Poppy recoiled from Atticus as if she’d been slapped. “You don’t know what kind of woman deserves the Foxwood name.” He… he couldn’t mean that, surely? Blinking rapidly and trying to pull the look of surprise and hurt from her face, Poppy closed her mouth which had fallen slightly ajar in the moment, and tried to school her features. That… sentiment stung. It stung so much that Poppy felt tears begin to threaten again. If anyone knew the type of woman who deserved the Foxwood name it was most certainly her!
Poppy was as much an adopted sister to the Foxwood brood as she was a first cousin. She’d been toddling after Basil and Atticus her whole life, especially the latter. She was her Aunt Viola’s favorite (self-proclaimed, perhaps, but it was obvious if she did say so herself) and even Mama seemed to think she had as much a right to be a Foxwood as anyone else! If Poppy Dashwood didn’t know the type of woman who ‘deserved to have the Foxwood name’ then surely Atticus was deranged. Or delusional. Potentially both.
Doing her best to keep from saying as much, Poppy dropped her hands into her lap and looked at them. When he continued on to say that not only did she not know the kind of woman who deserved to be in their family, but also that she didn’t know what kind of woman he’d want, Poppy finally snapped her gaze back to him, sharply. By now tears were pooling and she couldn’t help them.
“Don’t I?” The brunette replied scathingly. “I know that you don’t tolerate anything less than the most respectable woman, ideally someone from an upperclass family of means with little to no scandal. I know that she has to be intelligent enough to carry a conversation both with you and the other feckless boors you surround yourself with, enough at least to advance your interests. She must also be genteel, well-mannered, and self-sufficient enough to not need constant maintenance and - most importantly - she has to get along with Merlin. Lord knows you won’t tolerate anything less, though between the two of you Merlin is the better judge of character so I haven’t a doubt he’ll like all of the ladies I’ve interviewed.” Poppy pulled her teacup and saucer closer.
“And no, I won’t tell you about them Atticus Foxwood. You can learn for yourself what you need, since you evidently don’t need the meddling of a well-meaning-” sister “-cousin.” Poppy picked up her tea then and took a delicate sip, as if she wasn’t lividly fuming under the collar. How dare he!
© Fox