Was Miss Selden trying to frustrate her, or was she just always this frustrating, generally? (And if so, what did that say about Brooks’ previous taste in engagements?)
And – joy – she had made no move to leave yet. Effie tried to hide her grimace. “Some magic that is not a cleaning spell or a charm to pour tea or – any magic that is not regularly cast in your parlour, Miss Selden,” she explained, in a clipped, exasperated tone, though Merlin knew what Miss Selden was predisposed to do in the comfort of her own home. The cursebreaker comment was at least an idea to grasp at, and something she scribbled down keenly in her notes – though of course the possibility was much too vague to be helpful without confirmation from the cursebreaker.
“Well, it would be useful to know if he did,” Effie answered, and then – and maybe a small percentage of this was spitefulness, but she tried not to acknowledge she was stooping so low – “but in the meantime we may need to close up this room, in case the Floo connection has reacted badly to something and become unstable.” Which would be dangerous, if Effie actually thought it likely to blow. (Really, if she did not fix the issue, she could take the location off the network entirely... but two could be play at being unhelpful.) “I hope you are not expecting any important callers in the next few days?”
And – joy – she had made no move to leave yet. Effie tried to hide her grimace. “Some magic that is not a cleaning spell or a charm to pour tea or – any magic that is not regularly cast in your parlour, Miss Selden,” she explained, in a clipped, exasperated tone, though Merlin knew what Miss Selden was predisposed to do in the comfort of her own home. The cursebreaker comment was at least an idea to grasp at, and something she scribbled down keenly in her notes – though of course the possibility was much too vague to be helpful without confirmation from the cursebreaker.
“Well, it would be useful to know if he did,” Effie answered, and then – and maybe a small percentage of this was spitefulness, but she tried not to acknowledge she was stooping so low – “but in the meantime we may need to close up this room, in case the Floo connection has reacted badly to something and become unstable.” Which would be dangerous, if Effie actually thought it likely to blow. (Really, if she did not fix the issue, she could take the location off the network entirely... but two could be play at being unhelpful.) “I hope you are not expecting any important callers in the next few days?”
