His eyes dropped to Lukaer's toe kicking the dirt. People did that when they were bored. Sometimes they did it when they felt uncomfortable. Ordhan bit his lip. He shook his head in a series of jerky nods. If Lukaer was willing to deem the respect owed him unnecessary, Ordhan was willing to avoid it. It was strange. Even the servants insisted on being called ser or ma'am. Even the servants' children insisted on it. He talked to all of those as little as possible, of course. He would much rather watch after Eileen or talk to Nathaniel; if neither of them were around, it was best to spend his time alone, avoiding getting in the way and sparing himself the impatient or scornful glances that would come his way.
"Oh," he answered, masking the disappointment in his voice. So Bann Emmaline simply wanted Lukaer to be friends with people, not specifically him--but who was he to be disappointed? It was still very kind of her. Perhaps...perhaps she didn't know, and if that was true, perhaps Lukaer didn't know. Ordhan held his head a little higher. Here was a rare chance to treat another as an equal, even if it wasn't true. That didn't count as lying, did it? He hoped not. Lying was something Nathaniel taught very strongly against.
Ordhan watched Lukaer carefully as he talked, taking care to note when the stern young face showed hints of cheer. He dared a smile when Lukaer talked about his father. For this, he didn't feel even a hint of jealousy. "Nathaniel teaches me things," he answered, quiet but just as proud.
The warm pride that he sensed then was nothing compared to the fondness Lukaer showed when talking about Mathieu. Ordhan's smile widened; the words seemed so eloquent to him, the perfect definition of how the part he knew best in a family should work--it stirred a glow in his chest along with a sense of camaraderie with the boy beside him. "That's like Nathaniel. He's my older brother. I, I have two, I mean," he quickly amended (it was hard to remember Keane was as much his family as Nathaniel or Eileen were), "but Nathaniel's the one who's like that. Your brother must be really proud of you." Ordhan paused to take a breath, not used to talking so much at a time. "I don't have a little brother, but Eileen's my sister, and I watch out for her. It's a lot the same."