If she’d expected anything, it wasn’t that.
Her vexation evaporated rather quickly as Harry stood up, much like a deflating puffer fish and she felt a flush of sheepishness start to overtake her. Avery was left staring at him, her mouth slightly open as he continued his explanation. For a brief moment, all she could hear was the slight clinking of the china as he prepared the tea. Not knowing what to say but feeling she had to say something, Avery opened her mouth. The relief that she felt when he kept talking was palpable, and she felt herself lean back in the chair.
She looked at him when he turned around, and nodded - again, wanting to say something more but feeling he wasn’t finished, deigned to wait until then. And then he said he wanted to pay for her schooling. “You wan—” At a minimum, seven years of schooling. Small as a number was in terms of everything else - currency, minutes, seconds - he'd just thrown ‘years’ at her. Avery hadn’t allowed herself to think something like that was possible for Marigold.
He’d asked how she took her tea in the midst of all that, and then added on that he wanted to get to know Marigold. “My tea?” She heard herself say. There was a faint ringing in her ears. She shook her head, holding up her hand. This was all moving too fast. “What d’you mean you’d like to get to know her? In what way?” Her quizzical gaze was back again, and she gripped the pair of gloves in her hand again. “What’s the catch?”
Her vexation evaporated rather quickly as Harry stood up, much like a deflating puffer fish and she felt a flush of sheepishness start to overtake her. Avery was left staring at him, her mouth slightly open as he continued his explanation. For a brief moment, all she could hear was the slight clinking of the china as he prepared the tea. Not knowing what to say but feeling she had to say something, Avery opened her mouth. The relief that she felt when he kept talking was palpable, and she felt herself lean back in the chair.
She looked at him when he turned around, and nodded - again, wanting to say something more but feeling he wasn’t finished, deigned to wait until then. And then he said he wanted to pay for her schooling. “You wan—” At a minimum, seven years of schooling. Small as a number was in terms of everything else - currency, minutes, seconds - he'd just thrown ‘years’ at her. Avery hadn’t allowed herself to think something like that was possible for Marigold.
He’d asked how she took her tea in the midst of all that, and then added on that he wanted to get to know Marigold. “My tea?” She heard herself say. There was a faint ringing in her ears. She shook her head, holding up her hand. This was all moving too fast. “What d’you mean you’d like to get to know her? In what way?” Her quizzical gaze was back again, and she gripped the pair of gloves in her hand again. “What’s the catch?”
