Quote:
Originally Posted by
druidflower 
Caroline blushed, bowing her head slightly to hide behind her short mane of curls, "I can't explain how I came to look so much like her, but I've had the benefit of most of her attention as a child. Even after she... passed... she didn't really seem to notice or care. She was almost happier for it. And she still afforded me more attention and training than a lot of children in big families get. She had a lot of influence over me in my formative years."
She thought it perhaps... prudent.. not to mention that Grandmamma didn't talk about him... ever. Something was plainly odd about that, but she didn't want to poke at a wounded old man.
"Grandmamma always felt that the best practical joke was the one where you sat back and did nothing and let your target's imagination do the work," she pointed out. "She's helped me torment my brother for his entire life, I'm almost ashamed to admit.... almost."
Professor Kazimeriz burst into a warm, deep laugh.
"That sounds just like her!" He smiled, his eyelashes still damp but some of the color coming back into his cheeks.
"And she is right... and it was a devil of a prank; she let my imagination get the better of me for the last oh, 80 years or so. I suppose I just always wanted to see her one more time, as she was back then, when we-- well, back then." He smiled wistfully, as though that said it all.
"I hope you can forgive an old man... I did not know. Sharp repartee and banter was our shorthand, a kind of way of saying-- well, saying what needed to be said. I presumed that things had not changed. For that, I am quite embarrassed." He shrugged a little, sighing.