Snippet #1143288

The elderly man simply shook his head. "That is not necessary, my dear. And I am glad to hear you enjoyed your rest. We will have much to do today, I imagine." His eyes, which had been smiling along with the rest of him, fell into seriousness, and the transformation seemed to age him. His shoulders fell slightly, and the lines on his face, few for a man of his age, deepened. Nevertheless, he did not lose the impression of strength he seemed to exude; on the contrary, it but amplified into a sterner picture.

"I can trust you with Miss Katerine's safety; I truly believe this. However, you must understand my position. She is too kind to survive on her own. I believe miss Katherine intends to extend the offer of hospitality to anyone who she believes needs it. I am powerless to stop her in this, nor would I presume to try. But: I intend to watch anyone she brings back here. My job is above all to protect her, by any means necessary." The last words were not unduly emphasized, but the pause that followed made his meaning clear enough. "I say this because I wish to ask for your help, only in keeping an eye on her. I am afraid that however sharp my own may have become, I am only one person, Amunet, and I cannot be near Miss Katherine at all times. My request is merely this: should you find yourself in her company and it does not interfere with whatever it is that you intend to do, please look after her."

Norman knew he was asking a lot, but he was willing to do so for Kitty's sake, no matter what anyone might think of him for it. He did not trust people generally, and he feared for his surrogate granddaughter because she did. At some point, her soft heart was going to prove a liability, and he simply wished to make sure that when it did, that as many people as possible would be around to help. At the same time, he understood that asking Amunet to set aside her own goals to do this was unreasonable; hence the caveat.

Having said his piece, he turned back to the dishes without another word and finished them with admirable efficiency, born from years of practice. The oven soon made the characteristic pinging noise of having completed its work, and he pulled a couple of mitts from a drawer, passing them to the chef for the morning. Having reassumed his more casual demeanor, he nodded to her. "I shall go attend Miss Katherine. I look forward to tasting this; it smells simply delicious." And with that, he was gone, headed for the dining room.