Alfred looked at Zelda briefly, then up at the ceiling. He thought it was rather obvious, but maybe it wasn't. That was the problem with letters — too many different ways to interpret the same set of words.

He was trying to think what to say in response. He needed something suitably innocent for Roslyn's ears, but would also leave no doubt in Zelda's mind exactly what he'd meant by that. It was the central issue of the matter, he thought; she couldn't understand what he was trying to get at unless she understood what he'd been trying to say in that letter. He had just opened his mouth to respond when Roslyn asked him a question, though — a related question, though she had no reason whatsoever to know that.

"Um — no," he admitted, cheeks flushing as he wondered what, if anything, Zelda might read into that. "No, I've got some — different plans for the summer."

The following 3 users Like J. Alfred Darrow's post:3 users Like J. Alfred Darrow's post
   Aldous Crouch, Jupiter Smith, Zelda Darrow

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Ros speaking to Alfred was enough to startle Zelda into taking a gulpy sip of her champagne, because even if she was worried about drinking too quickly she was more worried that her sister was going to find some way to trap Alfred into saying something stupid. And she still didn't understand what he meant, about Jo Smith - maybe if anyone had said more in their letters than 'fine, thanks' she would have gotten it.

Maybe she didn't want to know.

She swallowed as Alfred spoke. "Oh?" Zelda said, brightening a little, "You'll be around this summer?" That was promising - with the season there would be loads of events that she could actually see him at, presumably.

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The following 1 user Likes Zelda Darrow's post:1 user Likes Zelda Darrow's post
   J. Alfred Darrow

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AMAZING set by MJ

"Uhm, yeah," he admitted, feeling a little caught. He hadn't really wanted to drop too many hints about his plans for the upcoming season, because it all still hinged on her father saying yes, which was far from a guarantee. What if Zelda pieced it all together and got her hopes up and then he had to disappoint her? Or worse, much worse — what if she pieced it all together and got her hopes up and that all happened before he managed to tell her about Jo, and then she decided she didn't want to marry him after all?

"That's, uhm — that's the plan, anyway," he clarified quickly. "It's not really — nothing's really official, yet. Lots of, uhm —" He should have stopped talking already, he thought, because he didn't really have anything else to say and Zelda was going to think he was being intentionally vague, and this conversation did not move him any closer to the confession he was trying to make.

"— anyway," he said, after a beat. "We'll see what happens."

  

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

That was a weird answer, too, and Zelda frowned into her champagne flute. Maybe he just didn't want to talk about it in front of Ros? Zelda certainly didn't want to be talking in front of Ros; she wished that Xena would stop floating and would require some sort of sisterly engagement.

"Well, I would be delighted to have you in Britain for the summer," Zelda said, trying to project an ease she wasn't feeling, "So I suppose I hope things are settled soon?"

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AMAZING set by MJ

"Is it not difficult," the witch asked innocently, "to remain ashore for so long when one's livelihood depends upon doing precisely the opposite?"

She was pushing, Roslyn knew, but God help Mr. Darrow if he thought he had any hope without an income of winning Zelda!

The following 2 users Like Roslyn Ross's post:2 users Like Roslyn Ross's post
   J. Alfred Darrow, Jupiter Smith

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— #PrettiesByMJ —

Alfred felt like he was walking on a tight rope. Zelda didn't seem to have caught on (yet), but she was certainly about to, with the type of questions Roslyn was asking. How was he supposed to answer that, without just coming out with the whole thing? He had imagined telling Zelda all this along with a proposal. He'd get everything in line, win her father's approval, and then ask her in some highly romantic fashion. She'd have all sorts of questions about it — she might not believe, right away, that he'd even gotten Brannon Fisk's approval — and he'd be able to tell her all of this and she would be, he imagined, so immensely impressed with everything he'd been doing behind the scenes to set things up for the two of them that she'd love him all the more for it. Telling her about his plans now wouldn't create that same feeling at all, because it would all be uncertain and tentative and there would be room to fret over whether or not something happened.

(And if he was being perfectly honest with himself, a part of him was worried that she wouldn't like the plan. He hadn't had any such reservations when he'd told Ari about it, but after how strongly and negatively Jo had reacted, a part of him did wonder: what if Zelda was disappointed in him? What if marrying a sailing instructor didn't seem half so romantic and adventurous as marrying an explorer, or she thought living at the Sanditon would be too boring, or, or, or? There were a million things she might have objected to — and a million reasons, therefore, not to tell her all about it before he'd even figured out if it were possible).

A part of him wanted to reply flippantly that perhaps he'd just write another book instead — that would certainly shut Roslyn up for a minute. It was not, though, a good idea to make idle threats towards his hopefully-future sister-in-law, nor to draw too much attention to the sensationalized memoir itself with its vague allusions to cannibalism, and he recognized both points.

What he eventually said, a little tersely, was: "No more difficult than it is to court a girl I'm hardly permitted to see." Which was, all things considered, hardly better than the cannibalism remark he'd bit back.

The following 4 users Like J. Alfred Darrow's post:4 users Like J. Alfred Darrow's post
   Elias Grimstone, Jupiter Smith, Lavinia Rose, Zelda Darrow

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Roslyn pursed her lips in blatant displeasure at his reply; the only saving grace was that the trio were as 'alone' as it was possible to be in a room full of people, and she did not believe that his remark had been overheard. Still, it bore a frankness that she might have respected, under other circumstances, but that in Mr. Darrow she found simply crass.

A beat, and then, "Both, I would imagine, could be altogether more difficult. It is, I think, a testament to our affection towards Zelda—" the our that left her was so loaded that Mr. Darrow could not even dream of thinking it included him "—that either could be considered possible in the least. I think, Mr. Darrow, that you must have seen a great many things in your travels—wondrous things, things that defy even the deftest imagination. I can assure you that family trumps all of these."

Roslyn would not die to ensure her sister's happiness, for that would be depriving her children of a mother, but she would certainly trade a limb or two to ensure the best possible future for the youngest Fisk.

A cordial smile and nod of greeting was given to a passer-by, but Ros' attention did not leave the couple before her.

The following 2 users Like Roslyn Ross's post:2 users Like Roslyn Ross's post
   J. Alfred Darrow, Jupiter Smith

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— #PrettiesByMJ —

If she'd been nervous before then it was justified now, and it was all Zelda could do to grip her champagne flute and sip nervously as the exchange unfolded between Roslyn and Alfred. She felt helpless to stop it, as if she was a hostage to this whole thing rather than directing. She was trying to school her expression to avoid looking too visibly distressed - hence the champagne sipping, because then she had something to do with her hands - but there was a concerned little v between her eyebrows, where she could not entirely unknot it. It was only towards the end of Roslyn's sentence that Zelda realized her champagne flute was empty, but she found herself stuck frozen, unable to lower it.

"This has all been very thrilling, but perhaps we should talk about something else?" Zelda said weakly; she had never wanted Xena to appear as much as she did in that moment, because at least if Xena was talking about the wedding then Zelda could lower her guard for a minute and breathe, which at this second seemed risky.

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The following 2 users Like Zelda Darrow's post:2 users Like Zelda Darrow's post
   J. Alfred Darrow, Roslyn Ross

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AMAZING set by MJ

The subtext of the word our was not lost on him, and it immediately rankled him. He clenched his fist too tight by his side, but what was he to do? Words were coming to mind — it's a testament to my affection for Zelda that I put up with so much shit from you all— but no matter how heated this exchange suddenly felt, he was not stupid enough to say them aloud. Not to the Minister's wife, not in a ballroom, not mere weeks before he was hoping to convince Brannon Fisk to allow him permission to marry Zelda.

And poor Zelda — he ought not to have said that bit about the courting, because she was distressed and Roslyn seemed entirely unfazed, and the last thing he wanted to do was make things difficult for Zelda.

"Sure," he said, deflating slightly. He certainly didn't have the energy or the presence of mind to pick a conversation topic, however, so the best he could do was: "We can talk about whatever you want."

  

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

The thought of coming up with a conversation topic seemed suddenly broadly impossible and also boring, and she wished she could have laughed rather than conjure something. As it was, she felt the desperate need to come up with something before Roslyn could interject again, and her mind whirred through options: Jo's letters, his letters, Dionisia's idea, the hickey - absolutely none of which she felt comfortable bringing up in front of her sister.

"I'm working the teapot thing with Miss Urquart next weekend, that should be interesting," she tried instead, sounding a little weak and manic rather than as if it was actually something she wanted to talk about. Maybe once some of the tension leaked out of the air between Ros and Alfred she could propose they go for a lap around the room, but until it did Zelda was not at all confident at being allowed to walk more than a few feet away from her elder sister.

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The following 2 users Like Zelda Darrow's post:2 users Like Zelda Darrow's post
   Clementine Greengrass, J. Alfred Darrow

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AMAZING set by MJ

Zelda was better at picking safe conversation topics to shift towards than he was. Maybe, in a family of ten, she had more experience trying to avoid talking about certain things. In any case, the teapot transfiguration thing next week was a very safe topic indeed.

"Oh! I'll be there. I've got tickets with Evander and Charity," he told her. Other assorted family members, too, but Evander and Charity seemed like the more relevant members. He certainly didn't want to mention that Miss Delaney was coming and further highlight the discrepancies between his courtship and a real one. He wondered briefly if that might be a better avenue for the conversation he'd been trying to have, but discarded the thought. She'd said she was working, which meant her appetite for confessions of emotional betrayals was presumably fairly low.

"I think I heard one of Uncle H's grandsons is competing. Should be fun," he said with a shrug. More fun than today was shaping up to be, at any rate.

The following 2 users Like J. Alfred Darrow's post:2 users Like J. Alfred Darrow's post
   Jupiter Smith, Zelda Darrow

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Roslyn made a mental note to ensure at least one of her brothers would be able to attend the event and stalk Mr. Darrow from an appropriate distance. While she trusted her sister to remain appropriate whilst working, she did not have the same faith in the wizard before her, and he had done next to nothing to alleviate her concerns.

"It is so dreadful that you must work on the week-end—though at least," she allowed with a smile that showed she wanted to make nice (at least with Zelda) "—you have cause for it. Mr. Ross seldom has what I would call true necessity to work outside the confines of the usual week, and yet..." she trailed off with a sheepish shrug.

Of course, her husband was only Mr. Ross because Mr. Darrow was present.

The following 1 user Likes Roslyn Ross's post:1 user Likes Roslyn Ross's post
   J. Alfred Darrow

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— #PrettiesByMJ —

Zelda exhaled, lowered her empty champagne glass, because Roslyn was playing nice, and that meant that she would not be going for Alfred's jugular for at least a few minutes. Maybe long enough for them to earn some breathing room, too?

It was more at ease, with something approximating her regular voice, that Zelda added, "I was glad to see him moderating today, at least." She had not been, but it was not worth telling Ros that her husband made Zelda feel a little intimidated. "And I don't mind it much, especially when it's not a nasty catastrophe. I'll have to root for Professor Darrow's grandson, if secretly." She smiled, quick and genuine - a real catastrophe would have her dragged into the Ministry regardless of the hour of the incident.

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AMAZING set by MJ

None of the things Alfred could think to say about Minister Ross working on the weekends were particularly charitable, but he recognized that this probably had more to do with his own bad mood than anything else. At any rate, he knew better than to pick unnecessary fights with the Minister of Magic, so held his tongue and offered a mildly strained smile instead.

"I'm sure he'll appreciate that. I hope you'll still be able to see some of it?" he asked. "It seems right up your alley. Transfiguration and all."

Alfred had never been particularly skilled in transfiguration himself, and perhaps consequentially had never found much practical use for that particular branch of magic, but it was fun to watch.

  

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

"I think so," Zelda said, "So long as no one manages to get themselves in trouble right away." Which, well - that might be a risky assumption, from what she knew of Excalibur's, and of the teapot trials themselves. She could probably out-cast some of those involved -or, at least, she liked to think she could, having never gotten much of a chance to prove it. Of course, this all assumed she survived today, which - yes, she was being dramatic, but there was plenty of indications so far that tonight was going to continue to be weird and stressful. "Charity ought to like it, I'm less certain about your brother," she added - honestly the time she'd met Charity Zelda had not gotten much of a chance to know much at all about Alfred's niece, but teapots had an element of chaos that children were likely to enjoy.

Now that they were talking about transfiguration and despite her continued nervousness, Zelda was much more at ease, no longer showing concern directly on her face. She could even almost forget about the letter in her pocket.

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AMAZING set by MJ

Alfred shrugged at the comment about Evander. "If he doesn't enjoy the event, I'm sure he'll enjoy the company," he found himself saying, before he'd had a chance to think better of it. This was a patently strange thing to say if the company was just Charity and himself, and with what Zelda knew of Alfred's relationship with his brother she was bound to find it even more confusing than a stranger might, so he was obliged to explain, "Miss Delaney's joining us."

He'd been trying to avoid bringing that up. It wasn't that Alfred had anything against his brother's fiance — he actually quite liked Miss Delaney and was looking forward to calling her his sister-in-law. Talking about her with Zelda was a little strange, though, because it highlighted once again that Evander, who had started courting after they had, and who had known Miss Delaney less time than the two of them had known each other, had still managed to secure an engagement three months before they had (three months and counting, actually; who knew how much longer it would take). If it had just been Zelda here he might not have shied away from the subject even so, but with Roslyn... well, if she decided to set in and start needling him about his brother's engagement he was worried he'd start to look like a petulant child, pouting over what he wanted but couldn't have.

Merlin, how he wished she would have just agreed to elope with him, when he'd first offered two years ago. It would have spared him the indignity of trying to pander to a woman who by rights had no authority over him whatsoever and was never, no matter what he did, going to like him. Many of Zelda's siblings had redeeming qualities; Julian, Katia, and now even Ari seemed to have come around to him, and Leonid and Dorian seemed at least neutral on the matter. Roslyn was a lost cause, and if it had been up to him he would have given up on her already.

But she was still standing at Zelda's elbow, and Alfred could never have given up on her, and he still needed to find a way to talk to her tonight.

The following 2 users Like J. Alfred Darrow's post:2 users Like J. Alfred Darrow's post
   Jupiter Smith, Roslyn Ross

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER