He inclined his head in accepting gratitude of her sympathies, and dutifully submitted to her question of closeness. “Perhaps moreso as children, but yes, we were,” Evander admitted, having felt Evelina’s loss keenly at the time, though it was no longer a fresh wound. She had favoured Johnny, he felt, and news of his presumed death had hit her just as hard. He paused and considered, for a very short moment, mentioning Charity having now lost Evelina and Evelina’s husband, and being in his care... but that felt like too enormous an issue to tackle, just yet.
Instead, he let her react to the brother issue first, preparing himself for whatever was to come of it - and almost relaxing the moment he remembered, just as she said it herself, that for once, it was not an impossible situation to imagine. Which meant she knew what it meant to lose someone; she had experienced it for a time, though it had only been temporary. Then he didn’t need to find the words for it. Merlin only knew how he did, but Alfred knew better how to voice these things (Evander had heard it for himself, meeting Charity at the solicitor’s). Evander couldn’t possibly explain the sensation, even one he had felt time and time again.
“I confess it is not altogether often someone has quite so comprehensive an understanding of that situation,” he offered warmly, with a lingering disbelief at his peculiar luck. “But hopelessly complicated is a nice way of phrasing it,” Evander said with a laugh of quiet relief, allowing himself to bathe in her conspiratorial smile for a while, conscious of its rarity and worth. “It was sheer madness, I should say.” For the world, and for them. (Made worse for him by hearing the trials his brother had faced, out in the wilds of South America; made worse for Alfred, undoubtedly, by coming home to find out about Evelina and their mother’s deaths in one fell blow.)
Instead, he let her react to the brother issue first, preparing himself for whatever was to come of it - and almost relaxing the moment he remembered, just as she said it herself, that for once, it was not an impossible situation to imagine. Which meant she knew what it meant to lose someone; she had experienced it for a time, though it had only been temporary. Then he didn’t need to find the words for it. Merlin only knew how he did, but Alfred knew better how to voice these things (Evander had heard it for himself, meeting Charity at the solicitor’s). Evander couldn’t possibly explain the sensation, even one he had felt time and time again.
“I confess it is not altogether often someone has quite so comprehensive an understanding of that situation,” he offered warmly, with a lingering disbelief at his peculiar luck. “But hopelessly complicated is a nice way of phrasing it,” Evander said with a laugh of quiet relief, allowing himself to bathe in her conspiratorial smile for a while, conscious of its rarity and worth. “It was sheer madness, I should say.” For the world, and for them. (Made worse for him by hearing the trials his brother had faced, out in the wilds of South America; made worse for Alfred, undoubtedly, by coming home to find out about Evelina and their mother’s deaths in one fell blow.)
