25 February, 1894 — Greengrass Home

Ford had three activities he engaged in at home since his engagement to Miss Farley. The first was locking himself in his room with their financial ledgers, balancing and rebalancing and trying to figure out how they were going to make it through the end of the year, much less the rest of their lives. The second was glancing at the nearest clock and trying to guess how many minutes it would be before he could reasonably steal away to Tycho's, then checking again two minutes later and morosely introspecting on the nature of time and why it dragged so much in moments like these. The third was pacing. On this particular afternoon, he was engaged in the third.

He was pacing in the kitchen, because his sisters were in the parlor, and all of them were intolerable for different reasons. Grace was trying to be happy for him, which was heartbreaking in its own way. Clementine was obnoxious as ever. And Verity's anger was palpable. Ford had known he was going to upset her when they'd talked after the party, but after the engagement had been announced he'd expected it to lessen somewhat. This was what she'd wanted him to do, after all — the honorable thing. If anything, though, she seemed even angrier with every stilted conversation they were forced to have.

He had just started to transition to his second usual activity (obsessively checking the clock) when the kitchen door opened and Verity came in — from the looks of it, in order to refresh their tea. She probably hadn't known he was in here, Ford imagined, or she would have made Grace do it. In his defense, Ford hadn't meant to be in the way. There just wasn't enough space to pace properly in his room.

"Verity," he said by way of cautious greeting. "Want help?"

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Verity Swann

  

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Set by Lady!

The engagement announcement came as a shock to Verity when she read it in the paper. She had assumed someone in her household would have informed her that her eldest brother was marrying, but perhaps they had all left it up to Ford who knew better at this point than to write to her. After all, Verity hadn't been able to stomach her outrage and disappointment beyond what was absolutely necessary in the nearly two weeks since everything had unfolded. It was all she could do to remain civil around Ford.

She ought to have been pleased that he had changed course and was now going to marry Miss Farley. It was the path she'd expected him to follow, the one that saw him as a decent man as opposed to a selfish one. And she likely would have been happy for him had they not argued after the party. If Verity had remained ignorant of the fact that Ford was entering into this entirely unwilling, then she very well could have played the part of excited sister easier. But she hadn't, and now all she could see was another Greengrass sibling being trapped by circumstances beyond their control.

The thought nauseated her.

Verity volunteered to head into the kitchen to replenish their tea and refreshments. Grace's enthusiasm was exhausting, Clementine's attitude was trying. Having a minute away from them to collect herself was a good thing, even if it came with the indignity of fulfiling roles that ought to have been done by a hired staff member. Her expression fell from her usual polite one into something more of a grimace before entering the kitchen. It was only another hour or two, and then she could retreat to her home and stew in her frustration there.

That Ford was in the kitchen wouldn't have come at a surprise normally. However, this time Verity had so thoroughly convinced herself of the expected minute alone that she jumped at the sight of him. "Ford." Verity tensely greeted in response. Her anger was already flooding the room, already suffocating her. There was a reason she hadn't sought him out, a reason she avoided any room she knew him to be lurking within. Nothing she had to say would be well received, and he wouldn't have cared to hear it either way.

The issue now was that she couldn't be outright hostile towards him in his own home. She couldn't deny him his ask with the barbed no that instantly sprang to mind. Instead, Verity nodded once before placing the tray a tad too heavily down upon the counter.

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set by mj

Don't act too thrilled about it, Ford thought dryly, but he attitude was no more than he'd expected. He kept his eyes on her warily as he approached the tea tray, as though she were a wild animal and he expected her to bite or bolt. They couldn't carry on like this forever. Well, if it was just the two of them perhaps they could have; she was stubborn enough and he felt guilty enough for them to just avoid the conversation. But Ford thought other people were going to notice that she was upset with him, and that probably wasn't ideal. It was one thing for Grace or Mama to notice, because they'd had a lifetime to get used to the way Ford and Verity talked (or often didn't). But he was worried that when Miss Farley was here she would notice, and not having any context for it would take it personally, and he wasn't sure she deserved that.

He picked up the dirty plates and stacked them, then peeked under the lid of the teapot to see which type of tea they'd been drinking. He was still moving carefully. "I'm sorry for what I said," he offered. He didn't think he needed to specify what or when.

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Set by Lady!

Verity huffed. Ford had had ample opportunity to address their argument privately. He could have written or stopped by her house, anything besides confronting her about it in the kitchen of this too-cramped zoo. There was no room for her to respond here beyond accepting his muttered apology either. She began to clear away the remaining crumbs from her plates, perfectly content to carry on in her angered silence than try to navigate this conversation.

It wasn't as though he meant it either, Verity decided once the last of the dishes were clear. Ford was likely only saying it now because he hoped to ensure her silence, not because he had been so changed by her disgust that Miss Farley's future suddenly mattered. Not because he cared at all what her opinions on the matter were. But because her stewing in her anger like this was a liability for him, a potential for disaster. The thought had her nearly slam the newly replenished full plate of biscuits down on the counter. She'd been avoiding him, sure, but none of her actions would have betrayed their conversation to others. Verity never would have done anything to hurt him.

"Sure." Verity muttered in response after too long of a pause. Years had passed since she was last so furious she could only cry in response, but standing there besides her brother Verity felt dangerously close.

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set by mj

This didn't seem to be going well, but then apologizing to Verity had never gone smoothly for him. He waited out her silence until she responded, putting his eyes on the teapot as he cleared out the wet leaves and added new ones.

"I thought I meant it," he said eventually.

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Set by Lady!

"Fine." Verity again muttered. He thought he could stand behind thoughtless and heartless actions, he thought he could hang Miss Farley out to dry like she was nothing. And, somehow, she was supposed to be accepting of his behavior despite the very thought of it boiled her blood so violently. Perhaps Ford had chosen his venue for a conversation more carefully than she thought, for she certainly wished she could scream at him now.

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set by mj

Ford looked at her for a second and chewed his lip. He didn't think he was getting through to her. Maybe he hadn't found the right words yet, or maybe she'd already decided before the conversation even started that she wouldn't listen to anything he had to say.

"I thought I could do it for Grace and Clementine," he added after a pause. He could have just cut his losses on this conversation, but he didn't know when he'd get another chance to talk to her one on one, so he might as well try to push it and see if anything would resonate. "Because it was always going to be bad, but it would have been better for them to — leave her and move on. And I thought I could." He put the lid back on the tin of tea, then added darkly, "But I guess I've still got principles down there somewhere."

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Set by Lady!

It happened in a flash.

One second, she was holding a platter of biscuits and refilling the smaller one on the tray, the next the platter was a broken mess of porcelain and biscuits at her feet.

Verity stepped quickly around the mess to call to her sisters that everything was fine, a clumsy mistake and she'd rejoin them in a minute. The last thing she or Ford needed was their intrusion when things were so tense between them. Their sisters were far from fools and both would question why Verity was so angry, and then what?

She shot Ford a frustrated glare for cornering her like this before stooping to begin collecting the larger pieces of porcelain. Magic would have been a more efficient method of cleaning the mess, but her replacement wand had never suited her well and as such was prone to reacting poorly. "You needn't pretend to care about my opinion, Ford. I'll keep what you said quiet." She eventually said, her tone less angry in the wake of her mess.

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set by mj

Ford flinched at the noise, but let Verity move to clean it. She'd sprung into action to tell the rest of the house she was taking care of it, and he was hesitant to get in her way when she had this much angry energy built up. When she eventually spoke, though, his brow furrowed.

"Quiet from who?" he asked. "Who's opinion do you think I care about?"

He cared about hers, but knew better than to offer this as protest. She wouldn't believe him, and he couldn't blame her. None of his actions lately seemed to indicate that he did. Ford didn't get to prioritize the things he cared about very often... but Verity didn't understand that, by design.

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Set by Lady!

It would make sense that Ford would consider her promise a silence to be a threat. His opinion of her had always been far lesser than that of the gentle Grace or curious Clementine, she had always been vindictive Verity. And while she certain she deserved a degree of that blame, what with her attitude and expectations being what they were, Verity had never turned such thoughts towards her family. Her loyalty was never something she questioned about herself.

She collected the larger pieces and stood to dispose of them in the bin. "Grace's? Clementine's?" The former of the two would never have accepted Ford abandoning a ruined girl either, saintly Grace was too romantic for that. "Honestly, it doesn't matter. You're principled now. It's fine." She quickly added, realizing a beat too late what the mention of her sisters' names had likely revealed about herself.

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set by mj

Ford was listening to what his sister was saying, but he couldn't respond to it once he realized she was carrying the broken porcelain towards the bin. "Don't!" he protested before she could reach it. We can't afford that!

He realized he'd spoken too soon and too sharply, but he couldn't take it back. "Don't throw it out," he said, looking chagrined. "I'll fix it."

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Set by Lady!

It was her platter that broke, Verity thought to point out, but if he wished to fix it that was his choice. She discarded the pieces on the table for him to mend.

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set by mj

Ford swallowed and approached the porcelain pieces with a solemn air. He picked them up gently and started sorting through them, laying them out like puzzle pieces so that he could use a spell to knit them back together. He wondered if she'd found his protest suspicious, but if she had she hadn't commented on it. Silver lining of being in the middle of a Verity pretends you don't exist argument, maybe.

He sifted through the pieces quietly for almost a minute, then he offered tentatively: "I care more about your opinion than Clementine's. She thought the naked man at the Coming Out Ball was exciting," he said, with just the barest hint of emotion in his tone to indicate he was joking. Sort of joking.

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Set by Lady!

The joke fell flat at her feet amongst the remaining shards of porcelain and ruined biscuits. What Ford didn't say was how he valued Grace's over hers, or how once Clementine matured she too would rank above Verity too. It was only the girl's insistence on being modern that saw her opinions ranked so low.

She didn't bother replying, she didn't even bother to acknowledge the joke, choosing instead to attend to the now whistling tea kettle.

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set by mj

Ford sensed that the mood had shifted; they seemed to be having a different conversation now than the one that he'd started. Verity didn't seem very interested in having it at all, if the way she was staring at the kettle was any indication. Ford frowned at her but left her be while he turned his attention to the tea tray. The spell he knew was a good one, but slow — he had to trace out each of the breaks with the tip of his wand to knit them back together. When he'd finished the pieces he had on the counter he looked back towards her, to see that she was still staring with determination at the kettle.

"Verity," he said, back to the cautious tone from the beginning. He wasn't sure he understood where she was, which meant they were back to bite or bolt territory.

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Set by Lady!

The newly repaired plate should have been a larger sign, an indication that was once broken could be mended again. It should have been a peace offering between them, a sign that somehow they'd find their footing again. The plate should have meant a lot of things to Verity, but, unfortunately, meant only one.

She'd revealed an insecurity of hers, one that she felt often being the eldest of the girls, and Ford had cared more about the plate than to respond with any sort of genuine thoughts. He'd made a joke and thought everything would then be fine. That she would somehow believe he now cared when he never did before. It truly shouldn't have surprised her that he was willing to cast Miss Farley off, he'd abandoned his own sister years ago.

"What?" she demanded, her eyes still glued to the whistling kettle.

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set by mj