“Yes,” she said again. “I rejected his proposal.”
“Oh,” Marcus said, relief coloring his voice. “Well, everything’s all right then, isn’t it?”
She forced a smile, rising to her feet. “Yes. Everything’s all right.” Marcus didn’t need to know of everything else that had transpired between her and Felix. “But you shouldn’t have hit him, even so.”
He adopted a look of wide-eyed innocence. “Shouldn’t I have?”
She shook her head firmly. “It was impulsive and reckless. You can’t go around punching people with no provocation.”
“There was provocation!” Marcus objected indignantly. “He wastouchingyou and—”
Lucretia folded her arms over her chest. “Did I ask for your help?”
“Well, no, but—”
“Did I look distressed at the time?”
He chewed his lip. “I-I didn’t notice—”
“Exactly,” she said. “You didn’t take the time to suitably assess the situation. The impulse to defend someone is all well and good, but it must be properly applied. If you’re going to learn to fight, you also need to learn when to do nothing.”
Marcus listened to her words without meeting her gaze. “I thought I was helping,” he said in a small voice.
“I know.” She stepped forward and folded him into her arms. Felix was nothing to her anymore. Marcus was all that truly mattered.
He allowed the embrace and even hugged her back for a brief moment before withdrawing.
“We needn’t worry about it any more,” she said, giving him a gentle smile. “It’s over.” The words sat like lead in her stomach, but she refused to let her smile waver.
Felix jumped to his feet in surprise when Marcus trotted into his office the following afternoon. The boy looked so carefree, Felix wondered if he’d forgotten about the events of yesterday.
“Marcus,” Felix managed through the astonishment. “What are you doing here?”
Marcus shrugged and seated himself in the chair opposite Felix’s desk with languid ease. “I usually come here after school, if we’re not meeting at the gymnasium.”
“But—yesterday—”
“Mother told me what happened. She rejected your proposal. So that’s that.”
Felix held a deep envy of the boy’s nonchalance about the situation, though it was clear that Lucretia had only given Marcus the abridged version. Felix had a feeling that if Marcus knew everything, his healing nose would rapidly be under renewed attack. “Does your mother know you’re here?”
“Dunno. She didn’t tell me not to come.”
She likely thought she didn’t have to. “I’m not sure she would be happy with you being here.”
Marcus ignored him, instead surveying Felix’s bruised face. Felix knew it was a rather hideous sight: a black eye had bloomed overnight, and his nose was puffy and tender.
“I’m sorry about your nose,” Marcus said. “I shouldn’t have hit you.”
Felix accepted the apology with a nod. “For what it’s worth, it was a well-executed punch. Though I’d have preferred a different target.”
Marcus beamed at the praise. “Do you think I can start fighting real people at the gymnasium now?”
Thus far, Felix had only permitted Marcus to practice on the leather boxing bags with occasional matches against Felix himself, fearing that another opponent would pummel the boy into the dust. “Perhaps. But I’m not sure our lessons should continue.”
Marcus nodded. “Right, we have to prepare for our trip. I can’t believe we leave next week!”
Felix pressed his lips together. He hadn’t thought this would be a conversation he needed to have with Marcus, but clearly Lucretia had been very generous with her version of yesterday’s events. “Marcus, I don’t think you can accompany me to Cyrene anymore.”
