Thank you so much, K - I am really glad you liked this; in fact, I think I'd have felt I'd failed in some way if you hadn't. *g*
Yeah, Alice is a little scary, with all her youthful confidence. I'm glad I was able to give her that, given that we know what canon has in store.
And I'm so glad you liked Pomona. I've never written her before, and also I am in no way a gardener, so I found it challenging to get into her mindset. I'm so pleased that you found her character plausible.
That "shame on you, Augusta" bit was one of the first snippets that came to me, before I even sat down to write the story. It's still one of my favourite parts, so I'm glad you enjoyed it.