"Ow! Merlin," Morgan said, pulling his hand back sharply. He wasn't normally the type to swear in a crowd of young ladies, but he also wasn't used to getting struck by parasols out of the blue. One wouldn't think that a parasol could hurt much, but this one must have had quite an intense frame beneath the fabric and lace. His hand was throbbing already and he noted as he glanced at his fingers that they were red. He shook his hand out, as though that would help with the throbbing, but it didn't make much tangible difference.
"What did you do that for?" he asked, irritated. Of course, she'd already said why, but it took him a second to make sense of the words and even then he was disinclined to accept that as a reasonable explanation for assaulting him on the street. Besides, it was crowded by this stall; even if he had been trying to steal from her basket, swinging a parasol around like that could have hurt someone else, too. "I didn't know that was your basket," he added defensively.
"What did you do that for?" he asked, irritated. Of course, she'd already said why, but it took him a second to make sense of the words and even then he was disinclined to accept that as a reasonable explanation for assaulting him on the street. Besides, it was crowded by this stall; even if he had been trying to steal from her basket, swinging a parasol around like that could have hurt someone else, too. "I didn't know that was your basket," he added defensively.
