Thumb Rings and Ballet Slippers

"Perfect little hostess, isn't she?"

Plato blinked in surprise as Quaxo sidled up to him with a flute of champagne between his thumb and index finger, teasingly brushing his lips every now and then but it was evident the other man was barely drinking any of it, he figured it was due to the man's state last night that resulted in him parading around the same living room in a corset. He looked much more respectable now, a lot more like he was expecting with a button down shirt and leather shoes Plato was about to ask what he meant but then he nodded to the girl of the hour and Plato understood in great clarity that he was mocking the way his little sister was dashing around and making sure everyone was happy. What had meant to be an outing for dinner turned into drinks and a makeshift buffet at the girl's flat because all of the suitable restaurants had been booked for the weekend and Victoria couldn't bear asking people to a grubby steak and ale pie kind of place. That meant that Victoria had roped Jemima, and poor Etcetera too for a short time before she left claiming that she had work, into cleaning and polishing the whole place all afternoon, including their own separate bedrooms just in case, while she cut pieces of fruit and cheese fervently in the kitchen. Her hands were sore now from arranging pasta dishes and making finger sandwiches with a variety of fillings.

Plato laughed a little at the magician's joke but he couldn't deny that she truly did look at home. He had not pictured Victoria being the nurturing type, he had always put that down to her room mate, but the way she made sure conversation was flowing and that no one's glasses went empty made him think otherwise. The place was transformed too; the random books scattered around were put in their rightful place on the bookshelf, the trinkets both of them had inherited from their families or from second hand shops looked new, the laminate flooring shone under the ceiling lights. It was different but not unsuitable for the mingled scents of honey, tea and lavender burning oil were still very prominent, it still felt like Victoria's home.

His girlfriend stood proudly, talking to Tugger (who Plato recognised from morning TV and had to stifle his noises of admiration) and Rumpleteazer, and he couldn't feel luckier to have her. Her hair fell in soft curls, her eyes were lined subtly and shone when she smiled, she wore a floral dress which was similar to the one she wore on their first date and when she was listening to someone else talk her lips formed that gorgeous pout of hers which was only emphasised by the pink she had smeared on them.

"It suits her," Plato replied, "She seems to be enjoying herself."

"She's terrified," Quaxo quipped with a small smirk, "Because the grand arrival of our darling Uncle hasn't happened yet."

And it was true. Victoria was terrified about her Uncle coming. He had been one of their main caretakers growing up since their Father was always commuting from city to city with his work and their Mother was more taken on hosting dinner parties than ensuring her children were in bed on time. Not that their parents hadn't done a good job, not that they weren't respectable and loving people but they were always slightly distracted. But their Uncle had never been distracted, despite his slightly pompous exterior. He would pretend to be Quaxo's glamorous assistant when the boy wanted to test his illusions, speaking in a ridiculous falsetto and tottering around as though he was on heels. He would bundle Victoria into his arms when she fell asleep on the sofa after a long day of dance practice and carry her to her bed, kissing her hair and wishing her a good night and sweet dreams.

So she wanted to impress, to show him that she had taken all that he'd taught her on board and now she didn't need anyone to cradle her to sleep. Most of all, she wanted to show him that he hadn't wasted his time travelling down from London to see her dance recitals, that the money he had invested in her training when her Father stopped seeing it as a necessity meant something. He had only paid for a month or two until her Mother convinced her husband that it was wrong of them to ask her brother to pay for something Victoria loved so much, then her Father started up his payments again begrudgingly, mumbling that he'd rather her get an academic profession that was steady.

"I've heard about him," Plato answered, "He's pretty important, right? He's got a government job and stuff."

"He does. A seat in parliament and everything," it was only when Quaxo said this Plato realised how different his upbringing and Victoria's had been. It was unsettling somewhat, for him to be punching above his weight in both appearance and social status.

But then she smiled, laughing at a joke that Rumpleteazer had said, and all the doubt in his mind cleared because she was beautiful and she chose him too.

"It was good of him to come then," he said, "I mean, on such short notice."

"Oh he wouldn't miss this," Quaxo said with a grin, "She's his pride and joy, that girl. To be fair, we both are. He never had kids himself so we're the closest thing he's got to having them. He almost settled down once, to Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer's Mother, Jemima's Auntie Jenny."

"Really?" Plato answered, not all that interested in the love loss between a politician and Jemima's Auntie Jenny but happy that he was bonding with his girlfriend's brother, "How come it didn't work out?"

Quaxo looked at Rumpleteazer and smiled a little, the gossip within him that he usually kept at bay in full bloom, "Don't worry, it'll be all we hear this evening. He won't be able to get over them being here, especially since the twins look a lot like the man who actually ended up with her."

It had been an hour now. Victoria was getting anxious, she excused herself from Tugger and Rumpleteazer and made her way to Jemima who had been sat with Mungojerrie all night, laughing at his jokes and hitting him playfully like a child. She sat next to her friend, keeping a forced smile on her lips as Mungojerrie finished his story and Jemima turned to look at her with a little smile.

"Here she is," the words fell from her lips like a song, "Have you seen this girl do that tip-toe-pointy thing? It's really amazing."

"He's not here yet," Victoria said, her smile still prominent though her hands were shaking a little nervously. Jemima gave her a look of sympathy and took her quivering hands in her own,

"He'll be here soon and he'll be so proud of you," she whispered before raising her voice slightly so that Mungojerrie could hear her too, "But mainly he'll be impressed by the amazing cleaning job someone did on this flat. I learned how to polish today, Jerrie!"

"Mum'd be proud," he answered with a chuckle before nudging Victoria's knee slightly, "Here. She's a right slob, isn't she?"

"She is," Victoria said with a giggle, feeling the tension in her shoulders subside slightly.

"Learned from the best," he answered, pointing to himself, "Mum hated me talking to Jemima because said midget used to be so worried about being pristine, ship-shape and Bristol fashion and I converted her to the ways of the sloth."

"It was always in me, you just helped me find it from within."

And soon Victoria found herself being sucked into a conversation about the mugs Jemima left scattered around the flat and then onto her leaving her pointe shoes in the middle of the floor so that Jemima would trip over them and then about her randomly falling into the splits. It was all natural, an effect that Jemima and her family seemed to have on Victoria. Nothing was forced, everything that needed to be said was said and it was something she'd always admired about her room mate and her family. Victoria was an emotional person, she conducted her life based on what feels right at the time with little thought about consequences. She could barely have a debate with someone without tearing up, couldn't simply enjoy someone's presence without being completely transfixed by them. She always joked about Jemima being sensitive whenever the younger girl would cry at a good song or a story about some charity scheme shown on the news, but she knew that she definitely had less of a grip on her emotions than Jemima did. Which was why when the door knocked, she stood shakily and felt her eyes water just because she was afraid of the person outside the door, and she knew who it was, would disapprove of the flat or of the life she'd been living carelessly up to this point. Jemima stood with her and grabbed her arm to steady her shaking and Quaxo gave her a reassuring smile.

"I'll get it?" he offered and she painted on a smile again before nodding.

Her brother dashed to the door and a booming place filled the apartment and made nearly everyone stop to look at the new arrival. Jemima peered at her room mate with concern as Victoria's breath caught in her throat, Plato came over and placed a hand in the curve of her back. He was about to ask if she wanted to get some air when a genuine smile graced her face and lit up her eyes as the visitor made his way through.

The famous Uncle Bustopher was a portly man, dressed in a suit with a slightly ridiculous flower where a normal gentleman's handkerchief would be. It was obvious that once he had been very attractive and in some ways he resembled his niece and nephew. He had thick black hair that he had parted precisely, his skin was pale but botched with pink from the cold air outside, his eyes were kind and slim as though he was permanently smiling but they were almost the exact shade of blue that could be found in both Quaxo and Victoria's doll eyes and while he was a gentleman of a more robust figure, he stood with excellent posture.

He laughed when he saw Victoria but it wasn't unkindly, he opened his arms and walked over to her before engulfing her into a bone shattering embrace. Jemima took this as her cue to sit back down beside her cousin but Plato stood with his eyebrows raised in alarm, unsure whether or not to rush to Victoria's aid since it looked incredibly uncomfortable for her.

But then she began to laugh too, her eyes crinkled and her incredibly white teeth bared. Bustopher pulled back and cupped her face with one of his large hands,

"Incredibly proud of you," he said with a grin, "My sweet, we knew this would happen at some point and I'm so proud of you. Have you told your parents yet?"

"Yes, Uncle Bustopher," she replied and he chuckled again before pulling her into another hug, this time shorter.

"Good girl. Now, you promised your famous egg and crest sandwiches, my dear. The trek has truly wore me out,"

The evening progressed well. Victoria used the next hour to catch up with her Uncle, her nerves at ease now that he was here and smiling at her with that sweet, familiar smile of his. He would tell her every five or ten minutes about how proud he was, occasionally he would hug her again and she inhaled his smell of cigars and humbug sweets appreciatively. She'd introduced him to Plato and he looked him up and down with a mixture of discomfort and approval.

"Handsome devil, isn't he?" Bustopher said to her, "Sit down son, tell me what you do."

Plato had worried about this bit, had not wanted to tell this obviously important man that he was flitting between being a gym instructor and a nursery nurse but when he mumbled it with an embarrassed grin Bustopher clapped him on the shoulder and smiled.

"Another health fanatic, I see! I wish I could claim to have the same inkling for it as Victoria and yourself but as is apparent, I never got on with those finicky machines and running just bores me."

Victoria laughed her hands enclosed in her Uncle's and blinking up at him as though he was everything right with the world, meaning Plato took it upon himself to chuckle slightly before profusely denying that Bustopher was anything but the pique of physical condition.

"You're a nice lad," Bustopher said laughing, "But I see as plain as day that I am fat and it doesn't bother me. My size isn't all there is to me, I'm an educated and influential man and I use my position as well as I can to benefit others so being large doesn't matter at all. Understand?"

Plato nodded, a new appreciation for this man and Victoria kissed her Uncle's cheek, teasing him for getting political at her congratulations party.

"I agree," Rumpleteazer said, sauntering over and sitting beside her twin on the sofa as Jemima stood so that Bustopher could take a seat, "And it doesn't take away from the fact you're a very handsome gentleman."

She winked, her cockney accent teasing and she knew that he would notice who she was sooner or later. Sure enough, he blinked at her with recognition and clapped his hands together jovially when he realised who he was talking to.

"Jenny's girl!" he announced before gesturing to Mungojerrie who was watching with a little smirk, "And her son too, how wonderful to see you both!"

Plato felt Quaxo at his shoulder, the magician craned his head so that he could whisper into his ear but Plato still had to duck given how small he was.

"Get ready, he'll be talking about Jenny's soft arms soon."

Plato sniggered as Quaxo cocked his head to the side cheekily before making his way over to Tugger who was loitering by the sandwiches alone since Rumpleteazer had left him to talk to the more important man in the suit.

His house mate grinned at him as Quaxo stood next to him, taking a sip from his drink as he watched whilst Bustopher began to entertain the little group surrounding him with the twins sat beside him on the sofa and Jemima balanced on Mungojerrie's lap, Victoria perched on the sofa arm so she could still smile at her Uncle with adoration and Plato with his chin balanced on her head.

"Cosy, isn't it?" Quaxo said with a grin.

Tugger moved closer to him, sliding one of his arms onto the table that held the food Victoria left out for them before one of his hands found his companion's back pocket and it rested there.

"What do you think your Uncle would say if I told him what the golden nephew did this morning?" he mumbled with a smirk, Quaxo raised his eyebrows for he already knew the game that was coming and wouldn't fall for it again.

"I have no idea what you mean," he said with all the dignity he could muster, though his smile was a little wider now.

"I can remind you if you want," Tugger's voice was low and husky, "You get us out of here early and I can remind you right now."

"We can't leave early," Quaxo said because he knew it would be wrong to step out of his younger sister's congratulation celebration to be intimate with his house mate who was currently pressing a little closer than what could be considered appropriate, he suddenly thanked every God in existence that everyone was listening intently, and a little uneasily in the twins and Jemima's case, to Bustopher recount the first time he kissed Jennyanydots.

"Well if you don't object to using your little sister's room, or the midget opera singer's..."

"You're disgusting."

"You love it."

He did. He loved that Tugger was careless in the way he showed affection especially when it was directed at him but he couldn't get sucked into this right now, not when Victoria was so happy to have most of the people she loved celebrating her victory. So he pulled himself away and whispered,

"Later."

Tugger groaned slightly but Quaxo rolled his eyes and nodded towards the group, "We should go over."

"Yes Mum."

Bustopher was in the middle of recounting how he'd returned home to the country to find that Jenny had moved away in his absence. Mungojerrie and Jemima looked incredibly uncomfortable for they knew what they came next but Rumpleteazer listened as though this was the first time they'd heard this story.

"Well anyway," Bustopher said with a grin, "I'm a hopeless romantic, you'd never guess of course but I'm definitely where Victoria gets it from."

He nodded at his niece who smiled gently and sunk into Plato's arms further, feeling content with how the evening was panning out. She'd had horrible visions of Bustopher coming in and pulling a certain face or walking in a weird manner that'd mean that he didn't like what he saw, that he disapproved of what was going on in her life. Perhaps had it not been for the cleaning rampage she made Jemima go on and the food she had made with care, had they not moved the coffee table to the side of the room to open up the space and polished all the photo frames, perhaps he would have. But he was here now and being so like the Uncle she knew and loved, it was easy to just listen to him harp on about a story she'd heard a thousand times before.

"So I got on a train and went up to where she lived, her Mother had given me the address you see. So I knocked at the door and there she was stood, looking lovelier than ever with another man's ring on her finger."

"Oh Uncle," Quaxo cooed as he made his way over with Tugger at his heel, "Is this really the occasion to be talking about your greatest heartbreak?"

"Oh shush Quaxo, I like hearing Uncle's stories," Victoria teased with her tongue poked out.

"Yeah, I think we're getting to the good part too," Rumpleteazer joined in, her eyes fixed on Bustopher. Her twin blinked at her in disbelief, the man Bustopher was talking about was their Father and Mungojerrie had nothing but the highest respect for his Father. Their Dad had been the only reason that Mungojerrie had cut all ties with his shady past of organised crime and theft, whenever he got the urge to break into a fancy looking car just for the thrill of it he imagined his Father's disappointed shrug of the shoulders and it snapped him out of it. He was uncomfortable with his Father being described as the 'other man' and was shocked at Rumpleteazer's interest, even Jemima was shrinking away slightly from the story but Rumpleteazer was all up for listening how their parents' marriage broke this man's heart. Perhaps it was because their Mother had never gone into detail about it, saying that it made their Father uncomfortable.

Bustopher waited for it to settle down before continuing in the posh baritone of his, "Well Jenny let me in of course and her new lover was out working, so I confessed all of my feelings to her, I was suave back in those days but I can remember tripping over my words, and she took my hands in hers before telling me that she had loved me too once but now it was different."

Tugger finally caught up with what was going on, he blinked in surprise before coughing abruptly.

"Jenny? Jennyanydots?" he said with surprise.

"Hello Tugger, son. It's good to see you. Yes, Jennyanydots," Bustopher grinned at him, being familiar with the famous Deuteronomy's youngest son and having met him occasionally when having lunch with his Father.

"I never knew Jenny was such a tease," he said with a little smirk.

"Oh she was," Bustopher continued, "So I told her that it could go back to those days, when I used to spend my summer in the country with her, those picnics in the evening amongst dandelions. She told me no but I pursued until she finally admitted that she was to be married in a mere month and was carrying this man's child, or two of his children I suppose but there was no way of knowing. She hadn't even told him at this point but she was always kind and she knew that was the closure I needed. So I stayed for a while, she made me a cup of tea as she does..."

Victoria smirked pointedly at Jemima who rolled her eyes while biting back giggles.

"Then I met the chap and I knew for sure I couldn't cling to her. He was a kind man, self-made and he worked at the railway. So I wished them luck and I left, I see her now and again but I can't help but think..." he paused, "Perhaps it's not proper for me to say."

"Go ahead, sir," Rumpleteazer said, pressing a hand to his forearm and smiling up at him.

"If it had gone differently then you could have been my children, understand? And my sweet girl," he said nodding towards Jemima, "You could have been my niece. You and Victoria would have been blood."

Mungojerrie's jaw locked and clenched in annoyance, knowing that the man didn't intend to stir up the infuriated feelings but not caring. Jemima placed a hand on his chest and smiled at Bustopher sweetly.

"To be honest, Mr Bustopher sir," she was unsure about what to call him and it made him chuckle, "I think of Victoria as a sister already, so being blood wouldn't have mattered. And Uncle Skimble is a great Father and Uncle, as you are to Vicky and Mistoffelees there."

Victoria felt a surge of affection towards her room mate, Jemima had a knack of being intensely sweet without meaning to and it was something she loved about her. She thought of Jemima as a sister too but the feeling had never been articulated so that it was reciprocated without any prompt from her meant that Victoria was doing something right. Victoria had never been very good at making friends when she was younger, she was painfully shy and not very vocal at all so it meant that people mistook her for arrogant. When she got older, she made more friends and came more out of her shell but she couldn't shake the stigma of being the spoiled daughter of a rich family that didn't speak. Jemima reinforced her hopes that she was improving and she did it so effortlessly, it made her want to envelope the smaller girl in a hug to show her how much it meant. Plato rubbed her shoulder, perhaps feeling how she'd let out a shaky breath in order to calm her emotions and Victoria couldn't remember ever feeling so loved.

"Oh of course!" Bustopher said, "Skimbleshanks and I are good friends now, I'd say I speak to him more than I do to her over the phone and whatnot. He's the type of man who rings you up just to check if you're okay, such a nice fellow. I can't be happier for him, it's just hard not to dwell on the past, you see?"

Jemima nodded and felt Mungojerrie relax slightly. Rumpleteazer beamed,

"I think it's very sweet of you."

"Yes, well," he said, finding his mouth dry after rambling on about his story, "I think I must try some of that pasta you've set out, Victoria."

And then the minutes passed, and hours passed and Bustopher got more and more pink in the face from drinking more champagne that was really sensible. Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer left first, Mungojerrie had curtseyed to Victoria jokingly before picking up his younger cousin and swinging her around with reckless abandon, eliciting a squeal from her as she smacked him to put her down.

"You're looking after yourself, aren't you?" he asked her, concern suddenly apparent in his face as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Jesus, Jerrie! Serious doesn't suit you," she said giggling although feeling her chest hurt, "You know me, I'm fine."

"I do know you which is why I know you won't ask for help because you're an idiot," he said, his brows raised but his tone lighter, "Just make sure you call me or Teazer if you need anything, okay? I mean it, Jem. Even if it's just a cup full of sugar, you ring us."

"Sir, yes, sir," she whispered, giving him another hug as he kissed her forehead. Mungojerrie had taken the role of being her new big brother rather seriously when she first moved in with them and obviously wasn't ready to let it go, she supposed it was because neither Rumpleteazer or Electra considered him as a 'big brother' because he was a bit of an idiot sometimes so he saw an opportunity to become something different with Jemima and clung to it.

Rumpleteazer hugged Victoria, bringing the younger girl in close and squeezing her slightly. She had grown fond of the ballerina over their months of working alongside each other in that awful café. She'd miss their busy afternoons where they both stole a moment to roll their eyes at each other, a silent promise that they would complain together when they were cleaning up for closing time. She'd miss their quiet early mornings where they'd sneak a cup of hot chocolate each, doodle on their notepads and gossip until a ridiculously 'indie' man came up and asked for an obscure cup of coffee and a pasta dish to match for his day at work.

"Well, I'm happy for you but I'm not ashamed to say it'll be crap when you leave the caf', not that I'd wish it upon you," Rumpleteazer joked as she pulled back and brushed a stray ginger strand of hair off of her face.

"I still have a few weeks," Victoria said with a smile.

"Yes you do, enough time to try and find a blonde ballet dancer that's crying out for their big break so they can stick around and befriend me before running off to do some big TV stint to fill your place."

Victoria cringed a little but Rumpleteazer started to laugh before hugging her again and mumbling that she was incredibly pleased for her. She pulled back then and hugged her younger cousin, joking that the men with thick-rimmed glasses and beanies would be beside themselves with grief in a few weeks and that if she ever wanted to take Victoria's place as the resident 'pretty one' then she was welcome. Then the twins walked out together, giggling like school kids on the nearly dead London street.

Bustopher didn't stay much longer after they left, he brought Quaxo into a warm embrace.

"You keep doing what you're doing, my boy," he said, his chest puffing out proudly, "And look out for your sister."

The Famous Important Uncle then kissed Victoria gently on her forehead before whispering, "I really am so pleased for you, my darling."

Victoria's eyes watered as her Uncle left and Jemima saw her physically relax, her shoulders sagging slightly and the smile she'd had on her face all evening fall just slightly to give her cheeks a break. She then clapped her hands together and grinned at the people left behind.

"Okay, so you're all people who have to love me no matter what so you can help me tidy the buffet away and move the coffee table back, right?"

"Um, I didn't sign up for loving you no matter what," Jemima interjected, "All my feelings of sisterly affection for you can easily be paid off for a cup of tea and my bed right now."

"Same. I mean, you're great an' all, Blondie but I'm fucking beat," Tugger mumbled, exaggeratedly stretching and yawning but the very pointed look towards Quaxo did not go unnoticed by both the magician in question nor the elfin girl that had started to clean the buffet away despite her reluctant words.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Quaxo teased his younger sister as she grabbed his hand and lead him to the table that needed cleaning up, chuckling as she swatted him playfully before helping like an obedient older brother would. Plato tried to help, his smile eager and his eyes bright, but he ended up getting in Victoria's way more than anything so she sent him to stand with Tugger and to help with shifting the table later.

"Quaxo and I have already hired a taxi, it'll show up in like ten minutes or so," the older man said as Plato sidled next to him dejectedly, "Care to join?"

"That'd be incredibly helpful."

The tidy up operation wasn't incredibly enthusiastic, they dumped the empty plates in the sink and Jemima promised to do them tomorrow in exchange for Victoria allowing her to get changed into her pyjamas and prepare for bed. Plato moved from Tugger after having moved the table and went to Victoria, motioning for him to follow her outside for some air.

Whilst they were alone, Tugger took advantage of the situation and pressed his lips chastely to the back of Quaxo's neck as the magician was bent over the coffee table and playing with the flowers that Plato had brought Victoria earlier as a congratulations. The smaller man sniggered, ignoring the shiver that made it's way down his spine, before raising himself to full height and peering at the other with a weary eye.

"Don't try it, you," Quaxo said, biting back a chuckle at the other's pout, "I'm too tired."

"Okay, okay," Tugger snaked the other's waist with his arms and smiled, "But I've been wanting to do something all night."

"What?"

And with that the biggest slut in London pressed his lips against the other's so tenderly that it came as a surprise to both of them. Tugger didn't kiss like that, Quaxo decided, not usually. It was often in the heat of the moment or sloppily in the morning before either of them had really had a chance to brush their teeth. It was never this intimate, which was silly since he had been physically bare in front of Tugger and had never thought twice about it. But there was something in that kiss, how it was all lips and no tongue nor teeth, how there was no real pressure from either side, how it was just there lingering on the corner of his lips as the taller man pulled back as he heard the patter of little feet and a yell of surprise.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" Jemima covered her eyes, "Continue, don't mind me, just boiling the kettle."

Quaxo blushed furiously which only caused Tugger to laugh more. The taller man rolled his eyes and turned as Jemima tried to manoeuvre herself and find her way into the kitchen.

"You've caught me in much more compromising positions, Jemima," Tugger teased, "Most of the time with your sister."

Jemima moved her hands so she could blink one eye at them and grin, "I'm just glad it's you and not Victoria and Plato. She can never look me in the eye when I walk in on them holding hands."

The couple had relocated outside to share their chaste kisses, of which there were many and although Plato had never been the most passionate when it came to showing his affection toward her, it was rather sweet to blink up into his almost infantile grin while he moved his head so that he could press their lips together gently.

"I'm genuinely so proud of you," he whispered, "I know how hard you've worked for this and I'm so glad it's paid off."

Victoria gave a shaky breath, wondering how she'd managed to pull off trapping Plato. She had been an emotional wreck in the best way today and he handled her effortlessly, with a hand on the shoulder or a kiss to her hair when it was needed. Now, as they stood in the cold air with his coat draped around her shoulders and the lamplights flickering, Victoria realised she had never felt so comfortable with a boy before and decided that it meant that they were good, that they'd be good for the foreseeable future.

She had a job that she loved, a sweet Uncle who would not stop telling her how happy he was for her, a doting brother who brought her food and gossip on a nearly weekly basis, a room mate that Mothered her incessantly and was the kindest person she'd ever had the great fortune of meeting and now a boyfriend who was just... So comfortable and so good.

She was to be comfortable and good. The idea thrilled her.