Hearing her laugh made him do the same, although he tried his best to hide it in his drink. It was nice, even for a change, to be away from the people who Atticus was always with. A breath of fresh air, one he didn’t know he needed but very much appreciated. “Eighteen ninety two is his year. When you spend your sisters’ dowries, I also heard he’s looking for some bandmates.” Atticus raised the glass in the air as a form of cheers before he laughed quietly and shook his head, finding absurdity in the entire conversation. In truth, he would never uproot from England to Ireland, but maybe he’d learn to play bagpipes as a backup plan, just in case his family did actually manage to drive him to the brink of insanity. It would serve them right.
Leaning forward as Phyri spoke lowly, Atticus grinned, flashing all his teeth. It was an odd feeling to have someone almost be ashamed of sharing his last name, but as she continued to speak, pausing for a dramatic effect that made him snort much louder than he intended, his hand moving to cover his mouth, he understood why. It took a moment for him to recover. He almost wheezed to keep himself from laughing again. “She sounds like a very well adverse host, and I’m quite certain that Pendergast's School for Young Roses would be thrilled to have her as a mistress. She can bring all her Roses and show them exactly how a committed socialist should act.”
Attius tapped his chin as he thought for a moment. “In fact they can all lure the guests for Mrs. Foxwood so she can truly commit herself to the throwing best party imaginable. And the screaming can be taken care of. Atticus Demspey promises to make an appearance every so often and play extra loud.” He winked before tilting the glass against his lips to take a swig of the liquid.
Atticus enjoyed reading; he spent many of days tucked away in the library away from the staff and always sighed loudly when they needed something from him. When it was a particularly good book he’d hide away somewhere on the property where they wouldn’t think to look; whatever story they were conducting was enough to captivate him and keep his attention away from the worries of the hag - until Miss Dempsey brought her up again.
“Have you never met Merlin?” His lips curved into an amused smile; anyone who knew Atticus would know how much he loved his beloved owl. He pestered everyone and everything for attention and food, and while not ashamed of it, the Foxwood brothers had indulged the poor thing until a healer had deemed him nearly too rotund to fly. “He eats everything, so Mrs. Foxwood can add a diving owl who would personally fight all her guests for scraps of food to her list. Call it, after dinner entertainment if you will.”
His eyes fleeted around before he turned back to her and laughed a little louder than he intended, a grin spread across his lips. “Honestly, she sounds better than the hag who would instantly turn into a statue and be insistently boring until I withered away into nothing from the lack of rousing conversation.”
Leaning forward as Phyri spoke lowly, Atticus grinned, flashing all his teeth. It was an odd feeling to have someone almost be ashamed of sharing his last name, but as she continued to speak, pausing for a dramatic effect that made him snort much louder than he intended, his hand moving to cover his mouth, he understood why. It took a moment for him to recover. He almost wheezed to keep himself from laughing again. “She sounds like a very well adverse host, and I’m quite certain that Pendergast's School for Young Roses would be thrilled to have her as a mistress. She can bring all her Roses and show them exactly how a committed socialist should act.”
Attius tapped his chin as he thought for a moment. “In fact they can all lure the guests for Mrs. Foxwood so she can truly commit herself to the throwing best party imaginable. And the screaming can be taken care of. Atticus Demspey promises to make an appearance every so often and play extra loud.” He winked before tilting the glass against his lips to take a swig of the liquid.
Atticus enjoyed reading; he spent many of days tucked away in the library away from the staff and always sighed loudly when they needed something from him. When it was a particularly good book he’d hide away somewhere on the property where they wouldn’t think to look; whatever story they were conducting was enough to captivate him and keep his attention away from the worries of the hag - until Miss Dempsey brought her up again.
“Have you never met Merlin?” His lips curved into an amused smile; anyone who knew Atticus would know how much he loved his beloved owl. He pestered everyone and everything for attention and food, and while not ashamed of it, the Foxwood brothers had indulged the poor thing until a healer had deemed him nearly too rotund to fly. “He eats everything, so Mrs. Foxwood can add a diving owl who would personally fight all her guests for scraps of food to her list. Call it, after dinner entertainment if you will.”
His eyes fleeted around before he turned back to her and laughed a little louder than he intended, a grin spread across his lips. “Honestly, she sounds better than the hag who would instantly turn into a statue and be insistently boring until I withered away into nothing from the lack of rousing conversation.”
****
Porphyria Dempsey
Porphyria Dempsey
![[Image: cBAJGlb.png]](https://i.imgur.com/cBAJGlb.png)