As she primped herself in front of the window in the little model village, Arrietty took sight of herself and smiled. She had grown and matured a great deal in the last year since she and her family had left Fir Bank. Her face had become more angular and the fat of her youth had largely left, and her lips were now pink.
She smiled, thinking of how she and Spiller had gone back to Fir bank, to collect the boat. On their way back, they'd had sex when they'd been caught in a storm. There was nothing either of them could do, except talk. Arrietty had asked Spiller, taking care to choose her words carefully - she had never worked out why Spiller disliked being questioned so much, so she had to watch herself so she didn't offend him - and asked if he had a girlfriend.
Spiller didn't, and she was upset he had been alone for so long. But he did reveal he was interested in a girl.
It was Arrietty herself.
Arrietty had nursed an interest, a crush on Spiller since the day they'd met. After that, she kissed him and they'd had sex before they'd had to leave, only to run into Ditchley and Ilrick again.
Thinking of her cousins made Arrietty grimace. When she had seen that half-scissor, Arrietty had gone mad; she knew one half-scissor looked a lot like any other, but there were distinctive marks that were identical to the one Spiller had Borrowed from them.
Ditchley and Ilrick were not Borrowers.
They were thieves.
They stole from other Borrowers, which was how they got so much. Eggletina's story had confirmed her thoughts, and she knew her father had been suspicious of them for some time.
Those two thugs had come after her and her family because of a piece of cheese that her father had gotten off a mouse trap, of all things. There was no doubt in her mind that the Harpsichords had already left Ivy Cottage; the water had been drained away thanks to those idiots pulling up the plug in the bathtub; it wouldn't take long for the Harpsichords to realise it was gone, but whether or not Hendreary had gone to investigate as there was nobody else in the house, or Eggletina had revealed what happened, although Arrietty doubted she would have done that since she didn't have any proof.
Arrietty shrugged her shoulders; she didn't know what Aunt Lupy would do, but as long as she never saw those particular cousins again, she didn't care, but she felt Eggletina would make a wonderful Borrower if she was given a chance. As she walked down the street, Arrietty wondered if she had a future with Spiller or not.
Author's Note - I loved the 1990s TV series, starring Ian Holm, and I saw moments where Arrietty and Spiller were getting closer. Its a shame more romance wasn't possible.