Star as the Substitute

Tougher than diamonds, rich like cream

Stronger and harder than a bad girl's dream

~ Huey Lewis

Chapter 4

A man that studieth revenge keeps his own wounds green, which otherwise would heal and do well. ~ Francis Bacon

Jilk wasn't in the medical wing still - Marie's healing had been sufficient that he'd been cleared to walk again so he was back in his own room. His family connections had clearly paid off - it was better than those provided for most of the viscount's heirs, and the academy hadn't re-housed him despite his disowned status. On the other hand, it certainly wasn't on the level of the suites provided for Julius or for the scions of ducal houses.

Leon pushed open the door, still in his riding gear. The adrenaline had worn off and he was really feeling his arm. "So, Marmoria."

"Bartford?" The boy looked up from the chair he'd been sitting in. "My god!"

"I'm not your god. Though I appreciate the compliment. But you do owe me a favour."

"I was afraid I'd be repaying it to a coffin. What were you thinking?"

Leon shook his head. "You don't get that, Marmoria. We don't have time for me to break it down into small enough words. What matters is that you owe me."

"Fine, fine! Sit down," the green-haired boy demanded. "You look like you're going to fall over."

"No, you misunderstand me." Leon raised his hand. "You owe me and I'm calling that marker in. Right now."

Jilk paused. "Alright. What do you want?"

Leon stepped aside and waved sweepingly for Clarice to go past him. Jilk went pale at the sight of her (which didn't go well with his hair) and then looked away. "Stop that," Leon snapped.

"Stop what?"

"Stop hiding from her, you idiot!"

"I came along, Bartford." Clarice looked irritated at that admission. "But what do you expect from him?"

The dark-haired boy pointed at his classmate. "Stop running away from her. Man up and tell her how you feel. Even Greg could do that!"

Jilk stared at him hatefully and then twitched his head towards the door. "If that's what you want, Bartford. I guess that I have no choice. But I can at least do without your insufferable need to make smart remarks."

Leon smirked. "Sure. I'll be right outside."

He left the room, closed the door and leaned heavily against the wall.

"Master, you closed the door before my drone could leave," Luxion complained via Leon's earbud.

"Good, I didn't promise them privacy. Pipe through what they're saying."

The AI went one up on that and Leon investigated a flicker of light in his helmet, finding a video feed from the drone's camera.

Jilk seemed to be struggling with words. "I am truly sorry," he managed at last.

"What does that mean? Sorry you dumped me without a word? Sorry you've ignored me almost from the day you came to the academy? Sorry that you chose that little…" Clarice cut off. "Her."

"No." The boy looked up at her from where he sat. "I'm not sorry I chose Marie. I love her, that's just the facts of the matter. I'm sorry though, that I hurt you."

"That you hurt me? Then why did you keep hurting me!"

Outside, Leon winced. He'd heard that through the door, quite jarring since it amplified what he was hearing through the earbud.

"At first I avoided you because… I didn't want to lie to you. I thought I would have to pretend that I still… that I was still planning to go ahead with our marriage. That I wasn't serious about Marie, even though I am. And then, because I thought being honest with you would hurt you." The boy paused, looked away. "And because hurting you like that would hurt me as well. I guess… I was at least right about that part."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Clarice's voice stung Leon's ear.

"Just Jilk's voice, please," he asked Luxion. "At least until she calms down a little."

"They say that eavesdroppers hear what they deserve, master."

"You're always like this!" the girl continued. "You never once tried telling me about your feelings. Even before this year, when did you ever confide in me? I gave and gave, but was there ever once you tried to trust me?"

On the video, Jilk lowered his head. "I think… perhaps I did not. I do not. Maybe it's a flaw in me, but that's how it is. And now... " He shrugged. "I'm no good for you, Clarice. I'm no one's heir anymore, even if I turned my back on Marie - and I will never do that - but even in that case, all I would do is drag you down. So when summer came, when father threw me out… I figured that I should cut all our ties. Just, avoid you. Let you move on."

"You liar." Her voice was venomous, still audible through the door, but at least she wasn't screaming any more. "You mean you ran away."

"...yes."

"You're a coward, Jilk. You're not… you've never been who I thought you were. I hope for the sake of that… of Lafan, that she's taking you on out of pity and not because she thinks there's anything to you."

The boy looked up. "She accepts me as I am, Clarice. That might be why I couldn't make it work with you. I wasn't the man you wanted to be. And however much you tried to make me into him…" Then he shook his head. "It's better this way. Maybe you can find someone worthy of you."

"And that's it, that's what you have to say?"

Jilk pulled himself out of his chair. "Yes. I don't know if it's what Bartford expected or wanted, but he asked me to tell you my feelings… so there they are."

"My god." Clarice's voice fell, Luxion bringing her words back through the earbud. "What a fool I am. I've wasted months… no, I've wasted years pining after you and only then came hating you. But he was right, he was right all along. You were never worth my time."

The girl looked down at herself. "Jilk Fia Marmoria. You're scum, and you're a fool. I don't forgive you - I may never forgive you. But… for saying what you did, just now. For at least having the tiny shred of decency to honour Lord Bartford's request… for that, I thank you. And perhaps in the future I might even be able to forget about you. Right now, I think that would be the closest thing to mercy you'll ever have from me."

She turned and headed for the door, yanking it open. A second after she was out, the girl slammed it shut again.

"Master," Luxion complained. "I'm still stuck in here."

Clarice looked at Leon, who stayed leaning against the wall. "How much of that did you hear?" She looked… tired.

"Most of it." He gave her a rueful grin. "I wanted him to talk, my being there was in the way. If he's too stupid to realise it made no difference..."

"He's definitely stupid." The girl took his arm and Leon forced himself to escort her properly. Never show weakness. "I owe you… well, I owe a lot of people apologies. You could easily have been killed today, all because I couldn't let go of hating him. There were people actually betting that you would… that I would get you killed."

"I know."

Clarice gave him a look. "That simple?"

Leon returned her look with a crooked smile. "It was stupid of me to get in the race, but I figured doing so was worth it. I have few illusions when it comes to our classmates - but to be fair, that does mean that when they do surprise me it's in a good way."

"I certainly lived down to your expectations." She plucked at her blouse, and then, self-consciously buttoned it up. "I thought… no, I just felt that everything I'd ever done had got me nothing. Why not be the bad girl when being good was unrewarded?"

"I figured it was something like that."

"What stage of grief would you call it?"

He had to think about that one. "I would say… maybe depression. You didn't believe in the values you'd lived by any more. It's not a hard and fast rule - you were certainly still angry."

"Oh yes. I still am. Does that ever go away?" she asked him.

"I don't know. I've never been treated by anyone the way Jilk treated you," he admitted. "To be fair, I've never been in a relationship like that."

"Ah. Well, I don't recommend the experience of being dumped." The redhead ran her finger around her choker. "I kind of… like this."

"It suits you," Leon told her.

"Maybe I'll keep it then." She gave him a thoughtful look. "You thought risking your life in the race was worth it. You obviously don't like Jilk, why go that far for him?"

"What makes you think that I was doing any of this for him?" The boy winced as he brushed his arm against the bannister of the stair they were descending. "I wasn't the only one at risk - actually, given how tough my airbike is, I was likely at less risk than your friends were. Or some of the racers that were just in the middle of this."

"That makes more sense," Clarice admitted, looking ashamed again.

Leon paused at the foot of the stairs. "And besides that, I figured that if I could help you move past Jilk you might be happier."

"How chivalrous," she said with a little laugh.

"It's an old-fashioned notion."

Clarice stopped him and leaned in, kissing him on the cheek. "There's something to be said for old-fashioned values."

"But seriously." Leon tried not to blush. "You're a really impressive woman, Clarice. Wasting yourself on Jilk is, well, a waste. And demanding revenge on him is just as much of a waste as trying to win his twisty little heart."

"Is that why you didn't think Angelica should take revenge on Julius?" she asked.

"Fuck that guy."

She gave him an amused look. "I don't think that that's a good idea."

"No, I meant… figuratively." Now he was flushing, he was sure of it. "I'm not suggesting that you do that literally."

"This is what has you blushing?" Clarice asked him. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek again. "Or is this throwing you off?"

"I'm not complaining," Leon said a bit gruffly.

"That isn't what I asked." She leant on him a little as they walked and when he glanced at her, she looked sapped of energy.

"Contrary to what some people think, I'm not actually an expert on romance when it comes to myself."

"I'm glad I didn't know that before I took your advice." She actually sounded sleepy.

"Clarice, how did you sleep last night?"

"I…" Now it was her turn to flush. "I didn't actually sleep much."

Right, he had a pretty good idea she'd been in bed though. But that wasn't the issue. "And when did you last eat? An actual meal, I mean. Not something from a stall."

"Are you really going to mother-hen me?"

"I'll have you know I'm a father-hen."

"That's a cock," the girl pointed out.

"I prefer rooster," Leon dodged. "And the fact you haven't answered about eating… don't you have a play tonight?"

"...oh." Clarice halted and then rubbed her face with both hands. "I'd actually forgotten about that."

"And unless I miss my guess, you've been running on anger more than food and sleep for at least a couple of days?" He shook his head. "Look, let's at least get some food inside you."

"Are you asking me to dinner? I mean, like a date?"

"If my spare arm wasn't complaining about my disrespecting it during the race, I'd offer to princess-carry you to the dining hall and hand-feed you."

"That's a little more forward than I'd expect from you." Clarice looked around. "I'm not really up to the dining hall, but there has to be a stall around here that has something substantial."

"It seems like a reasonable theory." Leon joined her in checking the stalls. He didn't see anything he'd consider a meal, but he did see an expert. "Lady Claes, may I call on your expertise for a moment?"

"My expertise?" The brunette looked a bit baffled at the idea as she turned around to greet them. "Oh, hello Leon. Are you alright, Clarice?"

"This lout mentioned food, and now I'm starving," the redhead declared.

"That's right; blame me, not you missing breakfast," he told her. "Are there any stalls that you'd recommend for something reasonably substantial? More than tea and cookies."

"Oh. Oh!" Katarina exclaimed, "Well, there's a lovely sandwich stall - and Olivia is selling some cakes made with vegetables from my garden."

"I'm sorry, vegetables from what garden?"

The younger girl blinked innocently. "Oh, I've been growing them on my garden plot. It's very educational, preparing me so I can become a farmer!"

"Why would you…" Clarice broke off as her stomach rumbled.

Katarina gasped. "It's an emergency." She lifted a small paper bag she was carrying. "Here, take this!"

"Uh…" The second year accepted the bag, opened it and found a napkin wrapped slice of fruit pie. She hesitated, sniffed at the pie and then took a bite… and then more, wolfing it down with very little in the way of manners.

Leon shook his head in amusement. "Where's that sandwich stall, please? I think we'd better go there before Clarice gnaws my arm off."

"I'm not -" The redhead wiped her lips with the napkin. "- that bad." Her stomach rumbled again though - clearly not sated.

"You say that," he warned. Somehow he didn't think she'd make it to the play. Once her stomach was full, he'd be surprised if Clarice could stave off a food coma. "But something tells me that we'd better play it safe."

Katarina provided directions to the stall. "And you only have to go a little further to find Olivia's stall."

"If the pie came from there, then I'll definitely go there," the older girl promised. "Thank you for sharing yours with me."

The brunette shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Eating is important, you need to look after yourself."

"Leon's been telling me much the same."

At the stall, Leon bought an entire platter of the sandwiches. They were relatively dainty attempts, the crusts cut away and not exactly heaped with fillings - but it was better than most of the alternatives and Clarice seemed satisfied with the selection. "You can't possibly expect me to eat all of these, though."

"I've also not had my lunch yet," he pointed out.

"Ah, I see. Well at least let me get the drinks."

With cups of tea in front of them, the pair commandeered one of the tables that had been set out for use by guests and dug in. For all of Clarice's protests, she daintily nibbled her way through the vast majority of the sandwiches Leon had bought, while he only ate four.

"Do you have an understudy for your part?" he asked.

Clarice blinked. "Yes? I mean, Lord Ascart is very thorough. Everyone has one. We just met her, in fact."

Leon arched an eyebrow. "Lady Claes?"

"Mmm." She hid a yawn. "Oh dear, mother would be shocked. More shocked." Then she looked up sharply. "I can't just drop out, Leon!"

"You can't? I thought that that was the point of an understudy."

"Yes, but I'm playing the evil countess. Even if Katarina's studied the lines, you think little miss sugar and spice and everything nice can pull that off?"

Leon smiled. Katarina's festival and her stage debut were due in her second year, but he didn't think moving it forward would matter much. "Is that what you think of her?"

"I like her, everyone does. But can you see her as a villainess?"

Oh, it hurt not to laugh. Although the way his ribs felt, it would also hurt to laugh. "Lady Atlee, would you be interested in a small wager?"

"I can't believe you talked me into this," Clarice told Leon as he led her to one of the box seats looking out at the stage. Normally the boxes were restricted to distinguished attendees, but the festival was supposed to be informal so for the purposes of the play all of the guests were sitting down among the students on the main floor. While the box hadn't been specifically cleaned for the event, it was still well maintained so they were able to sit and watch from the anonymity of the shadows.

Leon pulled a seat back for her, and once she was comfortable he sat down next to her. "If you fall asleep mid-performance, it'd be a little obvious down in the audience."

"I meant ditching on the play."

"I think it would be even more obvious if you were on stage." Nicol hadn't raised any objection over Clarice telling him that she wasn't going to be up to participating. To be fair, the stoic student council president was hard to read a lot of the time but overall Leon thought that he was relieved that his cousin looked calmer than she had since the previous term.

Clarice punched him a little in the arm and then looked alarmed. "I'm sorry, I forgot your arm!"

"Other arm," Leon assured her. "And I asked Olivia to apply some of her light magic while you were eating dessert. I should be fine by tomorrow."

His companion flushed at the reminder of three portions of pie that she'd devoured - in addition to the one Katarina had earnestly donated previously. "That's impressive. Jilk is still under doctor's orders not to do anything too energetic for a few days after the festival."

"Well, I don't wish to be unfair to Lady Lafan - she's worked very hard to make the most of her light magic."

"You can be a little unfair to her."

"She's not as good as Olivia," Leon said bluntly.

Clarice laughed, sounding sincere. "True in both senses of the words you used." She sighed, tried to lean closer and then snorted as she realised that the chair arm prevented it.

"There's a sort of couch back there, but I hate to think what it's been used for in the past," Leon told her, looking at the other furnishings available in the box. There were three seats here at the front but alternative seating options stood ready for servants to put them in place behind - the box wasn't just the balcony jutting out, various other facilities were laid on. It was probably intended as the royal box actually.

"It's called a chaise longue, you barbarian," she said fondly. "And I'm sure it's been cleaned. Sure, if you think you can move it with your arm."

"I can but try." Leon tried lifting it, and concluded that dragging it would be wiser. Clarice moved her own seat aside, which was quite a concession under Holfort custom. Leon set the other two chairs out of the way before getting the chaise lounge into position. Clarice waved him to the side with back support and perched herself next to him. "If I sat there I might actually fall asleep," she confessed.

Of course, once he was sitting down, Leon found Clarice leaning against him. So she was trying to avoid having anything to rest against… by resting against him. He was going to go with 'she was tired and not thinking this through'.

The lights dimmed, except on stage where Violette took centre stage with a violin to warm the audience up. She was playing a duet with Alan, but the boy wasn't visible since moving the grand piano out would be an unnecessary amount of effort.

Clarice exhaled. "I only hope Katarina doesn't forget her lines."

Leon looked for a place to rest his left arm and finally decided he could only risk putting it around the girl's shoulders. She didn't object.

The curtains drew back and he was left dividing his attention between the girl next to him and the actors on stage. Having avoided getting roped in, he wasn't exactly sure how it was going to go. It was a classic, but adaptations for the stage always had their own twists to apply - and Sophia Fia Ascart had provided the script, with her doting brother as the only real restraint. This could get interesting.

The first act of the story was fairly standard, as Sophia hadn't taken the time-saving option of cutting the villainesses down from three to two. Clarice had been relaxed until Katarina stepped out onto the stage, to play her part as the evil Countess - future evil Countess rather, since for now she was playing a mere 'friend' of Mercedes Fou Herrera.

The girl was clearly floundering and at a loss, and Clarice cringed as with prompting from Mary (the future evil Marchioness), Katarina managed some very faked lines professing fondness and support for Mercedes.

"She didn't remember a single line," the redhead complained. "You said she'd be fine!"

Leon winced as an elbow dug into his side. "Clarice, she's supposed to sound fake: she's portraying someone who's scheming to betray Mercedes."

"She's supposed to sound insincere, not fake. You're losing this bet!"

"Wait and see," he promised.

Clarice relaxed against him. "Don't think I won't collect," she muttered, her cheek pressed against his shoulder.

"I know, I know."

Down below, to further musical accompaniment by Alan, machinations played out. Framed for conspiracy against the crown, a shocked Mercedes was arrested and dragged before a court to be charged and condemned. All her friends deserted her but even so, the evidence was threadbare.

"This is going to be a disaster," Clarice warned as Katarina stepped in once more. It was the big scene for her character. "She's going to freeze."

"Maybe," Leon admitted. "But the thing to remember about Katarina is that while she's a lovely person, she was born to play the role of villainess."

Gerald, playing the judge, expressed his doubts and…

"Right? Wrong?" Katarina stalked over to him. "Are we not the ones who decide these things? Why let others govern you?" She jabbed one finger at him. "I thought I was here to speak to a man, not a mouse!"

"That's not right," Clarice exclaimed, stiffening.

"My lady," Gerald remained dubious, "These claims that have been made are…"

"How long are you prepared to be looked down on! How often have you seen others rise up? If ambition is a sin, then I am indeed a sinner, but how much more is it a crime for you to waste your talents! Dare you rise up and take hold of your own destiny?"

"Oh… my god."

Leon nodded, staring down at the stage.

The deal was done, the guilty verdict given… and as Mercedes fell to the floor in grief and despair, Katarina stood over her, fully enveloped in the role of the evil countess.

"Those weren't the lines," Clarice declared as the story followed Mercedes into her imprisonment in the remote island she'd been condemned to. "But I have to admit, they should have been."

"Sophia would swear blind she rewrote the scene to fit Katarina," Leon told her, "I don't think we can use adherence to the script as a guide."

"Oh you've won the bet." Clarice pinched him. "Don't gloat. I really believed her for a moment. She was that convincing. Even if she gets the rest wrong, she just stole the show as a villainess."

Leon laughed and patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry, you'll always be my evil countess."

"That's sweet," the girl said sleepily.

They watched quietly, Clarice's eyes half-lidded, as the play intercut between the rise of the three villainesses alongside their new husbands, while Mercedes suffered in her cell, finally befriended by the disgraced priestess (Scarlet using her pale hair to pretend to be much older than she actually was) in the cell next to hers. As the first act wound up, the priestess died and guards - Brad and Julius, in non-speaking roles since neither had had the time to learn lines - carried the bag that supposedly contained the corpse but actually held the living Mercedes to throw into the sea.

The audience were rapt, or at least most of the female portion, since to compensate for the lack of lines, the prince and his friend were shirtless for the scene.

"Ugh," Clarice admitted, rubbing her eyes as the lights came on for the first intermission. "I hate to say it, but you were right. I can barely keep my eyes open. Even if Katarina had flubbed the part entirely, at least she's awake."

"Do you want something?" Leon offered.

"...I think I'd better go back to my rooms," the girl decided. "But before that, I should at least tell Katarina what a great job she's doing. I owe her that for dropping this on her at the last minute."

Leon helped her to stand, and realised there was no way she could wait for him to put the chairs back. If the staff wondered next time the box was used, there would be a little mystery for them.

Clarice tried to stretch. "I wish I'd done something like this before," she admitted. "If I… no, dammit! I don't want to waste my life thinking of what I could have done with him."

"So think of what you might do in the future?"

"I like that better. But… it's not easy."

"No, I don't suppose it is."

Sophia greeted them at the door. "Clarice! You look much better!"

"I guess I worried you too." The redhead hugged her younger cousin. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright." The little albino hugged her back. "Are you alright now?"

"No." It obviously pained Clarice to say that. "But… I think maybe I might be."

Sophia nodded. "I hope so. If you need anything…"

"I'll let you know."

To Leon's surprise, he got a hug from Sophia as well. "Thank you, Leon," the girl whispered, standing on tip-toes to say the words into his ear.

Nicol emerged from the shadows. "Sophia, Katarina is fretting about forgetting her lines." He turned towards Leon and very nearly had an expression. "Am I interrupting?"

"No, it's fine." His sister released Leon and stepped back. "I'll go and tell her she's doing fine."

"She's more than fine," Clarice added. "She's amazing, doing much better than I would have."

"I wasn't going to say it," the girl said with a cheeky smile and then scurried away.

Leon spread his hands slightly towards Nicol, to convey his innocence of wrongdoing. The older boy was still considering him carefully.

"Don't give him grief, Nicol." Clarice walked over and hugged her cousin lightly. "Sophia was just thanking him for talking sense into me."

"I think it was more than talking," the third year observed, supporting Clarice as she leant against him. "Your efforts are appreciated, Lord Bartford. You've gone… above and beyond for Clarice. I suppose I should have expected as much after how you supported Angelica."

"It's… well, it wasn't all a pleasure, but it was a good cause and I'm glad it's working out for her."

"I was going to congratulate Katarina," Clarice told them, "But it sounds like she's stressed enough. She's really doing well."

"She often does. Are you going to stay for the rest of the play?"

The redhead shook her head. "I'm exhausted. If Leon doesn't mind my imposing on him again, I think I need to get some sleep. I hate to miss the play but right now it's fall asleep in my dorm or fall asleep watching the act, and I wouldn't insult all your efforts by doing the latter."

"I suppose that Lord Bartford is very practised at providing an escort, even if we have had to re-arrange cover for Princess Hertrude today," conceded the Student Council President quietly. "In a good cause."

"You're such a softie," Clarice told him before stepping back. Leon caught her arm and steadied her.

The music being played for the intermission changed and the students acting as stagehands raced to finish moving sets around. Presumably time was running out before the play resumed.

"We should let you get on," Leon offered.

Nicol nodded. "Whatever you decide, Clarice, we want you to be happy."

"That means a lot."

What decision, Leon wondered. Is her father suggesting another fiance? Probably not. Maybe he means her servants… What happened to them anyway? She dismissed them after the race, and I haven't seen them since. I don't think she's going to want their attention tonight but I don't think Clarice will just throw them out on the streets.

Away from the noise and warmth of the hall, the twilight campus was quiet and cool. Clarice shivered, obviously regretting that she wasn't wearing her uniform jacket. Leon unbuttoned his own and put it around her shoulders. The redhead used her free hand to pull it closer around herself - it wouldn't really fit, but at least it would keep her warmer.

The girls' dorms were a little more spacious than those for boys, but they also had space for servants and other services that were expected for the female students. The concierge raised an eyebrow as Leon pushed the door open and held it for Clarice. "Lady Atlee, can I help you with anything?"

Leon was fairly sure the concierge at his own dorm wouldn't help him unless he was on fire.

"I'm turning in early," the girl declared. "Have someone tell my servants not to bother me tomorrow." She closed her fingers around Leon's wrist. "Another thing I need to deal with."

"That sounds like a problem for future-Clarice," Leon counselled. "It's not something you need to handle tonight."

"I can't put it off forever." She rubbed her face. "But I guess tomorrow isn't forever."

They reached the stairs and Clarice tripped on the first step, only not falling because Leon caught her. Without waiting for her to protest, he moved his arms and scooped her up. He was very glad he'd taken the chance for Olivia to heal his arm.

"Oh this is nice." She rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm gonna make this up for you."

I'm really regretting stuffing you with all those sandwiches, he thought and carried the girl up the stairs. "Where's your room?" Following her directions, they reached the door and Clarice managed to fish out a key from her pocket.

Unlocking the door proved a challenge and finally Leon had to lower her to stand as he opened it for her. Inside, the room was the same sort of standard he'd found when he visited Angelica the day before.

Clarice leant against him, his jacket still around her, her head pressed against his shoulder. Leon was taller than her, but not by all that much. She didn't move, save for her breathing.

"Clarice?" he asked quietly. Did she fall asleep standing up?

There was a catch in her breath. "I'm a shameless woman."

Leon rested his hand on her back and rubbed it, hoping she'd find it soothing. "You've made mistakes. We've all made some. The important thing is to learn from them."

"I'm not talking about that," she mumbled.

"Okay?"

"Leon?"

"Yes?"

Clarice reached around him. One hand wrapped around his back. The other - well, it sounded like she had hold of the door. "I… can you do me one more favour?"

"What can I help with?"

The girl in his arms raised her face for a moment, eyes red-rimmed. "Stay with me?" she asked in a small voice.

For a moment, Leon wasn't sure what to say. Then he decided this wasn't a moment for words. He leant forwards and kissed her on the forehead.

Clarice pushed the door closed behind them.