Honestly, with the way he was feeling, that she had been in love with Kirke since she was young was of little comfort to Sebastian. While he did his best to employ those skills instilled in him by his job and mask his emotions, this was Elsie. She could read him like a book, and so there was no point in hiding. His eyes narrowed slightly; a gesture of mingled suspicion and confusion.
Yes, he knew that Gryffindors could get brash, impulsive and overconfident. But those were words that he would use to describe maybe Lucinda (despite the fact that his sister was — in fact — not a Gryffindor)…not Elsie. He would never have used those words to describe his best friend.
But his eyes followed her hand and, though he fully remembered what she’d previously said about their being in love, Sebastian couldn’t help but submit to the wave of horror that washed over him as he realized where she was taking this.
He had hoped he was wrong when he went over this possibility in his mind.
Keeping incredibly still, Sebastian tried to remind himself to keep his emotions under control. If Kirke were here, that would have gotten a great deal more difficult.
What was he supposed to do? She was looking at him expectantly, and he was feeling the pressure to react appropriately when all he wanted to do was sock Kirke across the face. This, he did try his best to conceal from Elsie, and he sighed, rising slowly. ”I’m going to ask one question before I offer my congratulations,” he said. ”Because it’s you and frankly even if he treated you in the most gentlemanly way, given the timing, I need to hear it from you.”
He fixed her with his gaze as it was his turn to search for her reaction, now. ”He didn’t force himself on you?” There was a thinly veiled threat that promised to emerge if on the off chance the answer was yes.
Yes, he knew that Gryffindors could get brash, impulsive and overconfident. But those were words that he would use to describe maybe Lucinda (despite the fact that his sister was — in fact — not a Gryffindor)…not Elsie. He would never have used those words to describe his best friend.
But his eyes followed her hand and, though he fully remembered what she’d previously said about their being in love, Sebastian couldn’t help but submit to the wave of horror that washed over him as he realized where she was taking this.
He had hoped he was wrong when he went over this possibility in his mind.
Keeping incredibly still, Sebastian tried to remind himself to keep his emotions under control. If Kirke were here, that would have gotten a great deal more difficult.
What was he supposed to do? She was looking at him expectantly, and he was feeling the pressure to react appropriately when all he wanted to do was sock Kirke across the face. This, he did try his best to conceal from Elsie, and he sighed, rising slowly. ”I’m going to ask one question before I offer my congratulations,” he said. ”Because it’s you and frankly even if he treated you in the most gentlemanly way, given the timing, I need to hear it from you.”
He fixed her with his gaze as it was his turn to search for her reaction, now. ”He didn’t force himself on you?” There was a thinly veiled threat that promised to emerge if on the off chance the answer was yes.