She could not quite feign to herself that she was in love with him – there were reasons enough why Effie did not think herself capable of that, with any man she had met – but she always felt closest to it when he smiled. She almost could fall for him, like that.
She couldn’t quite define why – for he laughed often enough, and people said eyes were the supposed window to the soul instead, but an honest smile from Brooks seemed the rarer gift. He was a closed book so much of the time, whether made so by his profession or his past, that a mere smile already broke him open better than anything else could.
“Free as a bird,” Effie said brightly, although she had never felt anything like a bird in her life. (Soaring, weightless – no, she preferred her feet too firmly grounded for that). But her holidays were rather open and in between her family and her closest friends, she had been hoping Brooks would have some time for her. “Mrs. Stewart always goes to an extreme,” she added, of her boarding house’s landlady, especially on the holidays, “so I can promise a hefty Boxing Day feast with the leftovers, if you came to call.”
She couldn’t quite define why – for he laughed often enough, and people said eyes were the supposed window to the soul instead, but an honest smile from Brooks seemed the rarer gift. He was a closed book so much of the time, whether made so by his profession or his past, that a mere smile already broke him open better than anything else could.
“Free as a bird,” Effie said brightly, although she had never felt anything like a bird in her life. (Soaring, weightless – no, she preferred her feet too firmly grounded for that). But her holidays were rather open and in between her family and her closest friends, she had been hoping Brooks would have some time for her. “Mrs. Stewart always goes to an extreme,” she added, of her boarding house’s landlady, especially on the holidays, “so I can promise a hefty Boxing Day feast with the leftovers, if you came to call.”
