‘Thanks, love,’ Pansy said, stretching her neck to kiss his chin. ‘You’re a good friend,’ she added. And he was. She had a lot of good friends.
She should do more for them, she decided. She had let herself get so wrapped up in Polly that she had started neglecting her friends, and she needed to fix that.
‘You’re going to dance with me at the Ball, aren’t you?’ she said. She would shower attention on her beloved priestly one. ‘And do you know if our Natalie is coming?’ She had a sudden thought. ‘Oh no! Do you think she needs a dress????’ she asked. She should have thought of that earlier. She’d have to owl Natalie and get her over so they could get her properly fitted.
‘You know, I’m shopping for Harry. Shall I pick something stunningly elegant up for you, too?’ she asked. ‘It’s no trouble….’
‘Your boss?’ she repeated blankly. ‘Who’s your…. No!’ she exclaimed, completely stunned. ‘The Head Boy?’ She tilted her head, trying to picture him, but she was having a hard time. But there had to be something there to pique Cass’s interest….
‘I want to meet him. Introduce me at the ball so I can scope him out!’ she decided with a smile. ‘And tell me now what you see in him so I know what to look for,’ she added, giggling.
She gave Cass a knowing smile. ‘You know, darling, as you said before, there are happy people in relationships….’ She pointed out. ‘How much of one is he insisting on?’ she asked.
With a sidelong glance, she said softly, ‘You must well and truly be interested in him if you still fancy him after knowing he wants a relationship....’ She’d never known Cass to hang around once that word came up.
Pansy shook her head, making a face of disbelief. 'Why?' she said. 'What does fancying someone have to do with work?' It dawned on her that they were talking of the former Head Boy, one who had taken points from her on numerous occasions. He was such a rule follower, he probably made up rules just to follow them. 'He's got issues about being involved with someone he works with?' she guessed.
'Darling, you know you can trust me....' she added, even though she hoped he already knew that.