Carmelina couldn't resist throwing the matron a look, just in time to catch the wry look accompanying her words. (Carmelina might have enjoyed it, a little, in spite of herself and what she had just said, but nonsense it was.) Looking sideways was rather more disorienting than it should be. Best concentrate a little more on walking, lest any students still out of bed or serving at the party saw her odd amble, and realised that she had no hope of managing a straight line. (It might take her all night to make it to the sixth floor, at this rate.)
What she was more interested in concentrating on for the time being, however, was Miss Sykes and her past, which Carmelina, nosy as she was, had not yet found out much about. Most of what they had spoken about had been taken up by the present: if not the fog or rambling about recent runic discoveries, it had been the school, the students, the castle.
"Oh, I doubt it. I am quite certain everyone I ever danced with still holds a grudge against me for ruining their toes," Carmelina explained with an easy laugh in protest; it was fortunate for everyone that tonight there had been much less impetus to take part in the dancing. No one expected a bunch of gawky professors to manage much dancing. "But I expect you broke a heart or two in choosing spinsterhood," Carmelina said sagely, only with the scarcest touch of teasing. Miss Sykes had those marble-cut looks and far too much presence not to have been noticed, even if she had turned prematurely to a career, and a sharp mind all her own - why, she would have been a catch, and Carmelina wouldn't have blamed the boys for getting their hopes up. She wouldn't blame the boys for getting their hopes up now, to be quite frank.
What she was more interested in concentrating on for the time being, however, was Miss Sykes and her past, which Carmelina, nosy as she was, had not yet found out much about. Most of what they had spoken about had been taken up by the present: if not the fog or rambling about recent runic discoveries, it had been the school, the students, the castle.
"Oh, I doubt it. I am quite certain everyone I ever danced with still holds a grudge against me for ruining their toes," Carmelina explained with an easy laugh in protest; it was fortunate for everyone that tonight there had been much less impetus to take part in the dancing. No one expected a bunch of gawky professors to manage much dancing. "But I expect you broke a heart or two in choosing spinsterhood," Carmelina said sagely, only with the scarcest touch of teasing. Miss Sykes had those marble-cut looks and far too much presence not to have been noticed, even if she had turned prematurely to a career, and a sharp mind all her own - why, she would have been a catch, and Carmelina wouldn't have blamed the boys for getting their hopes up. She wouldn't blame the boys for getting their hopes up now, to be quite frank.
