Evander had never imagined, in dragging his brother unexpectedly along, that having Alfred here would be any comfort at all... but, circumstances being what they were, he was rather glad to have him. (Who would have thought it? Since coming back from the dead, Alfred had proved almost nothing but a nuisance!)
He nodded in support of Alfred’s last addition, hoping that between the two of them Charity Lloyd would at least not feel entirely doomed. And if she did, maybe Uncle Hamish would have to give them a lengthy course of parenting classes. And Charity drew herself up with a sternness that belied her young age and took the situation as squarely as a child possibly could, for which Evander was again grateful. Children scared him slightly - primarily their inclination towards utter absurdity - but the little redhead seemed to have both command of reason and control of her emotions. Perhaps they would get along after all!
“Very well, Miss Charity. And we shan’t be doing that, I assure you,” Evander said gently, as earnest in this promise as he would have been in any. He was not a man to shirk his duty; certainly not a duty that sprung both from familial obligation and the sanctity of a solicitor’s office. And at least Alfred existed for backup, in case Evander found himself incapacitated for some reason or another, although frankly he couldn’t imagine it; he had never gotten into any sort of trouble or truly injurious situation before. (That family gene had mercifully skipped him.) “Have you... all your things here with you already?” He inquired, not entirely sure where she had arrived from today or whether she still had goodbyes to be put through before he took her... er, home, he supposed. To get settled in.
Merlin, every time he thought he was perfectly on track, and life derailed him again!
He nodded in support of Alfred’s last addition, hoping that between the two of them Charity Lloyd would at least not feel entirely doomed. And if she did, maybe Uncle Hamish would have to give them a lengthy course of parenting classes. And Charity drew herself up with a sternness that belied her young age and took the situation as squarely as a child possibly could, for which Evander was again grateful. Children scared him slightly - primarily their inclination towards utter absurdity - but the little redhead seemed to have both command of reason and control of her emotions. Perhaps they would get along after all!
“Very well, Miss Charity. And we shan’t be doing that, I assure you,” Evander said gently, as earnest in this promise as he would have been in any. He was not a man to shirk his duty; certainly not a duty that sprung both from familial obligation and the sanctity of a solicitor’s office. And at least Alfred existed for backup, in case Evander found himself incapacitated for some reason or another, although frankly he couldn’t imagine it; he had never gotten into any sort of trouble or truly injurious situation before. (That family gene had mercifully skipped him.) “Have you... all your things here with you already?” He inquired, not entirely sure where she had arrived from today or whether she still had goodbyes to be put through before he took her... er, home, he supposed. To get settled in.
Merlin, every time he thought he was perfectly on track, and life derailed him again!
