Zelda Fisk was being just as helpful as he'd anticipated, though Alfred wasn't really sure that any of her suggestions would have been good ideas for a gift exchange between him and Laura. Evander and his wife lived in London, and Alfred had never seen any sort of a garden at their house, so he wasn't sure what Laura might do with a plant. Theoretically it could just go somewhere around the house, but that seemed a bit like the proverbial white elephant. If she didn't like it but then felt obligated to care for it just to avoid hurting his feelings... well, it would make dinner at the Evander Darrow house even more awkward, and the three of them certainly didn't need any help in that department.
He blanched slightly at the idea of buying someone a book on matchmaking. Paul had started his own matchmaking efforts on Alfred's behalf, and that was more than enough for him; he hardly wanted to give Laura any ideas on the subject, or worse, seem as though he was even encouraging those sorts of ideas. Who even wrote books on matchmaking, anyway?
Maybe she was talking about actual matches, and her sister just had some strange arts-and-crafts sorts of hobbies?
The last suggestion was simply baffling. Having never really been involved in the lives of young debutantes, Alfred had no idea why any women would want a bolt of fabric. Was her sister a seamstress? Even if she was, it hardly seemed like she might then want a Christmas present that was just more ways to work. Maybe there was some phenomenon he'd never observed before where women got sentimental over uncut cloth? If that was the case, he was prepared to blame his ignorance on his absence and not bring it up to Miss Zelda. She'd probably already gathered that he was a bit of a mess when it came to society and keeping up with it, but there was no need to bring it up in conversation.
"Well, er," he said with a frown. "The problem is I don't know her at all. So I don't know how to pick out something she'd like. I just got back from abroad and she's married to my brother now and we've actually only just met," he explained with a shrug. After a beat, a realization hit him, and he added a bit distantly, "I don't even know how long they've been married." Had they mentioned it and he'd forgotten, or had it not come up? It definitely seemed like the sort of thing he ought to know.
MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER
He blanched slightly at the idea of buying someone a book on matchmaking. Paul had started his own matchmaking efforts on Alfred's behalf, and that was more than enough for him; he hardly wanted to give Laura any ideas on the subject, or worse, seem as though he was even encouraging those sorts of ideas. Who even wrote books on matchmaking, anyway?
Maybe she was talking about actual matches, and her sister just had some strange arts-and-crafts sorts of hobbies?
The last suggestion was simply baffling. Having never really been involved in the lives of young debutantes, Alfred had no idea why any women would want a bolt of fabric. Was her sister a seamstress? Even if she was, it hardly seemed like she might then want a Christmas present that was just more ways to work. Maybe there was some phenomenon he'd never observed before where women got sentimental over uncut cloth? If that was the case, he was prepared to blame his ignorance on his absence and not bring it up to Miss Zelda. She'd probably already gathered that he was a bit of a mess when it came to society and keeping up with it, but there was no need to bring it up in conversation.
"Well, er," he said with a frown. "The problem is I don't know her at all. So I don't know how to pick out something she'd like. I just got back from abroad and she's married to my brother now and we've actually only just met," he explained with a shrug. After a beat, a realization hit him, and he added a bit distantly, "I don't even know how long they've been married." Had they mentioned it and he'd forgotten, or had it not come up? It definitely seemed like the sort of thing he ought to know.
MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER