Samuel looked at her outstretched hand and thought that his mother would have some sharp words for Miss Lyra. He did not much mind it; Lyra was observing his reaction to this. It was a test. He denied her anything more than a polite and unperturbed smile while he took her hand and shook it with the proper firmness — not too much, not too little; like he had been drilled to do when meeting any of his father's gentlemanly friends. Gentlemanly, not to be confused with actual gentlemen.
"You are very certain about that. Is that your uncle's wish for you?" he asked with a quizzical look. Was it decided for her then that she would work instead of being a wife and mother? He was not sure if Reymund would be keen on that. Maybe he did not know, the idiot.
He thought about his own plans for the future. They were very vague and vaguely grandiose.
On her offer, he hesitated. She had a lot of scrolls in front of her, and OWL-season was difficult even for the accomplished students. Samuel did not want to be a burden, and he was not so bad at astronomy that he could not write this essay unassisted.
"I will start my essay and if I have a question I know to ask you. Thank you, Miss Lyra," he said and moved his books over to the table next to her and sat down.
"Professor Valenduris told me that we use magical creature parts and plants in potions because they turn ordinary matter of the earth into powerful compounds by the processes within their bodies. A unicorn eats grass to sustain itself and converts it to unicorn hair. We cannot replicate that."
"You are very certain about that. Is that your uncle's wish for you?" he asked with a quizzical look. Was it decided for her then that she would work instead of being a wife and mother? He was not sure if Reymund would be keen on that. Maybe he did not know, the idiot.
He thought about his own plans for the future. They were very vague and vaguely grandiose.
On her offer, he hesitated. She had a lot of scrolls in front of her, and OWL-season was difficult even for the accomplished students. Samuel did not want to be a burden, and he was not so bad at astronomy that he could not write this essay unassisted.
"I will start my essay and if I have a question I know to ask you. Thank you, Miss Lyra," he said and moved his books over to the table next to her and sat down.
"Professor Valenduris told me that we use magical creature parts and plants in potions because they turn ordinary matter of the earth into powerful compounds by the processes within their bodies. A unicorn eats grass to sustain itself and converts it to unicorn hair. We cannot replicate that."
