"Noble," he supplied eagerly. Noble was a good place to start the conversation, because he would not have to warn her about Noble. Noble was hardly thrilled with the turn of events, but he at least knew that Miss Farley had done nothing wrong and would be kind to her, Ford was sure. (Or — if she had done anything wrong, Ford had not yet devised any means of proving it, and hadn't shared any of his half-formed suspicions with Noble yet). "He's a potioneer. He has a workshop across the garden from the house." And therefore, it occurred to him only now, she would probably interact with him more frequently than she did with Ford once she moved in; he would be gone most of the day, while Noble and Grace and Clementine would be constants. And Mama, of course. The notion panicked him slightly; he had imagined that he would be there in most instances to serve as a buffer if necessary between his family and Miss Farley, and actually that would hardly ever be true. So he really did need to ensure she was adequately prepared.
"Grace is very kind," he began; Grace seemed the easiest entryway to discussing his sisters. "And very curious and intelligent, in her own way, but she's frightfully shy, so you mustn't be discouraged if she doesn't speak to you much at first. Verity lives with her husband now, but she visits often." And perhaps that was all he ought to say on the subject of Verity. He had hesitated for a moment, trying to find something to add that would be reassuring, but had come up empty. Verity could be a hard personality even at the best of times, with her exacting standards for everything and her seriousness, and she was frightfully angry with him at present. He was sure she would be polite to Miss Farley, but could not be sure of much else — and if he said she was polite, the main message she would take away was that he could find no more enticing adjectives for her. "Clementine — well, you probably know; she's not much changed from how she was in school — but she's very clever, and confident, and she..." he drifted off for a second, considering how to best to phrase the next part. The words that really sprung to mind to describe Clementine were obstinate and antagonistic but those were hardly appropriate here.
"...enjoys teasing me," he eventually settled on; this felt suitably close to what might be considered sibling fondness that it did not sound too harsh a criticism. "I'm not sure whether she'll do the same to you, but if she says something you find off-putting you mustn't take it personally. That's just the way she is. And — ah, cousin Greer can be a touch — indelicate," he continued, which was a delicate way of saying she openly swore, which Ford had always disapproved of. He privately considered her a bad influence on Clementine. He had no particular warnings to impart about cousin Lorelei, but she was the final member of the household left without comment, so he felt obliged to add, "And cousin Lorelei is sweet."
While this was less actual words than his last rambling speech, he still felt as though he had probably overwhelmed her with information. He twisted the stem of one of the flowers between his fingers and bit the inside of his lower lip. "If you'd like to meet them all before the wedding we could arrange that. I mean, if you'd like to," he added, cautious of coming across as though he was issuing a directive. He thought he would rather prefer she didn't; it was one more thing to be accomplished, and one more thing that might creating problems during the engagement period — but it seemed like the sort of thing he ought to offer.
"Grace is very kind," he began; Grace seemed the easiest entryway to discussing his sisters. "And very curious and intelligent, in her own way, but she's frightfully shy, so you mustn't be discouraged if she doesn't speak to you much at first. Verity lives with her husband now, but she visits often." And perhaps that was all he ought to say on the subject of Verity. He had hesitated for a moment, trying to find something to add that would be reassuring, but had come up empty. Verity could be a hard personality even at the best of times, with her exacting standards for everything and her seriousness, and she was frightfully angry with him at present. He was sure she would be polite to Miss Farley, but could not be sure of much else — and if he said she was polite, the main message she would take away was that he could find no more enticing adjectives for her. "Clementine — well, you probably know; she's not much changed from how she was in school — but she's very clever, and confident, and she..." he drifted off for a second, considering how to best to phrase the next part. The words that really sprung to mind to describe Clementine were obstinate and antagonistic but those were hardly appropriate here.
"...enjoys teasing me," he eventually settled on; this felt suitably close to what might be considered sibling fondness that it did not sound too harsh a criticism. "I'm not sure whether she'll do the same to you, but if she says something you find off-putting you mustn't take it personally. That's just the way she is. And — ah, cousin Greer can be a touch — indelicate," he continued, which was a delicate way of saying she openly swore, which Ford had always disapproved of. He privately considered her a bad influence on Clementine. He had no particular warnings to impart about cousin Lorelei, but she was the final member of the household left without comment, so he felt obliged to add, "And cousin Lorelei is sweet."
While this was less actual words than his last rambling speech, he still felt as though he had probably overwhelmed her with information. He twisted the stem of one of the flowers between his fingers and bit the inside of his lower lip. "If you'd like to meet them all before the wedding we could arrange that. I mean, if you'd like to," he added, cautious of coming across as though he was issuing a directive. He thought he would rather prefer she didn't; it was one more thing to be accomplished, and one more thing that might creating problems during the engagement period — but it seemed like the sort of thing he ought to offer.
Set by Lady!