You got a lot to learn, if you'd just settle down and let the river run its course.

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Audra inwardly sighed and refocused her attention on her breakfast. Did he not want to open up to her because of her, or was it him? She oughtn't to be surprised, for someone who seemed to enjoy hoarding responsibility and stress it was only natural that he wouldn't want to divulge anything. That didn't make the dismay any less real though, maybe one of these days he'd let her take some of the weight off his shoulders in a way that wasn't to do with her spending habits.

Oh, anything I can help with? Here was a second chance and here again she knew in the logical part of her brain that he'd probably decline but the other part was hopeful nonetheless. Audra was imagining that he had things to pick up or drop off in town or some such time consuming but menial task that she could easily do for him.

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Outfit | Tag: Fortitude Greengrass | Notes:

  

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Oh, he ought to have expected that. He'd walked right into it, talking about errands as though what he had to do was as simple as going to one of the stores on High Street.

"Oh, no," he said, his cheeks flushing slightly as he tried to come up with a good reason why not. "It's, ah — sort of related to a work thing," he explained, which was vague and sounded like a lie, but wasn't exactly. Cash had written him yesterday because he worked in Spirit Division, and he had correctly assumed whatever was following him was a Spirit Division problem.

"But it won't take long," he reassured her. "I'll be home for dinner tonight. I promise."

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Set by Lady!

You got a lot to learn, if you'd just settle down and let the river run its course.

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He suddenly looked uncomfortable which perplexed her immensely, a fact evident from the furrowing of her brow. As he continued her expression eased back to neutrality though she was still curious as to why a trivial work errand would evoke that sort of reaction. He probably wouldn't tell her though, that much was clear, so once again she resigned herself to ignorance. Her best guess was he'd picked up some sort of overtime for a potential mistake at work and wanted to make a good impression on his superiors which was admirable but he might well be embarrassed by whatever the blunder. As long as he wasn't in trouble of any sort then that was all that ought to matter. Maybe the best thing she could do was support him and encourage him and forget she was ever curious in the first place. If you need more time I can ask Cook to serve dinner a little later or else keep your plate warm for you? If he was trying to improve his work performance there was no need to make it harder and more stressful for him.

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Outfit | Tag: Fortitude Greengrass | Notes:

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Ford was aware that Mama had been well-intentioned this entire conversation, but this was the first comment she'd made that actually hit the mark. He smiled, a little more softly than the forced smile from a moment earlier. "Keeping a plate warm would be nice," he agreed. It relieved the pressure of needing to be back at a certain time to avoid the whole family waiting around for him at the dinner table and (even worse) discussing where he might be or what he might be up to. Finally, then, some portion of this conversation was going his direction. Maybe he could even count on Mama as an ally tonight, if he did end up staying out later than intended to deal with the wardrobe situation; she could fend off the questions from Verity about where he'd run off to.

"I wouldn't want to hold everyone else up if I'm running late," he continued, with another quick smile. "But thank you, Mama. I ought to go," he added, with a glance towards the nearest clock. It wasn't as though he was in any danger of being late to work, but neither was it so early that it would attract attention if he showed up at the Ministry. Getting an earlier start on his work today could only be a good thing, because it might mean he could sneak out a little earlier to deal with the wardrobe (once he'd figured out what he was actually going to do about it, of course).

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Set by Lady!