The words that poured from Miss McMillan’s mouth were mirthful and so sugarcoated Mister Ray thought he could taste them. He was once again struck senseless, and she was bolting up the stairs before he could even react. Ray stood there, staring at where she had been, and eventually his gaze slid down to observe his tie. Then he chuckled lightly, more humored than peeved, swiveled around, and headed back to his quarters. He sure had some work to do with this young woman.<br/>-  -  -<br/>On another day, Mister Ray sauntered back to his quarters, his lessons with Miss Emily concluded until tomorrow. She had been making satisfactory progress, and he had only needed to assign lines to her once thus far. He was clutching his materials as he walked, and was looking forward to tucking into the novel he’d been reading, and perhaps trying his hand at sketching as well. It had been a merry day, without stresses, and his eyes crinkled at the edges as he smiled gently. He rounded a corner, mind wandering, when something rammed into his chest, and a cacophonous clatter followed.<br/><br/>Ray flinched at the noise and leapt back. A female servant with tired eyes and a gentle face apologized profusely to him, and bent down to hastily collect what she had dropped. Ray followed her, kneeling to aid her with her burden. “Do not worry, miss, I should have watched where I was stepping.” He offered her a perhaps too-friendly grin that she faltered in returning. Soon she was scurrying away and he unconsciously gazed after her. He was about to resume his walk back to his quarters when he heard his name being called. He turned, feeling that the evening had abruptly become a noisy one. The reading seemed a little more distant than it had but a minute ago.