As his hand came down on the gate, so did hers, and she gripped the posts as her knees threatened to give away. She could feel his eyes boring into the back of her head, demanding some sort of explanation that she herself had little words to conjure up. Was she grateful that she finally had her earring back? That was entirely dependent upon the method that had been used to acquire it in the first place. Paying him back would take time, certainly, but it could be done. So not only did she need to pay Angie back, but she also needed to pay Malfoy back. Rowan angled her gaze downwards, still refusing to meet his eyes, which were undoubtedly still searching for some sort of answer.

I'm very grateful. She wanted to say, watching her breath forming in front of her in white clouds as the night continued to descend on the horizon. But the words seemed trapped in her throat. How was this time different from when he'd stopped Walter from starting a fight on the night of the Minister's Ball? She had been in disguise, of course.

Well, how cowardly.

The arm that he gripped was the one that held tightly to the pearl earring, and she wrenched it from his grasp as she felt a wave of indignation settle over her. She thrust the gate back open and broke through to continue down the path. "I can't pay you back immediately." Was what came out of her mouth as she walked down the path. "It'll take some time, but you should have it soon enough." The expression that was on her face as she whirled around to face him wasn't of indignation though, but of intense relief as her heart thudded in her chest. "I am grateful, Malfoy." The tears that had threatened to spill over in the shop finally pooled in her eyes and she swiped at them, aggravated. "I can't tell you how -" How was he to know that the men who had threatened her last time, and this time had resembled the exact men that Maisie had been attacked by? How then, was she to explain that it wasn't indignation towards him that she felt, but anger at how much fear had overtaken her in that shop?

The words to explain herself suddenly faded from her mouth and Rowan looked helplessly around, as if they would appear in the air for her to read off of. When no such thing came to her aid, Rowan sighed, feeling her heartbeat recede and she suddenly felt extremely tired. "Thank you." She said wearily, giving into the sudden exhaustion and collapsing uncerimoniously onto a nearby bench. She folded her hands in her lap, opening them to see the little pearl still there, sitting for all the world as if it had been the easiest thing to hold onto.

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