Elsie held her breath upon waiting for Mr. Ainsworth's thoughts. A whirlwind of emotions went through her in the short minute that Mr. Ainsworth expressed his congratulations, followed by the blow that he couldn't possibly keep her on in her current condition. Her heart sunk and she felt the tears well up in the corners of her eyes. Normally she was a bit better at keeping her emotions in check, but this pregnancy was ruining that quickly.

She opened her mouth to reply, to say she understood even though she was slightly devastated, but Mr. Ainsworth continued before she could. And thank Merlin for that. "Oh!" She sniffled. "Oh that's lovely. Thank you so much. I really do intend to come back as soon as I can." Elsie knew that she wouldn't be the same person without her job. This library was her other home and she would indeed be lost without it. "I really appreciate your understanding, Mr. Ainsworth." She dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief from her pocket. "I'm sorry, I'm not usually so emotional." She waved a hand and sniffled again.