(A/N): We're back with Amelia, Marta, Logan, Jules, Annette, Nolan, and Spencer. This chapter gave me so much trouble that after a few days of not being able to write anything for it, I gave up and wrote the next chapter. Then immediately wrote two pages for this one. Then a third chapter. So, just goes to show- if you don't feel like writing a particular thing, keep your writing momentum by writing the next thing, then come back to the original thing. It helps!
October 19th, 1967
Amelia
"What do you mean, exactly- 'his disappearance'?" Marta asked almost timidly, and I had to force myself to shrug.
"Well, if Leonides isn't in his bedroom like they insist that he is, then technically, he has disappeared- at least when it comes to our perception of things. Beyond that... we have no proof that even if he's not in the bedroom, he's somewhere within the house. Or that they know where he is, either."
There was silence for a long moment before Logan lifted a hand in a gesture of bemusement, the muscles in his arm flexing atop my shoulders. "So... what? You think he could've run away on his own?" My head shake was automatic, but I stood by it.
"Would he be physically capable of escaping the grounds without notice if he hadn't broken his leg yesterday? Possibly. Do I think he would ever leave Miasenna behind willingly, even for a minute? Absolutely not." I paused for a second, thinking. "If Leonides had run away, they wouldn't be trying to hide it- they would be blaming us. All of us, but me specifically. The fact that they haven't so much as mentioned it other than to say our services aren't needed- or wanted- leads me to believe that either they know exactly where he is, or... they have no idea." A lot of eyes were on me, staring; it didn't exactly make me nervous, but I wasn't the most comfortable, especially when I saw the way Jules's brow furrowed.
"You really think he could have escaped, if he was in good health, and wasn't concerned about his sister? Surely he couldn't sneak past everyone, and then climb over a wall or something, since there are guards at the gates... right?" She sounded unconvinced, though whether that was of my belief in Leonides's abilities, or her belief in every member of staff's ability to catch him, I wasn't sure.
Annette reached out to her, resting a gentle hand on her arm as if to quell her fears. "If anyone here has a good grasp on what Master Leonides is capable of, it's Amelia," She said, inclining her head in my direction. "Well? Do you think that's something he could've done, if the circumstances were ideal?" It was hard to say for certain.
"I don't know," Was what I lead with. "He climbed that tree yesterday with very little trouble, from what I gather- but a tree with accessible branches does not a sheer wall make. If he could go through the gate, then yes, I firmly believe he's stealthy enough to sneak past the vast majority of us undetected, as long as we never cast a spell. Other than that... I can't imagine how else he would exit the premises without significant assistance." I breathed in slowly through my nose, letting the smell of dirt- and the faint scent of Nolan's aftershave, even mostly hidden beneath Logan's much closer version- soothe me somewhat. "But none of that matters, though, because his leg is broken, and while I believe he would rather try to run on a broken leg than the alternative option- leaving Miasenna behind- both are still an obstacle he wouldn't want to try to overcome."
There was quite an air of shock, probably caused by what I had said about Leonides preferring to run on a broken leg. "Do you think," Logan started cautiously, which was unusual enough coming from him to make me sit up and pay attention- or rather, straighten slightly under the weight of his arm, at least. "If his sister wasn't an obstacle- was with him, or he didn't care as much- do you think he would want to try to leave? We've discussed his ability, but not motive." He shrugged somewhat tersely. "I mean, if those were my parents, I certainly wouldn't be keen to stay, but then again... It's safe to say that Leonides and I are made of different stuff." Which I suspected was a polite way of saying that Leonides was the obedient, good little boy to Logan's rebellious 'bad boy'- and I'm sure that wasn't something that had only developed in adulthood.
"I'm... not certain." It was hard to say- to even begin to guess what Leonides would or wouldn't do. I couldn't pretend that I knew him all that well- I may be in charge of teaching him particular things, and making sure he ends up where he's supposed to be, among other things, but I couldn't claim to know every facet of his personality. "As far as I know, he isn't... unhappy here- he doesn't like how strict the rules are, he'd prefer to be able to spend more time with his sister, and I'm sure the weight of all of the expectations on his shoulders is an incredible burden- but I don't think he would actually want to... run away." Logan nodded, showing he understood what I meant.
"Yeah, that urge usually comes in the teens." Hm? "So, what's your guess on where he is? I mean, 'why' is probably above all of our pay grades, but what about where?" Again, guesses were hard to make, given how uninformed we all currently were.
I felt my brow crease, and had to struggle not to smooth it out on instinct- had to remind myself that these people didn't care about the 'proper' facial expressions for pureblood women; maybe some of the other women present had even been taught the same things I had, or the men had overheard their mothers or sisters receiving a similar lecture, depending on how traditional their family was- or... depending on how much said family cared about traditional pureblood values, at least. "Unless they apparated him away, he has to be somewhere within the house- there would be wheel furrows in the gravel if they had taken the carriage out, and I didn't see any on my way here. None of you raked that over before the start of the work day, right?" There were a lot of shaking heads, not just Logan, Nolan, and Spencer- clearly the other gardeners were listening, even if they weren't always actively contributing to the conversation.
"Uh, no," Logan huffed out alongside a bit of a laugh. "I hope this doesn't make you think poorly of my work ethic, but there's no way I'm doing that sort of thing proactively for people who wouldn't care if I dropped dead, other than to reprimand my corpse for slacking off." A fair point, and I wasn't going to judge him for such a thing, anyway. I forced myself to shrug again.
"I'm not going to hold that against you- I wouldn't do it, if I was in your position, so why would I expect you to?" He just blinked at me, and my attention was drawn to the fact that his eyes were quite odd, now that I could see them up close. The majority of the iris was slate grey in color, but around his pupil there was a ring of golden brown, to the point where it almost looked like a burst of sunshine peeking out from a stormy sky. I wouldn't go so far as to say they were prettier than Nolan's hazel ones, but they were rather distracting- I could certainly see how they could play a substantial part in attracting some other woman, and stealing her wits long enough for him to work his charms on her. By the way one corner of his lips quirked up, I knew he was aware of the way my eyes had lingered, even if I hadn't intended them to- and it was completely innocent, either way. "I was just making sure I wasn't missing anything." He cocked a dark brow at me and I flushed, knowing he was inferring that I was talking about him, rather than Leonides's disappearance.
Nolan shifted, arms folding over his chest in a way that made the muscles bulge exactly like he knew I liked- because I had admitted as much to him- and I could tell by the tightness at the corners of his mouth that he was quite unimpressed by what had just transpired. "Bravado and mediocre pick up lines, for the most part. You're not missing much." I rolled my eyes at him, trying to slyly shoot him a look that was both reproachful and reassuring, but wouldn't tip off the others.
Unfortunately, apparently I wasn't discreet enough- or Nolan's displeasure was just that easily attributable- because Jules glanced back and forth between the two of us a mere handful of times before a big smile bloomed on her lips, and she squeezed his shoulder in a congratulatory manner. "So," She said leadingly, pointedly. "How long have you two been seeing each other?"
(A/N): Logan has central heterochromia, and Jules has the eyes of a hawk.
Also, the bit with Amelia getting distracted by Logan's eyes is a nod to the fact that I think if she hadn't met Nolan first (or at all), I do think she could have eventually been convinced to give Logan a shot, as long as he could get his head out of his arse long enough to properly woo her.
So, we got a treadmill and I've spent almost six and a half hours on it in the last week... even though I took two days off. I've also fallen off it twice and currently have road rash, but that's half my fault. During that time, I've apparently walked 27.3 kilometers (16.96 miles), which is slightly less than the distance from Derby to Nottingham, just for reference.