Padraig knew it as soon as it had been said. The way she grew quiet, the way she looked down at her hands. She'd misunderstood, or misinterpreted what had happened, and what hadn't. He inwardly cursed himself. And why wouldn't she misunderstand? She only heard what they told her, but knew little to nothing of the context behind it. "Faith," Padraid said. "You think that I...No," he began, but then Immortals be damned, Pash just couldn't leave it be and said more. Much more. It was like throwing fuel on an already growing flame, and good intentions were, in Padraig's mind, no longer an acceptable excuse.
The scholar's jaw twitched and rather than immediately explain to Faith, he turned to Pash. "Yes, that is exactly what happened, Pash. Don't presume to tell me that I don't know my own mind, not in that instance or later, when I chose to shield an innocent girl from others who'd have killed her if I hadn't. I don't know what Yolande's intentions were, and I won't claim to know what you saw or sensed when you looked where you had no right to be looking. But I do know what it's impact was on me."
Yolande might have been the only one with nefarious intentions, Padraig thought, but she wasn't the only one to trespass where she ought not to. "The heart, the spirit, neither had any part of it. It was, plain and simple," he added and paused, looking at Faith. "Lust. And nothing came of it. I recognized it was not my nature, and nothing happened or would have. The intrusion I mentioned wasn't Pash walking in on anything. I was referring to him using empathy to look where as a rule I'd prefer he didn't. That's all." He was irritable, and he was tired. It had been a long trial for all of them, including Faith, and including the girl who was still huddled at the rail, watching him fearfully.
"I appreciate Pash that you are concerned about us, and that you want to help," Padraig said after pinching the bridge of his nose between fingers and thumb. "But this thing isn't a discussion by three, to be had on a boat in front of captain and crew. It's a private matter that should have been discussed in private by Faith and I. I'm not concerned about my culpability in the matter. I'm fully aware that there were others meddling where they shouldn't have been." Harsh words, but again he was exhausted and frustrated by his inability to make his point. Which could, he guessed, have been summed up in just a handful of words. "Pash. For Immortals' sake, please, stop helping."
He turned back to Faith and took her hand, kissing her gently on the forehead before whispering. "Nothing happened. Nothing at all." Straightening then, he added, "I know you have more work to do here, and Luna I think will do better if I take her to the house where it's quiet and not so busy. All this is bound to be overwhelming for her." So kissing her once more, he promised to see her at home before nodding a farewell to Pash, collecting Luna and getting off the boat.
The scholar's jaw twitched and rather than immediately explain to Faith, he turned to Pash. "Yes, that is exactly what happened, Pash. Don't presume to tell me that I don't know my own mind, not in that instance or later, when I chose to shield an innocent girl from others who'd have killed her if I hadn't. I don't know what Yolande's intentions were, and I won't claim to know what you saw or sensed when you looked where you had no right to be looking. But I do know what it's impact was on me."
Yolande might have been the only one with nefarious intentions, Padraig thought, but she wasn't the only one to trespass where she ought not to. "The heart, the spirit, neither had any part of it. It was, plain and simple," he added and paused, looking at Faith. "Lust. And nothing came of it. I recognized it was not my nature, and nothing happened or would have. The intrusion I mentioned wasn't Pash walking in on anything. I was referring to him using empathy to look where as a rule I'd prefer he didn't. That's all." He was irritable, and he was tired. It had been a long trial for all of them, including Faith, and including the girl who was still huddled at the rail, watching him fearfully.
"I appreciate Pash that you are concerned about us, and that you want to help," Padraig said after pinching the bridge of his nose between fingers and thumb. "But this thing isn't a discussion by three, to be had on a boat in front of captain and crew. It's a private matter that should have been discussed in private by Faith and I. I'm not concerned about my culpability in the matter. I'm fully aware that there were others meddling where they shouldn't have been." Harsh words, but again he was exhausted and frustrated by his inability to make his point. Which could, he guessed, have been summed up in just a handful of words. "Pash. For Immortals' sake, please, stop helping."
He turned back to Faith and took her hand, kissing her gently on the forehead before whispering. "Nothing happened. Nothing at all." Straightening then, he added, "I know you have more work to do here, and Luna I think will do better if I take her to the house where it's quiet and not so busy. All this is bound to be overwhelming for her." So kissing her once more, he promised to see her at home before nodding a farewell to Pash, collecting Luna and getting off the boat.
