For a moment, Madeleine bit the corner of her lip, eyeing Zaviar with an unabashed air of mischief before suppressing a laugh. “An entire tablecloth?” She toyed with the idea of embroidering the words ‘an entire tablecloth’ onto something to see if he’d still touch the pages, but she wasn’t convinced that would work. Highly doubted it, in fact, though she might get points for effort. “Maybe I will. What then?” Her head tilted, face trying to look less amused. To her, a book of white magic was just a book, but she didn’t really think Zaviar would touch the pages if she embroidered several large tablecloths and a set of bedsheets. That she would likely never have the patience to go that far was not allowed to enter her side of the argument. She probably didn’t have the patience to initial a handkerchief, but that was neither here nor there. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard the phrase ‘far too well’ used to describe the way Mama stares,” she said after a moment’s thought. Generally different, more accurate choice of verbs and turns of phrase were used. Although Lila really could stare. “She unnerves most. Mama, not Bethany.” Madeleine shrugged. She was used to it. That her mother was who she was just made it easier for her to catch the elbow of the passing waiter to ask how long their food would be without ever actually looking him in the eye. Releasing the waiter, she flashed Zaviar a semi-sheepish smile that quickly turned into a frown as she remembered her trail of thought prior to the staff approaching. “And if Bethany ever goes near you I’ll murder her.” Said possibly a little more light-heartedly than she’d intended.
How often could someone claim that they had managed to get Madeleine with that look on her face and the knowledge that it was genuine? Zaviar was certain that the number was slim and appreciated being among its ranks even if currently Madeleine’s look was a little too amused. Deciding to call her bluff he gave a bit of a shrug and sipped from his glass. “If you could sit still that long...” Yes, he knew Madeleine well enough to know that any sort of hobby that required staying seated and focusing on a small space for long amounts of time was not her forte but the opposite. As for her mother and her staring abilities, Zaviar thought he had picked a good phrase. If someone could make him uncomfortable with their staring then they were very clearly doing something right. Or, in the case of Lila, very wrong. “She is unnerving. Especially if you are a man.” At leas that was the impression he had been left with rather firmly after he had had his shirt all but burned off of him so that he could be thoroughly objectified. Zaviar very nearly blinked at the statement about Madeleine’s sister. “Oh; is she worse than your mother?” Impossible to imagine.