"My parents always were vague about whether it was Ansula or his father that helped build the Floo but," Aldric cocked his head around at the elegantly appointed suite they'd been given. "It was a lucrative undertaking. Ansula still lectures scholars sometimes, it's tricky seeing how he's daft as a brush, but I'm told now and again he'll hit the nail on the head."

Aldric tap-danced around the remark about how tense he was, keeping his tone light and his shoulders loose as he rambled off that fascinating little factoid about his very great uncle and put conversational space in between the mention of his tension - and by proxy the topic of his sister.

It wasn't shame that motivated his need to redirect the conversation - he missed her, he loved Theophania, he treasured the letters they had exchanged since she left home, but he wasn't ready to share that with Mae just yet. He hated the part of himself that continued to benefit from a family that had ejected his sister for her Welsh mailman, and he was a coward, who wasn't ready to see that realization dawn on the face of the girl he liked.

"Regret it?" He narrowed his eyes incredulously, smiling as he ducked his head down to take a drink of wine. "Not at all, Ansula's fascinating, but he's a lot to handle. You're my wingman Crawford." Aldric fixed her with a cheeky wink before he turned towards the windows, using his wand to draw the heavy drapes as he continued to enjoy his glass of wine.