He wrenched his attention back to the present.
“This is amazing,” Violet said. “You’re keeping them busy and giving them a sense of purpose and control over their situation. I can see the mood improving already.”
“Yes, it is.” He tried to keep his voice gruff and unwelcoming, but it didn’t seem to work. She was smiling and exuding happiness – he could feel it streaming from her. It was making him want to smile too.
He put his hand to his mouth. Was it some kind of contagious virus? Why did he always want to smile when she was near him?
“You should stay with the oldling,” he told her.
She stifled a laugh behind her hand. “The oldling’s name is Dorcas, and if she hears you call her an oldling, she’s liable to whack you with her cane.”
“So she is related to you, then?”
Violet giggled. “Did you just make a joke?”
“I did not mean to.”
She sighed and shook her head. “You know, you could actually be sweet and charming if you weren’t such an obnoxious, horrible jerk of a bully.”
And she walked away, leaving Treffon scratching his head and trying to figure out if she had just insulted him or not.
