Chapter Eight: Developments
"Sturgis Podmore has been arrested."
The words echoed through the kitchen. Lupin closed his eyes and pressed the lids with his fingertips, fighting the onset of what he knew would blossom into a full-blown, monstrous headache. Three days since his last transformation, but he was still feeling the effects. He was exhausted. He was grumpy. He wanted a hot bath. He wanted to go to bed and sleep for a week.
Kingsley Shacklebolt was running tonight's meeting. Emmeline Vance sat to Sirius's right, and next to her sat Tonks; she was across from Lupin and glanced at him from time to time. Molly sat next to him, looking stiff and irritable. Moody was standing in the far corner, staring at the proceedings through narrowed eyes but saying nothing.
Attendance was sparse this evening. Arthur had been stuck at work dealing with some bureaucratic matter ("no doubt something Fudge came up with just to pile more work on Arthur, as if he's not overworked as it is," Molly groused). Bill, too, was supposedly stuck at work, but Lupin had a strong suspicion Bill was more than likely out on a rare date with his girlfriend, Fleur Delacour. Elphias Doge was not feeling well. Daedulus Diggle was on duty at the Ministry. And Sturgis Podmore's absence was explained by his arrest and incarceration at Azkaban.
"What on earth was he arrested for?" said Molly, shaking her head.
"Trying to break in," said Kingsley. "To the Department of Mysteries."
An audible gasp went up along the table, and at this even Lupin sat up and took notice, his encroaching headache momentarily forgotten.
"You don't think...dear god," said Emmeline Vance, a slender, elegant hand going to her throat.
"It looks that way, doesn't it?" said Kingsley. "Like he betrayed us and got caught in the act. Not that the Ministry knows anything. As far as they're concerned, Sturgis showed up in the middle of the night and tried out a little B&E in a Ministry corridor. But the punishment is still stiff. Six months in Azkaban, and the entire Wizengamot heard his trial."
"Excuse me," said Emmeline, in her smooth, elegant voice. Lupin noticed Sirius watching her and bit his lip to keep from smiling. Now was hardly the time to reminisce about their conversation from a few days earlier. "B&E?" Emmeline asked.
"Breaking and entering," said Tonks.
"Ah," she said, nodding.
"Six months in Azkaban for trying to open a door?" said Sirius. "He didn't even get inside."
"But you see why, don't you?" said Lupin. "This is just another example of Fudge's paranoia. He's making an example of Sturgis. Sending a message. A very clear message."
"If you ask me, I wouldn't be surprised if Fudge doled out that sentence out of spite for not being able to pin anything on Harry," said Sirius darkly.
"Whatever his reasons," said Kingsley, "the point is, it happened."
"But Sturgis?" said Molly, shaking her head again.
"It hardly seems like something he'd do," said Emmeline doubtfully. "Betray the cause like that. He was in the Order the first time, I remember..."
"Maybe he wasn't acting out of his own volition," suggested Tonks. "Who's to say some Death Eater didn't get to him, hit him with an Imperius Curse and make him go to the Ministry that night and try to break in? We know Lucius Malfoy is in and out of there all the time, and Malfoy's very thick with Fudge, isn't he?" She said this last as though she'd just tasted something very foul.
"That's actually a good point," said Lupin. "I don't think any of us here had any reason to suspect Sturgis, did we?"
"But that means You-Know-Who would have had to know Sturgis was working for the Order," said Kingsley uneasily.
"Not necessarily," said Tonks. "Sturgis just might have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or the right place at the right time, depending on how you look at it. Either way I don't think Sturgis was working both sides."
"In any case," said Lupin, "Voldemort has people inside the Ministry. We know this. But we don't know how effective they've been at gathering information. At this point neither side is certain of what the other side knows. We're at an advantage and a disadvantage at the same time."
"Agreed," said Kingsley. "And if Fudge is sending Sturgis to Azkaban for six months for breaking a door, that just means we're going to have to watch our backs even more."
A few murmurs went up in the room, and then Sirius cleared his throat loudly.
"I've got news from Harry," said Sirius. "It's not good. That new woman, Umbridge. She's tightening her grip on the school. Reading everyone's mail. And I'm sure we've heard about it in the Daily Prophet but she's been appointed something ridiculous called the Hogwarts High Inquisitor. She's monitoring what the teachers are doing."
"Fascism by degrees, sounds like," said Tonks thoughtfully.
"What?" said Lupin.
"Fascism by degrees," said Tonks. "Sounds like this Umbridge woman-with the help of Fudge-is taking over the school."
"Yes, but what do you mean by fascism by degrees?"
"Well, it's like governments, isn't it?" said Tonks. "A fascist government doesn't usually come to power in one fell swoop. It gets power by degrees. Umbridge is restricting the freedoms of the students to communicate with the outside world. That's one degree. Next step, she's monitoring what the teachers are doing in the classrooms. That's another degree. Little by little she assumes more power for herself until she's running the place. Just like a lot of dictators throughout history. Well, Muggle history, anyway."
"I don't like it," said Sirius. "This woman Umbridge sounds like bad news. For one thing she's not really teaching the students any defensive magic at all. And I think she has it out for Harry. She was at his hearing, don't forget."
"Unfortunately we can't do much for the school at this point," said Kingsley. "That's Dumbledore's domain. But we do know that the Floo network is still being watched and Portkeys are impossible to come by. Dumbledore can't Apparate here and tell us anything. And if post is being monitored there's a good bet we won't be getting any letters from him anytime soon."
"Dumbledore has other ways of getting in touch," said Lupin. "And Dumbledore has a reason for keeping a low profile. He's there to protect the students, but Harry most of all. If Dumbledore goes openly against the Ministry they might swoop in and yank him out of there. Lucius Malfoy has been out for Dumbledore for ages, and with his influence in the Ministry, coupled with Fudge's animosity toward Dumbledore..."
More murmurs in the crowd. Lupin felt his headache return; his brain hurt. He glanced at Tonks and she gave him a sympathetic smile.
"Right," said Kingsley. "If that's all there is to report at the moment, the meeting's adjourned. Tonks, you'll be-"
"Yeah," said Tonks, standing up. She yawned and stretched. "Lucky me, getting to play dress up."
"Come on, now," said Kingsley. "I'm your date for this evening, it won't be ALL bad."
"True," said Tonks.
"What are you on about?" asked Sirius, glancing at Lupin and then back at Tonks.
"Oh, right," said Tonks. "There's some social event at the Ministry tonight. Party for new Aurors. Kingsley and I have to put in an appearance, unfortunately."
"Cheer up, Tonks," said Kingsley, clapping her on the back so hard she stumbled.
"Cheer up, yourself," said Tonks angrily. "You're not the one who...oh...bloody hell. Never mind." She rolled her eyes and then glanced at Lupin, who studied her curiously, not certain of what she meant.
"Tonks has to wear a dress," said Kinsgley. "Dress code is 'after six.'"
"A dress?" said Sirius. "Good god, Tonks, I'm sorry."
"What's wrong with wearing a dress?" Lupin asked, his headache abating as he imagined how lovely Tonks might look in one.
"I haven't worn a dress since I was six years old, Remus," said Tonks, rolling her eyes. "Well, not counting my school uniform. Which, I might add, is just a sexist thing. Why should girls HAVE to wear skirts at school? Do you know how bloody cold it gets in the winter, wearing a skirt?"
"Oh, stop your grousing," said Kingsley. "It's only for an hour and then we can slip out and you can go back to your flat or come back here or go to your belfry or whatever it is you do." He winked at her.
"He's a comedian," said Tonks, grinning, first at Kingsley, then at Lupin. Lupin smiled back. He was vaguely aware that Sirius had gotten up and was engaging Emmeline Vance in conversation.
"Anyway," said Tonks, "I should run upstairs and change, I guess. Won't be a minute."
Kingsley nodded to Lupin and gathered up several pieces of parchment, which he tucked inside his robes. He then joined Moody, who declared loudly that he needed to "fortify" himself for the evening ahead and thus began drinking from his hip flask.
Lupin stood up and stretched, feeling his bones ache. His muscles were stiff; the hot bath would feel like heaven. He blinked, rubbed his eyes, ran a hand through his hair, and started up the stairs, so exhausted now that his brain seemed to shut down and forget all about what Tonks might look like in a dress.
He might have continued in this vein of non-thought if he hadn't collided with Tonks on the upstairs landing as she was leaving her room and he was heading toward his.
"Oh!"
For what was perhaps the twentieth time since they'd met, Lupin caught her.
"Sorry," she said, pulling herself up. Lupin blinked and felt his mouth go dry.
"Tonks," he said, "you look...devastating. And I mean that in the best possible way."
She did. She wore a burgundy dress made of rich velvet with thin straps; it skimmed her body and gave her curves he hadn't noticed she had. It was cut dangerously low in front and Lupin didn't even try to avert his eyes from skipping over the swell of her cleavage, how luscious and pale her skin looked. But it wasn't just the dress.
She'd changed her hair; instead of the pink it had been earlier it was now deep, dark brown and curled softly around her face, falling in large, loopy ringlets just past her chin. She wore a simple beaded necklace and her lips were stained a juicy wine color and they looked wet and shiny. And very delicious. On her feet were a pair of black pumps, and her lean, muscled legs were wrapped in silk stockings.
"Thanks," she said, blushing. "Uh, this is...well...I look like this. You know, when I haven't...anyway, this is me au naturel, I guess. I mean, I don't wear dresses. Especially not like this. And of course my lips aren't naturally this...red..."
She was talking very fast again; Lupin couldn't help but enjoy it when she got nervous. It was so...endearing.
"Oh, shit!"
Lupin blinked, still not quite used to Tonks's rather colorful vocabulary.
"What?" he asked. She was bent over in a rather alluring pose and Lupin saw she had pulled her dress up over her right thigh and was examining her leg. He tried not to look. He looked anyway.
"Bloody stockings," she said, and she gave a sigh of disgust. "Would you look at that ladder I managed to put there?" She pointed in aggravation at an ugly ladder that had torn into the stocking. "Probably got it when I tripped and fell into you. Dammit. These things cost me twelve quid at Harrod's. Overpriced piece of junk."
"I'm...sorry," said Lupin, trying not to chuckle. But then she did something that made his heart leap into his throat.
"Excuse me," she said, and she kicked off her black pumps and yanked up the skirt of her dress over her hips. She then gripped the waistband of the stockings and pulled them down in one swift motion, allowing the skirt of her dress to fall over her knickers, which Lupin managed to notice were black. And lacy. And very...small. He swallowed and was grateful beyond belief that his robes were hiding what was happening inside his trousers.
"Sorry 'bout that," she said. "Hope I didn't shock you." She picked up the stockings and balled them up, then tossed them carelessly through the door of her room. "Guess I'm going bare-legged tonight." She slipped on her shoes, and she was three inches taller.
"Oh, uh, no," said Lupin. "I mean, you didn't...shock me. Too much."
"That's what I like about you, Remus," said Tonks, smiling at him. "You're so old fashioned."
He laughed nervously and shifted slightly; his trousers were beginning to pinch him a bit and he suddenly really needed to be away from her and her beautiful dark brown hair and that vanilla scent that always clung to her as tightly as the dress she was wearing.
"Well, I'm off," she said. "Won't be out long, I don't imagine. Hold down the fort for me."
"You're coming back here tonight," said Lupin. It was not a question.
"Yeah, might as well," said Tonks. "Actually I like it here. The bathroom in my room puts the one back in my flat to shame." She smiled.
"Anyway," she said, "see you later." She leaned up just slightly and gave him a kiss on the cheek, and again she let her lips linger just a bit. Lupin closed his eyes and clenched his fists.
"Oops, left a mark," she said, and suddenly she was rubbing her thumb on his cheek. He opened his eyes and his gaze met hers.
And the world stopped. It was just the two of them, standing in the corridor. The smell of vanilla assaulted his senses, making him dizzy. Her eyes were bright and glittering. Her lips were wet, so very wet. She was close. So close. He could take her in his arms right now and kiss her, devour her mouth with his own and taste her tongue...
"Have fun," he said instead, swallowing hard and moving past her.
"Right," she said, blinking and self-consciously patting her hair. "'Bye."
She walked down the stairs, stumbling halfway down but catching herself, and met Kingsley at the front door.
"Tonks, you clean up nicely," he said dryly.
"Shut it, Kingsley," said Tonks. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"
"Your robes," he said grandly, and he handed her the set of black robes, which she threw on over herself.
Lupin watched her move through the door, her arm in Kingsley's, and felt insanely, absurdly jealous that Kingsley was her date that night, and not himself.
"Sturgis Podmore has been arrested."
The words echoed through the kitchen. Lupin closed his eyes and pressed the lids with his fingertips, fighting the onset of what he knew would blossom into a full-blown, monstrous headache. Three days since his last transformation, but he was still feeling the effects. He was exhausted. He was grumpy. He wanted a hot bath. He wanted to go to bed and sleep for a week.
Kingsley Shacklebolt was running tonight's meeting. Emmeline Vance sat to Sirius's right, and next to her sat Tonks; she was across from Lupin and glanced at him from time to time. Molly sat next to him, looking stiff and irritable. Moody was standing in the far corner, staring at the proceedings through narrowed eyes but saying nothing.
Attendance was sparse this evening. Arthur had been stuck at work dealing with some bureaucratic matter ("no doubt something Fudge came up with just to pile more work on Arthur, as if he's not overworked as it is," Molly groused). Bill, too, was supposedly stuck at work, but Lupin had a strong suspicion Bill was more than likely out on a rare date with his girlfriend, Fleur Delacour. Elphias Doge was not feeling well. Daedulus Diggle was on duty at the Ministry. And Sturgis Podmore's absence was explained by his arrest and incarceration at Azkaban.
"What on earth was he arrested for?" said Molly, shaking her head.
"Trying to break in," said Kingsley. "To the Department of Mysteries."
An audible gasp went up along the table, and at this even Lupin sat up and took notice, his encroaching headache momentarily forgotten.
"You don't think...dear god," said Emmeline Vance, a slender, elegant hand going to her throat.
"It looks that way, doesn't it?" said Kingsley. "Like he betrayed us and got caught in the act. Not that the Ministry knows anything. As far as they're concerned, Sturgis showed up in the middle of the night and tried out a little B&E in a Ministry corridor. But the punishment is still stiff. Six months in Azkaban, and the entire Wizengamot heard his trial."
"Excuse me," said Emmeline, in her smooth, elegant voice. Lupin noticed Sirius watching her and bit his lip to keep from smiling. Now was hardly the time to reminisce about their conversation from a few days earlier. "B&E?" Emmeline asked.
"Breaking and entering," said Tonks.
"Ah," she said, nodding.
"Six months in Azkaban for trying to open a door?" said Sirius. "He didn't even get inside."
"But you see why, don't you?" said Lupin. "This is just another example of Fudge's paranoia. He's making an example of Sturgis. Sending a message. A very clear message."
"If you ask me, I wouldn't be surprised if Fudge doled out that sentence out of spite for not being able to pin anything on Harry," said Sirius darkly.
"Whatever his reasons," said Kingsley, "the point is, it happened."
"But Sturgis?" said Molly, shaking her head again.
"It hardly seems like something he'd do," said Emmeline doubtfully. "Betray the cause like that. He was in the Order the first time, I remember..."
"Maybe he wasn't acting out of his own volition," suggested Tonks. "Who's to say some Death Eater didn't get to him, hit him with an Imperius Curse and make him go to the Ministry that night and try to break in? We know Lucius Malfoy is in and out of there all the time, and Malfoy's very thick with Fudge, isn't he?" She said this last as though she'd just tasted something very foul.
"That's actually a good point," said Lupin. "I don't think any of us here had any reason to suspect Sturgis, did we?"
"But that means You-Know-Who would have had to know Sturgis was working for the Order," said Kingsley uneasily.
"Not necessarily," said Tonks. "Sturgis just might have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or the right place at the right time, depending on how you look at it. Either way I don't think Sturgis was working both sides."
"In any case," said Lupin, "Voldemort has people inside the Ministry. We know this. But we don't know how effective they've been at gathering information. At this point neither side is certain of what the other side knows. We're at an advantage and a disadvantage at the same time."
"Agreed," said Kingsley. "And if Fudge is sending Sturgis to Azkaban for six months for breaking a door, that just means we're going to have to watch our backs even more."
A few murmurs went up in the room, and then Sirius cleared his throat loudly.
"I've got news from Harry," said Sirius. "It's not good. That new woman, Umbridge. She's tightening her grip on the school. Reading everyone's mail. And I'm sure we've heard about it in the Daily Prophet but she's been appointed something ridiculous called the Hogwarts High Inquisitor. She's monitoring what the teachers are doing."
"Fascism by degrees, sounds like," said Tonks thoughtfully.
"What?" said Lupin.
"Fascism by degrees," said Tonks. "Sounds like this Umbridge woman-with the help of Fudge-is taking over the school."
"Yes, but what do you mean by fascism by degrees?"
"Well, it's like governments, isn't it?" said Tonks. "A fascist government doesn't usually come to power in one fell swoop. It gets power by degrees. Umbridge is restricting the freedoms of the students to communicate with the outside world. That's one degree. Next step, she's monitoring what the teachers are doing in the classrooms. That's another degree. Little by little she assumes more power for herself until she's running the place. Just like a lot of dictators throughout history. Well, Muggle history, anyway."
"I don't like it," said Sirius. "This woman Umbridge sounds like bad news. For one thing she's not really teaching the students any defensive magic at all. And I think she has it out for Harry. She was at his hearing, don't forget."
"Unfortunately we can't do much for the school at this point," said Kingsley. "That's Dumbledore's domain. But we do know that the Floo network is still being watched and Portkeys are impossible to come by. Dumbledore can't Apparate here and tell us anything. And if post is being monitored there's a good bet we won't be getting any letters from him anytime soon."
"Dumbledore has other ways of getting in touch," said Lupin. "And Dumbledore has a reason for keeping a low profile. He's there to protect the students, but Harry most of all. If Dumbledore goes openly against the Ministry they might swoop in and yank him out of there. Lucius Malfoy has been out for Dumbledore for ages, and with his influence in the Ministry, coupled with Fudge's animosity toward Dumbledore..."
More murmurs in the crowd. Lupin felt his headache return; his brain hurt. He glanced at Tonks and she gave him a sympathetic smile.
"Right," said Kingsley. "If that's all there is to report at the moment, the meeting's adjourned. Tonks, you'll be-"
"Yeah," said Tonks, standing up. She yawned and stretched. "Lucky me, getting to play dress up."
"Come on, now," said Kingsley. "I'm your date for this evening, it won't be ALL bad."
"True," said Tonks.
"What are you on about?" asked Sirius, glancing at Lupin and then back at Tonks.
"Oh, right," said Tonks. "There's some social event at the Ministry tonight. Party for new Aurors. Kingsley and I have to put in an appearance, unfortunately."
"Cheer up, Tonks," said Kingsley, clapping her on the back so hard she stumbled.
"Cheer up, yourself," said Tonks angrily. "You're not the one who...oh...bloody hell. Never mind." She rolled her eyes and then glanced at Lupin, who studied her curiously, not certain of what she meant.
"Tonks has to wear a dress," said Kinsgley. "Dress code is 'after six.'"
"A dress?" said Sirius. "Good god, Tonks, I'm sorry."
"What's wrong with wearing a dress?" Lupin asked, his headache abating as he imagined how lovely Tonks might look in one.
"I haven't worn a dress since I was six years old, Remus," said Tonks, rolling her eyes. "Well, not counting my school uniform. Which, I might add, is just a sexist thing. Why should girls HAVE to wear skirts at school? Do you know how bloody cold it gets in the winter, wearing a skirt?"
"Oh, stop your grousing," said Kingsley. "It's only for an hour and then we can slip out and you can go back to your flat or come back here or go to your belfry or whatever it is you do." He winked at her.
"He's a comedian," said Tonks, grinning, first at Kingsley, then at Lupin. Lupin smiled back. He was vaguely aware that Sirius had gotten up and was engaging Emmeline Vance in conversation.
"Anyway," said Tonks, "I should run upstairs and change, I guess. Won't be a minute."
Kingsley nodded to Lupin and gathered up several pieces of parchment, which he tucked inside his robes. He then joined Moody, who declared loudly that he needed to "fortify" himself for the evening ahead and thus began drinking from his hip flask.
Lupin stood up and stretched, feeling his bones ache. His muscles were stiff; the hot bath would feel like heaven. He blinked, rubbed his eyes, ran a hand through his hair, and started up the stairs, so exhausted now that his brain seemed to shut down and forget all about what Tonks might look like in a dress.
He might have continued in this vein of non-thought if he hadn't collided with Tonks on the upstairs landing as she was leaving her room and he was heading toward his.
"Oh!"
For what was perhaps the twentieth time since they'd met, Lupin caught her.
"Sorry," she said, pulling herself up. Lupin blinked and felt his mouth go dry.
"Tonks," he said, "you look...devastating. And I mean that in the best possible way."
She did. She wore a burgundy dress made of rich velvet with thin straps; it skimmed her body and gave her curves he hadn't noticed she had. It was cut dangerously low in front and Lupin didn't even try to avert his eyes from skipping over the swell of her cleavage, how luscious and pale her skin looked. But it wasn't just the dress.
She'd changed her hair; instead of the pink it had been earlier it was now deep, dark brown and curled softly around her face, falling in large, loopy ringlets just past her chin. She wore a simple beaded necklace and her lips were stained a juicy wine color and they looked wet and shiny. And very delicious. On her feet were a pair of black pumps, and her lean, muscled legs were wrapped in silk stockings.
"Thanks," she said, blushing. "Uh, this is...well...I look like this. You know, when I haven't...anyway, this is me au naturel, I guess. I mean, I don't wear dresses. Especially not like this. And of course my lips aren't naturally this...red..."
She was talking very fast again; Lupin couldn't help but enjoy it when she got nervous. It was so...endearing.
"Oh, shit!"
Lupin blinked, still not quite used to Tonks's rather colorful vocabulary.
"What?" he asked. She was bent over in a rather alluring pose and Lupin saw she had pulled her dress up over her right thigh and was examining her leg. He tried not to look. He looked anyway.
"Bloody stockings," she said, and she gave a sigh of disgust. "Would you look at that ladder I managed to put there?" She pointed in aggravation at an ugly ladder that had torn into the stocking. "Probably got it when I tripped and fell into you. Dammit. These things cost me twelve quid at Harrod's. Overpriced piece of junk."
"I'm...sorry," said Lupin, trying not to chuckle. But then she did something that made his heart leap into his throat.
"Excuse me," she said, and she kicked off her black pumps and yanked up the skirt of her dress over her hips. She then gripped the waistband of the stockings and pulled them down in one swift motion, allowing the skirt of her dress to fall over her knickers, which Lupin managed to notice were black. And lacy. And very...small. He swallowed and was grateful beyond belief that his robes were hiding what was happening inside his trousers.
"Sorry 'bout that," she said. "Hope I didn't shock you." She picked up the stockings and balled them up, then tossed them carelessly through the door of her room. "Guess I'm going bare-legged tonight." She slipped on her shoes, and she was three inches taller.
"Oh, uh, no," said Lupin. "I mean, you didn't...shock me. Too much."
"That's what I like about you, Remus," said Tonks, smiling at him. "You're so old fashioned."
He laughed nervously and shifted slightly; his trousers were beginning to pinch him a bit and he suddenly really needed to be away from her and her beautiful dark brown hair and that vanilla scent that always clung to her as tightly as the dress she was wearing.
"Well, I'm off," she said. "Won't be out long, I don't imagine. Hold down the fort for me."
"You're coming back here tonight," said Lupin. It was not a question.
"Yeah, might as well," said Tonks. "Actually I like it here. The bathroom in my room puts the one back in my flat to shame." She smiled.
"Anyway," she said, "see you later." She leaned up just slightly and gave him a kiss on the cheek, and again she let her lips linger just a bit. Lupin closed his eyes and clenched his fists.
"Oops, left a mark," she said, and suddenly she was rubbing her thumb on his cheek. He opened his eyes and his gaze met hers.
And the world stopped. It was just the two of them, standing in the corridor. The smell of vanilla assaulted his senses, making him dizzy. Her eyes were bright and glittering. Her lips were wet, so very wet. She was close. So close. He could take her in his arms right now and kiss her, devour her mouth with his own and taste her tongue...
"Have fun," he said instead, swallowing hard and moving past her.
"Right," she said, blinking and self-consciously patting her hair. "'Bye."
She walked down the stairs, stumbling halfway down but catching herself, and met Kingsley at the front door.
"Tonks, you clean up nicely," he said dryly.
"Shut it, Kingsley," said Tonks. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"
"Your robes," he said grandly, and he handed her the set of black robes, which she threw on over herself.
Lupin watched her move through the door, her arm in Kingsley's, and felt insanely, absurdly jealous that Kingsley was her date that night, and not himself.