreck from which there was no recovery.
"Why did you have to follow me to the ballet tonight?" he snapped, though of course he was irritated with himself, not with her. He raised one hand to run it through his hair. "I was handling it. I wasn't going to let — agh," he broke off, because he could not say anything else without saying too much — but Merlin, if he'd just been able to pull off this bit of negotiation, this never would have happened. Sophia Voss would have been out of the country, and Sina would never have known about it — or the pregnancy would be gone, and Sina never would have known about it. Either way.
Going to the ballet tonight had been a mistake; he'd been thinking about Sophia too much and not enough about his commitments elsewhere, and he could see that now. He'd been sloppy, and that was what had led to this unfortunate predicament and this confrontation and Thomasina sloshing brandy over her fingers. But the original sin was the pregnancy; he'd only been so careless tonight because he was distracted by the overwhelming catastrophe in the future, the train he was trying to divert before it ended in a spectacular wreck from which there was no recovery.
"Why did you have to follow me to the ballet tonight?" he snapped, though of course he was irritated with himself, not with her. He raised one hand to run it through his hair. "I was handling it. I wasn't going to let — agh," he broke off, because he could not say anything else without saying too much — but Merlin, if he'd just been able to pull off this bit of negotiation, this never would have happened. Sophia Voss would have been out of the country, and Sina would never have known about it — or the pregnancy would be gone, and Sina never would have known about it. Either way.
MJ is the light of my life <3