Empathy
How curious. Jane had never seen anything like it.
Mary Poppins never smiled at anything, let alone her shoes. Not unless they were particularly fancy, but these were her normal boots. Both Jane and the shoes seemed to know the smile was not for them.
The nanny was even teasing. As if she were happy. Impossible… Yet, the woman herself had told Jane that she shouldn't believe in impossibilities. With that thought in mind, she supposed that Mary Poppins really was happy. How pretty she looked with the small dimples on either side.
Watching the scene unfold before her, Jane's mouth began to form into a small 'o'. If Mary Poppins had looked anywhere else, other than the flowers she had just been handed, she might have told her off.
But Jane knew why she didn't notice, and she also knew why Mary Poppins was so happy. It wasn't because of the sudden clear sky, the sun appearing from behind the clouds, nor was it the birds as they chirped past, saying something only the nanny could understand. It wasn't even the lovely drawings that had been sketched onto the pavement surrounding the park.
No, it was the screever. The same screever who could often be found cleaning chimneys and selling roasted chestnuts on a bleak day.
Jane began to smile too, a knowing, smug smile. For Mary Poppins was distracted by none other than Mr Herbert Alfred. And she knew what that meant.