mistressmaryquitecontrary

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The knock on Colin's door is loud and ominous.

- that doesn't matter much, however, as Mary marches in immediately after knocking and folds her hands neatly over her lap.

"Good morning, Colin."

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"Then you must tell me what I need to pack for India," he says briskly.

"We cannot leave now."

Mary tosses her head. "I must ask my friend to take us - and arrange things. I will tell you when."

Casually: "And you need not come, if you do not wish to."

"I am going." Very flatly.

He just is.

"All right, then," Mary says, still quite casually.

"You shall need to bring something that you can wear for shade - and a good deal to drink. And weapons to protect against the pisacha, for they likely will not wish to be saved now that they are demons."

She considers him for a moment, before adding, "and something to wrap over the handles of your wheelchair - for they will get quite hot in the sun."

"I shall have Martha pack all that," he says seriously.

Mary frowns.

"I do not know," she says, cautiously, "if I should tell Martha where we are going.

She would feel obliged to stop us, I think - because it is what Mrs. Medlock would wish."

"She would not if I told her not to."

Another pause, as Mary considers this.

"She would not if Mrs. Medlock asked her where we had gone while we were gone?"

"I could order her not to."

He is Confident of this.

A pause; then, a little reluctantly, "I suppose that is all right, then. If you are sure."

More brightly: "I shall have to tell Dickon, in any case."

He hesitates. "--We do not have to tell her."

But he could.

Totally COULD.

"Who else is going?"

"I am going to ask my friend Ace to take us," Mary announces.

"She has a machine that shall take us there - next I see her I will ask. I do not think she will say no, seeing as it is so important."

She considers. "Also there is Goldilocks - she wished to see India. So," she adds, generously, "I said she might come if she liked. Since she has not been."

"......Is she not in a book?" he asks carefully.

"Yes."

Mary's face dares him to challenge that.

"Does Martha know you're associating with fictional characters, Mary?"

He's mostly just curious.

"I am sure," Mary says, a little primly, "that Martha associates with fictional characters there as well.

Besides," she adds, loftily, "it is not up to Martha the people with whom I choose to associate. I may associate with whomever I choose. If it were up to them I should not be associating with you."

"I did not say it was," he replies crankily, "only asked if she knows."

"I know a good many people," Mary says, with the faintest hint of pride.

Mary's never been able to say that before, after all.

"Martha does notknow everybody that I know."

"Are most of them very boring?"

Colin vaguely suspects the majority of people are.

"Many of them are very interesting," Mary retorts, primly; then, a little warily: "Did you think the people you have met were boring?"

"No," he says, considering.

"I liked Susannah. She has very pretty skin."

Mary frowns, a little; not in disapproval, but in thought.

"I do not know Susannah," she decides, finally. "What is it that makes her skin so pretty?"

"It looks like chocolate."

"- oh, you only mean she is a native," Mary says, a trifle dismissively.

She had thought it might be something interesting, like velvet or plaid skin.

"Is that it?" He is a little surprised.

"She is still very pretty. Prettier than you." He thought natives would be, well. Not like people. "She did not sound like a native." He has asked.

Perhaps he did not understand the answer.