Shielded

Hermione woke early the next morning to already hear the sound of the Peppers moving about in the common areas. She stretched herself along the bed, and set two goals for herself for the day: 1. find a way to fix the car, and 2. apologize to Malfoy. She had spent the night ruminating on her role in their disagreement, and right before falling asleep, admitted to herself that she was mainly at fault.

She got up, and checked her phone, which was finally fully charged again, but had no reception. Of course. After getting ready, she made her way to the kitchens, where tea was already set out for herself and Malfoy. She thought about how he probably wouldn’t be awake for another hour, and decided she’d go ahead and serve herself. Just as she was mixing in some lemon, Mrs. Peppers bustled in with a wide smile, holding a basket of eggs, and followed closely by Mr. Peppers.

“Good morning, dearie!” beamed Mrs. Peppers.

“Good morning, Mrs. Peppers, Mr. Peppers,” responded Hermione, sipping from her tea.

“Morning,” greeted Mr. Peppers. “I made a call to the mechanic I had mentioned last night. He said he’d be happy to give your car a look, but won’t have a chance to come out here with his tow truck until tomorrow morning, so I’m afraid you will be delayed a bit in your journey.”

Well, that took care of the first task of the day. “Oh, thank you so much for doing that! And not a problem at all, we’re in no rush – this is already very much appreciated. You mentioned the place he lives is 10 miles from here?”

“Yes, about,” confirmed Mr. Peppers. “The missus and I were discussing it, and we expect you’d be happier if you were to stay in town as well, that way you can meet with Robert directly and be close to the repairs. However, there are two hardships. One, is that our own car is currently with our son, who won’t be back for another couple of days, so you would have to get there by foot or by taking our horse, and two, when I say it isn’t a hamlet, that’s only barely true, for all they have there besides houses is a church. Now, the church does have guest accommodations for visiting clergymen, so there is a good chance you could stay there, but,” a mischievous glint appeared in his eye, “it’s a single room, and as they’re a church, they’re likely to frown upon two unmarried people of different genders staying in said room together. So your best chances of being admitted would be to… not present yourselves as such.” Hermione raised her eyebrows, then narrowed her eyes at the man. He seemed pleased at the predicament.

“Okay…” Hermione said, eyeing the mirth in his face, which was mirrored in his wife’s. “Well, you’d be right that I think it better we stay near the repairs, but I’d need to discuss with Draco before making a decision either way on this… situation.”

“But of course,” Mr. Peppers said with a nod of his head. She had a suspicion that he was suppressing a laugh. “If you get turned away anyway, please know you’re more than welcome to come back and stay with us. I’ll give you our number so you can give us a ring if needed.”

“That’s very generous. Thank you, so much, the both of you for all your help.”

The couple tutted their reassurances, and with that, Mr. Peppers departed again, while Mrs. Peppers busied herself with preparing food. When Hermione offered to help, Mrs. Peppers waved it off again, so the women were cheerily chatting with each other when Malfoy appeared at the kitchen entrance, wearing the extra clothes he had packed. Based on the rumpled appearance of his hair, however, he had just woken up.

“Mornin’,” he rasped, further confirming the appearance of recently waking.

“Good morning,” the women chorused, although Hermione eyed him with some misgiving, attempting to gauge the atmosphere between them. Like yesterday, he plopped himself in the seat right next to hers, and even scooted it slightly closer before grabbing his own cup of tea. Hermione unconsciously pushed the sugar toward him, knowing that’s all he liked to add, still trying to catch his eye. He looked at her then suddenly, and there was still residual heat in them, but more than anything, he looked sad. Her stomach lurched. He looked back down quickly.

When she glanced at Mrs. Peppers, she was turning away from them with a small smile, piling some bread on a plate and then carrying all the breakfast goods on the table.

“The eggs and bread are fresh, so eat up! The cheese and vegetables are homemade as well, if vegetables you grow yourself are considered homemade, although Harold has been trying a new cheesemaking technique, so apologies if it tastes off in any way.”

“This all looks magnificent,” Hermione assured with a broad smile.

“You’re too kind,” said Mrs. Peppers. “Now, I’ll go out to help Harold, but take all the time you need with breakfast, and let us know what you decide for your plans.” With this, she shuffled out, leaving Hermione and Malfoy behind. The latter was already buttering two slices of bread, and Hermione started cracking one of the boiled eggs. The silence between them grew.

“So, what are we meant to be deciding for our plans?” said Malfoy. Rather than irritable, like he had been yesterday, he now sounded more dejected. Hermione’s heart squeezed.

“Oh, well,” Hermione cleared her throat, “Good news is that Mr. Peppers was able to contact the mechanic, who’ll be coming tomorrow to pick up and repair the car.”

Malfoy nodded at this.

“Other good news is that there is a church in town that has visitation lodgings,” she continued, “so we’d be able to stay near the car repairs and easily get updates directly.” She paused.

“But…?” Clearly her tone had signalled to Malfoy that this was where the first obstacle lay.

“But… well, apparently they only have a single room. Which we’d need to share.”

Like last night, Malfoy froze. Hermione sighed internally.

“I… I guess this is as good a time as any. Malfoy, I know we’re on bad terms, and I know it was my fault. Your grievances yesterday were not only correct but warranted.” His eyes cut to hers then lowered again quickly. “You’re right that I was oversimplying the situation you had been in, and had therefore been presumptuous, inconsiderate, and wrong in my portrayal. I appreciate you calling me out on it. Truly. It won’t happen again. It’s just –” she huffed out a sigh, then took in a breath for bravery. “Look, Malfoy, you honestly have been… really nice to travel with. I keep accidentally losing the professional boundary I should be maintaining between us, and I’m not respecting your feelings on the matter. I feel I keep behaving inappropriately, and it’s not an excuse, but I hope you understand that my inconsiderate behavior yesterday was my simplistic attitude conveyed through a very poor attempt to rebuild some distance. I was trying to remind myself to treat you courteously but not overly familiar, and instead was just… outright rude instead.” She grimaced.

He had looked up again and was watching her intently.

“All this to say that do you choose not to share a room, for any reason, I totally understand – the Peppers have offered us their house to stay in until repairs are complete, so it wouldn’t be an issue – but I just wanted to clear that up in case any of your hesitancies are out of a reluctance to be around me after I treated you so poorly. I… I’ll do my best not to repeat it. And I’ll do my best to maintain an appropriate level of professionalism with you without becoming inconsiderate. I do care for you as a person, and my intent isn’t to wound or insult you, so I hope you believe me when I say that I’ve learned from yesterday,” she finished, somewhat lamely.

He kept gazing at her, and Hermione awkwardly started twiddling her thumbs. He finally nodded. “Thank you for that. Is there any other dilemma we’re facing besides the rooming situation?”

She let out a relieved breath. “Well, this one is less polarizing, but we’d need to decide if we wanted to walk the distance or ride their horse there.”

He nodded again, took a bite of food, and gazed off in thought for a moment.

“I think it makes more sense if we stay at the church than here. I want us to easily be able to head out once the repairs are done, and I think those logistics are easier to manage if we’re there. As long as you’re amenable as well, of course.” She nodded her consent. “And as for travel… well as long as the horse has a means by which to get back, I’d say let’s take the easier option, no?”

“Concurred,” announced Hermione, popping the last bite of cheese into her mouth. “I’ll go and let the Peppers know. Take your time finishing breakfast.” Then she got up and strode out.

—

An hour later, Draco found himself hoisting his leg over a giant draft horse named Onion, courtesy of the Peppers’ son, to seat himself behind Granger. After the logistics of riding the horse together had been discussed, Draco had spent almost the entire morning preparing for the prospect of having Granger so close to him, and made sure to strategically seat himself with some distance from her. She was very upright, clearly doing her best not to lean into him either, which he appreciated.

“Alright, so Onion will know the way into town, and once you get there, pat him twice on the flank – he’ll know to come back here. You have our number otherwise – please feel free to call if anything goes wrong. And do stop by on your way back home if you have the time, it was wonderful meeting you,” Mr. Peppers was instructing. Mrs. Peppers flitted about them, fussing over their seating and giving Granger a bag of food. Draco was feeling oddly warm – he wasn’t used to this level of concern over his wellbeing.

“Of course. Thank you so much for all your help, and for being such gracious hosts,” Granger responded, smiling as she reached out to squeeze Mrs. Peppers’ and Mr. Peppers’ hand in turn.

“Yes, thank you,” added Draco, feeling useless. He was good at being polite, but wasn’t fully able to express his appreciation for the immediate welcome they had found in the Peppers’ home. 

“Don’t mention it,” tutted Mrs. Peppers. “Just stay safe, and know you’re always welcome back.”

“That’s very appreciated. Also, please let me know if you’re ever in the London area,” Granger responded. With a final wave goodbye, Granger nudged the sides of Onion, and at a slow walk, they started heading further along the road they had followed the previous day.

Almost immediately, Draco realized that his plan to keep a distance would be much harder than expected. The gait of the horse jostled him, and he tried to hold himself back using the strength of his thighs alone, but not wanting to make Onion uncomfortable, he could only do so much, and almost immediately felt himself slipping forward.

“Uh, Granger…”

“Yes?”

“I’m really sorry about this, but I don’t know that I’ll be able to keep myself from touching you.”

“Am I really so irresistible?” He could hear the teasing note in her voice, but he immediately got overwhelmed anyway and just gaped silently.

“Just kidding,” she said with a smile, glancing over shoulder. “That’s alright, don’t worry about it! I understand – I’d rather you be safe and comfortable anyway.”

Draco still valiantly fought the pull, and by some miracle managed to position himself so that the only points of contact were Granger’s hips against his thighs (he had closed them slightly – he didn’t think he could handle her fully wedged against his crotch) and the occasional brush of her back against his chest. Before they had departed, she had coiled her hair in a bun at the nape of her neck, but some tendrils were escaping and brushing against his nose, and he was briefly preoccupied by trying to dodge the ticklish strands.

They more or less settled into their journey, and rode in a peaceful silence. He was grateful for this newfound resolution. He had hated being at odds with Granger. Well, no – it had been easy and vindictively satisfying for the first five minutes, watching her squirm in guilt. But after the initial rush, a wave of… disappointment had washed through him. 

Disappointment in himself, for reacting with so much anger. Disappointment in Granger, for clearly misunderstanding him so severely. And more than anything, disappointment in the situation. He had been angry, but it hadn’t been worth losing the camaraderie they had built between them. Despite his growing concern over the not-very-friendly feelings he had towards her on occasion, he appreciated their dynamic, and hadn’t wanted to sacrifice that. He had spent the day pouting at the impasse between them, trying to wrangle his pride and figure out the best approach to get them on good terms again.

So when Granger had not only taken control of the resolution, but apologized, he had been immensely appreciative. It was easy to offer forgiveness at that point, and she had clearly taken his words to heart more than expected, so he didn’t feel he was sacrificing on any of the points he had made. He ran over the conversation in his head. Something she had said had caught his attention at the time, but he couldn’t recall what. Suddenly, he remembered.

“What did you mean when you said you weren’t respecting my feelings?”

“Huh?” she said, clearly startled out of her own ruminations.

“Earlier today, you had said you were trying to maintain professional boundaries, and said something about not respecting my feelings about it. What did you mean?”

She was quiet for a moment. “Um… well…” He saw the back of her neck turn red where her hair didn’t cover it. “I was referring to the fact that you don’t like me, and I was acting against that… understanding.”

It was now his turn to jolt. “I don’t like you? What gave you that impression?”

“You did. You said so,” Granger said, somewhat defensively.

Draco floundered trying to understand. “You mean at school? It’s been 10 years since then, surely you don’t think I still hold the same feelings as I did then?”

“No, I don’t mean school, I mean a couple of days ago. You said, and I quote, ‘I don’t particularly like you, and you hate me, and as we’re going to be spending lots of time together, I thought you could air your grievances while you’re in your safe space.’ Back at my house.”

The memory dawned on Draco, and he flushed. He had been feeling defensive and oddly jealous, seeing the Golden Trio was still on such good terms, and had acted like a prick as a result.

“That… I remember now. But… uh… that was said more out of me being an asshole than truth. It wasn’t true then, and it isn’t true now.”

“Oh.” Granger was silent for another beat. “So, you don’t dislike me?”

“No, not at all.”

“Phew,” huffed Granger with a breathy laugh, slumping briefly in relief before quickly righting herself when her back made contact with Draco’s front. “That makes me feel better. I kept treating you like a friend and I felt so bad that I was making you uncomfortable with my friendliness.”

“You didn’t make me uncomfortable at all,” reassured Draco, choosing to dismiss the discomfort she did inspire in him – that wasn’t her fault, and rather was his own issue he needed to sort out.

“Okay, good to know,” she said happily. “I appreciate your clarification.”

“Yeah, sorry for having left you with that impression. I… I see us as friends, for what it’s worth.” He wanted to eat the words as soon as he said them. If he were a turtle, he’d pull into his shell, he felt so mortified.

Granger patted his thigh absently. “That makes me happy. So do I.”

The weight lifted from his heart at the same time that the awareness of her touch blossomed from his inner thighs to where she patted him. He felt, if possible, even more on edge, and he suddenly became very focused with blocking any preoccupations he had centered around Granger’s touch lingering on his thigh. He glanced with alarm at the space between his crotch and Granger’s… never mind, he thought, looking away quickly, cursing his traitorous brain. They kept riding in silence for a few more minutes, although they were strained for Draco.

“Not to rush this relationship so soon after having agreed on friendship, but I just realized I had forgotten to convey an integral requirement of staying at the church – we need to act like we’re married,” announced Granger.

“Married??” His attention was immediately forced away from his wayward thoughts.

“Yes. The Peppers told me the clergymen would be unlikely to offer us a room if they believed us as two single people. I guess they don’t want any extramarital sinning under their roofs if they can avoid it.”

Draco sputtered. “Sinning? Nothing untoward would happen!”

Granger sighed. “I know that, but they don’t. Sometimes these religious circles tend to immediately assume the worst case scenario, so they like to be overly cautious.”

Draco stammered for another moment incoherently. “Well, alright then, but it’s very odd.”

“No worries,” said Granger, “I can manage the delivery. Just… wanted to give you a heads up in case you reacted the way you did just now.”

“Well, I’ll put on my best I’m-a-husband face, no worries,” he said somewhat snippily. Really, what did she mean by this, saying they were a married couple sleeping in a room together?

He quietly grumbled to himself the rest of the way, and before he knew it, the town was visible in the distance, with the church’s steeple jutting out. In another couple of minutes, they pulled up in front of the church, and he dismounted first, helping Granger off Onion next, before slapping the horse’s flank as instructed to get him to return to the Peppers. As the horse trotted off, they turned toward the church, and Granger took a deep breath.

“Here goes nothing. If all else fails, we’ll be back at the Peppers’ by nightfall.”

Draco nodded once before following Granger up the staircase and through the church door. They entered the dingy, musty-smelling hall, door slamming shut behind them. The pews were completely empty, but shuffling between them was a surprisingly young-looking deacon fussing with the books. Granger cleared her throat, and the man jerked up, only then noticing them. Had he not heard the door?

“Oh, hello! How may I help you?”

“Hello! My name is Hermione, and this is Draco. We were stranded near here last night, and are having some repairs done to our car in town. We were told you are the only guest accommodations available nearby, and were hoping we could stay for a couple of nights while the fixes are being performed. We’d obviously be happy to pay. Do you think that would be possible?”

The deacon sniffed self-importantly, looking them over, seemingly unimpressed. Draco stiffened, somewhat offended.

The deacon looked young, but most of that was due to the fact that his face was disarmingly smooth. On second glance, though, he had a creepy, almost leering look to him, and his beady eyes gave Draco the impression that any positive interactions he had with others were more them defending themselves against his unsettling presence, rather than a genuine desire for connection.

His shifty gaze dismissed Draco altogether, and locked on Granger. “That isn’t up to me, that’s at the discretion of the head priest, but he unfortunately isn’t available,” he said to her.

“Oh, of course, I understand you are very busy.” Draco skeptically looked around the empty church at her statement. “Would you happen to know when he would be free to meet with us?”

Granger stepped forward with clasped hands, clearly trying to look as pleading as she could.

“I’m unsure, I would need to check.”

“Oh yes, I would be most appreciative if you could,” she gushed, and the deacon righted himself, reveling in the attention. Draco almost rolled his eyes. 

“I can make no promises.”

“You seem like you have many responsibilities here, and I’m sure they rely on you very much. If you could appeal to the head priest that we meet with him sooner, I’m sure he would have no choice but to listen to you, and I would be ever so grateful.” Was she batting her eyelashes? The deacon looked her over again, slower this time. Draco felt his insides freeze.

“I’ll have you know, we will not be hosts to any… liaisons. Our guest chambers are reserved exclusively for visiting bishops and priests, not for casual tete-a-tetes.”

“But of course! That’s not what this is at all! In fact, I’m coming to you in a moment of need. You see,” she lowered her voice confidingly, “my companion is in fact my husband. Newly wedded husband. He… compromised me, and I made him elope with me to escape my father’s wrath. However, my father is very concerned for me, and I don’t want to increase his ire. The sooner we can leave, the better it would be for me, and I’m afraid if we looked for board elsewhere, we would be stranded for longer.” Draco felt his entire body heat and tingle at this story. The deacon looked affronted, eyes narrowing and shooting him a glare.

“You did the right thing,” he whispered back to her, “acting with urgency against this…” – the accusatory look returned – “seducer. And I understand the imperativeness. Your father sounds like an honorable man. Let me ask the priest whether our accommodations are available.”

“Oh, thank you,” she effused, laying a hand on the deacon’s forearm. He blushed, self-righteously pulling his shoulders back, and patting the back of her hand. Draco felt simultaneously hot and cold, both like melting from mortification and asserting himself indignantly. Who was this man, touching her so companionably??

“Not a problem at all. I’ll be right back.” The deacon swaggered to the back of the church, the image of the meek church officiant gone, although his stature didn’t allow him to completely shake the slight waddle he stepped with. He looks so stupid, thought Draco disdainfully.

“What was that??” he seethed at Granger the second the door had shut.

“I’m sorry!” she whispered back, “I had to improvise! This guy was immediately suspicious of us, I had to think of some reason he shouldn’t overthink it. The only way to deal with people like that is to make them feel like they’re saving you from something.”

“So I had to play the role of a seducer??”

“I didn’t have a ton of believable options! Not to mention you’re attractive and exude arrogance, it was playing into the stereotypes he was probably already holding!”

He briefly fumbled around her admission of finding him attractive. “You were flirting with him anyway, you should’ve been the seductress!”

“These people are sexist! If I seduced you, I’d be tossed to the street. If you seduced me, it'd be lamentable but expected! They’ll just feel sorry for me and my weak composition for having been susceptible to your charms.”

“That’s absurd, you obviously don’t have a weak composition! The guy was putty in your hands the minute you started paying attention to him, he would’ve been completely sympathetic toward how helpless I would’ve been at resisting your wiles.”

She scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous, he saw me as simpering and pathetic, not a temptress!”

“No he didn’t! A man knows these things!” he hissed back, but before she could retort, the door the deacon had exited out of opened again as he re-entered the chamber.

“The head priest has granted your request to stay,” he announced dramatically to Granger, who simpered back at him,

“Oh, we are most grateful. You are such kind and gracious hosts. We promise not to be too great an imposition.”

He puffed out his chest, a leering grin taking over his face as he kept inspecting her. “Nonsense. We must do all we can for those in need. Now, our common areas don’t allow for women, so you won’t be permitted in our dining areas, but the accommodations come with a kitchen if you’re amenable to cooking.”

“Not a problem at all, we have brought some food with ourselves already,” she responded, putting on an artificially shy smile and raising their bag of provisions. Granger never smiled shyly, scoffed Malfoy internally. Her flirtatious act was very transparent.

“Most prudent. You’re clearly diligent and prepared. These are virtuous attributes,” the deacon announced somberly, inclining his head head at her and then peering up through his eyelashes. Draco felt the absurd notion to remind the man that she was no longer virtuous, as he, her husband, had seduced her already. Instead, he cleared his throat, receiving a vicious glare from the deacon for interrupting their moment. As if Granger was one to be enchanted by words and flattery.

“Best take us to the chambers if you don’t mind,” Granger said, acting chastened. “My husband is tired from our journey, and I must admit I could also use the rest.”

“But of course. After you, madam. Right down the hallway.”

They walked out the back entrance to see a large domestic structure with an adjacent lodge. The deacon directed them toward the lodge, handing Granger the key.

“That is the abode. If you are in need of any food or other amenities, please do not hesitate to ask for Deacon John – that’s me – and I’ll be right along to assist.”

“We are so grateful. Many thanks to yourself and the head priest.”

“Of course,” responded Deacon John, inclining his head once more. Draco saw his perusal move down Granger’s body again, and stepped between them.

“I will let you know if we are in need of any further assistance,” he said, addressing the deacon for the first time, and clearly dismissing him in the same statement. Deacon John flushed angrily, but nodded once more briefly before turning to walk away. Granger exhaled quietly before jostling the key in the key hole for a bit, and then finally opening the entrance. She let him in before following and locking the door behind her.

“Ugh, that guy was so gross. Thank you for stepping in,” she effused at Draco, and his ire immediately dissipated at her grateful expression.

“Oh, uh, no problem. Thank you for… making this possible,” he said, vaguely indicating the dingy chambers they were in. It was a single room which contained a grand bed, a small table, two chairs, a fireplace, and a kitchen, with a door that presumably led to the bathroom. In short, only the bare necessities.

“But at what cost,” Granger chuckled dryly, perusing the lodgings as well. “Well… it isn’t much, but it isn’t nothing,” she concluded. Draco thought even that was giving more credit than the room deserved.

Granger checked her phone. “I have one bar now, so that’s something at least. It’s apparently only 2 o’clock. We got here earlier than expected. Do you want to look around, or stay in?”

One bar? Huh? Whatever. “Uh… I would prefer to shower off the road grime from the past two days and then do some more research. We can visit with the neighbors when we go to track down the mechanic tomorrow.”

“Okay, I can get on board with that plan. You shower first, I’ll follow. I guess we’ll have to wear either yesterday or today’s clothes again tomorrow, so give me whatever you prefer and I can hand wash them in the kitchen.”

Draco briefly panicked at the idea of her washing his trunks, but having no other option available, gave her yesterday’s trousers and a shirt with his underwear carefully wrapped inside them. Then he went into the small bathroom to rinse himself off.

Feeling renewed after a much needed shower, he came out in his pajamas to see that she had hung up their washed clothes on a line she had hung up in front of the fireplace, in which she had lit a fire in the meantime. His eyes were immediately drawn to her knickers hanging at one end, and felt his insides roil and his body heat. They were simple, cotton, and teal, but he couldn’t rip his gaze from them, only managing to do so when he heard Granger approach him from behind. 

The second he looked away, he was immediately ashamed – he was no better than the Pervy Preacher he had just saved Granger from. He wouldn’t be surprised if he saw the guy with his face plastered against the window, looking at her private items with him. He swallowed down the guilt, glancing to the side at the window just to make sure.

“I’m gonna go shower now, and then I’ll help you with looking into the shield stuff,” she said, unaware of his turmoil, distracted with the process of moving her bun to the top of her head. “I’m at your disposal – I don’t think the non-magical attributes will be relevant until we figure out the magical side.” She looked up with a tilted head as she wrapped her hair tie around the nest to see his reaction.

“Sounds good.”

“I also…” she faltered, and Draco noticed with surprise that she seemed unsure of herself. “I also think there’s a chance that we’ll want to test the theory of the shield’s formation ourselves at some point, and I’d be willing to be the experimental subject, but I think I’d need to learn to Occlude to do so. Now I know that we can’t practice that right now as you cannot do magic, so I think I should review some of the theoretical books on Occlumency, both to educate myself to help you with your research, and so I can begin preparation for actually doing it. What do… what do you think?”

He immediately felt opposed to the idea of setting up a shield in her mind. “I don’t think setting up one of these shields would be the best idea,” he said, somewhat unsure. “Beyond wanting to protect your mind from it, I don’t think we should aim to recreate this. I have the feeling that this would be one of those abilities that would quickly be abused.”

She slumped in disappointment but nodded. “You’re right, you’re right.”

“But,” Draco continued, “I wouldn’t be averse to teaching you to Occlude regardless. It’s a valuable skill to have, not to mention your other point is right, understanding Occlumency would be a good starting point to helping with the magical research side of things.”

She visibly brightened at this, then turned around to head in the bathroom. She showered much faster than he had, and came back in her own pajamas. He noticed with a start that she had plaited her hair again, this time a single strand down her back. He felt his body’s usual reaction, but it was subdued, and he managed to control himself. 

Clearly gauging his response to her getup, she smiled at him shyly, but this time with no artifice. Well Deacon John, I stand corrected, thought Draco to himself. Granger does smile shyly, but it looks like this, not like coy simpering. His own mouth quirked back at her in response, and he nudged the book he thought she should start with in the direction of the open seat across from him at the table. She sat down and wordlessly pulled it to herself to begin reading.