Ewart might have happily continued to experiment with such a refreshingly receptive audience as this. As it was, however, the sensible young man had pointed out that this was, possibly, not the best place.
He leant in, with a conspiratorial murmur over the (ever-crescendoing) noise of the hat. “Between you and me, this room rather needs a little bit of livening up.” It was a true picture of the Ministry’s soul-sucking atmosphere that this room of rest and refuge might as well have been filled with corpses. And tired ones, at that.
“But you might be right, my boy,” Ewart added, whisking the hat cheerily off his head, having lingered before doing so long enough that he could tell without looking that steam might well be emitting from one particularly vexed gentleman’s ear. “That, I think,” he said, getting to his feet with a surprisingly sprightly bounce, “must be my cue to flee.” He beamed at the young gentleman, and - before he fled - offered his hand out in a comradely handshake.
He leant in, with a conspiratorial murmur over the (ever-crescendoing) noise of the hat. “Between you and me, this room rather needs a little bit of livening up.” It was a true picture of the Ministry’s soul-sucking atmosphere that this room of rest and refuge might as well have been filled with corpses. And tired ones, at that.
“But you might be right, my boy,” Ewart added, whisking the hat cheerily off his head, having lingered before doing so long enough that he could tell without looking that steam might well be emitting from one particularly vexed gentleman’s ear. “That, I think,” he said, getting to his feet with a surprisingly sprightly bounce, “must be my cue to flee.” He beamed at the young gentleman, and - before he fled - offered his hand out in a comradely handshake.
