Well then. What could Enid Glynn have to be secretive about? She had all but admitted to there being something, just by being so afraid to tell it. (She thought she was setting Enid on edge by her interrogation – she could sense it, a hint of discomfort in her careful tone – but Mattie wasn’t particularly sorry for it. She ought to relent, probably – but really, that only left her supposing that Miss Glynn wasn’t a young woman used to this. Not someone who often had secrets to hide, or much inclination to lie or to break the rules. So either her secret would be something she cared very earnestly about, or it would be a rather disappointing tale.)
Mattie considered it. Doing anything fun to celebrate? had sparked the incriminating expression. “Well, let’s see. Is it something else, or it is someone else?” She was watching Miss Glynn’s expression all the while as they walked, intent upon catching any more telling signs on her face. She did try to soften her smile into something more innocent, hoping to coax it out slowly if she could, piece by piece, until she could make a better picture of the situation. “A friend? Maybe... more than a friend?”
“I won’t tell anyone,” she added, tone almost wheedling. (This was true enough in the moment. Mattie couldn’t speak for a later day, but at the moment it didn’t serve her to go around telling a quiet healer’s secrets, so what would be the point? Strictly speaking, the only secrets she was inclined to keep in perpetuity were her own.) “After all, you’re taking me to the Smoke & Scale, aren’t you?” she pointed out, as if they could trade in secrets; like Mattie was at her mercy and Enid could get her in trouble for that if she liked. (Well. She could certainly try.) “Is it one of the dragonkeepers?” she prompted, back at her game of twenty questions.
Mattie considered it. Doing anything fun to celebrate? had sparked the incriminating expression. “Well, let’s see. Is it something else, or it is someone else?” She was watching Miss Glynn’s expression all the while as they walked, intent upon catching any more telling signs on her face. She did try to soften her smile into something more innocent, hoping to coax it out slowly if she could, piece by piece, until she could make a better picture of the situation. “A friend? Maybe... more than a friend?”
“I won’t tell anyone,” she added, tone almost wheedling. (This was true enough in the moment. Mattie couldn’t speak for a later day, but at the moment it didn’t serve her to go around telling a quiet healer’s secrets, so what would be the point? Strictly speaking, the only secrets she was inclined to keep in perpetuity were her own.) “After all, you’re taking me to the Smoke & Scale, aren’t you?” she pointed out, as if they could trade in secrets; like Mattie was at her mercy and Enid could get her in trouble for that if she liked. (Well. She could certainly try.) “Is it one of the dragonkeepers?” she prompted, back at her game of twenty questions.
