Would it be too much to say she didn’t much care so long as she was in his company? Yes, probably, the rational part of her mind said. While Odira might have admired those young ladies who could speak their minds freely, admitting her feelings aloud to Mr. Keene seemed the one barrier she could not quite overcome, however much she might yearn to.

“I must confess, I never enjoyed a picnic so much as the one we took with the children,” the witch allowed with a soft blush. It was, perhaps, not a high bar to meet, as she could not actually remember having attended other picnics, but she trusted he took her words as they were intended, rather than literally. “I have, though, been eyeing the rowboats in the Park since I moved close by—perhaps a picnic on the pond might be in order, once the weather turns more favorable?”

Mentally, the witch kicked herself for suggesting an outing that would be weeks, if not months, in the distance.