She watched him come back over, tea in hand with the milk and sugar. It was hard to draw any assumptions about a man when he was bringing over milk and sugar. Though relaxed in posture, Avery still held onto suspicion like a life raft. He had sidestepped her last question. Perhaps his joke was an attempt to deflect, and yet she still briefly offered him a small smile.

He wasn’t wrong, Marigold was his niece. Never in a thousand years had Avery imagined that Marigold would ever meet anyone close to her father, and yet here one was right in front of her sipping from a rather lovely looking teacup. Pursing her lips again, Avery reached for the sugar, putting two spoonfuls in and stirring it with a spoon. His question came before she picked up the cup, but she still took her time to sip the hot tea before she answered, knowing now that he would only get part of the truth.

“I’m a creature healer and magizoologist.” She offered, sipping again; he didn’t need to know that the money tucked into her reticule was what Mr. Fisk had given her for her company last night. She caught onto an earlier statement, lowering the teacup. “You are a good uncle? You already have nieces and nephews then?”

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