| 6:40p |
25 March 1982
Viv!
The parentheses in your last letter gave me an awful headache, I kept wanting to count them to see if they matched up even though I knew they wouldn't. I did count that one long string, 14 in a row my love! You're lucky I hadn't seen Auntie Philippa today or I'd have probably reamed you for the excess, as if punctuation costs a sickle a pop. But darling! You really do need to be careful, it's not as if you have to hire a mute Oriental eunuch to carry you around at all times but you must be careful of your ankle! You want to be able to do things again someday don't you? Well I certainly do, and I want to do them together and not have to worry about it you can keep up or if we'll have to call for help, which would be absolutely dreadful as I haven't an owl small enough to carry in my pocket and I'm not talented enough to cast a patronus and send word that way. I'd have to leave you for the wolves, my love, the wolves, or werewolves if we happened to be out during a full moon as I'm sure we would with our combined luck, or I'd have to carry you the whole way until I managed to break my ankle in the process. Unless you want Syd or your cousins to be around all the time, but I'm sure you don't.
I wish I could cast a patronus. I don't suppose it would be all that useful, but it would be fun. Do you remember when we were little and used to guess what our patronuses would look like one day? I think I've changed my mind, I'd rather have a seal than a parrot. Not that either are particularly menacing, but you know.
It's absolute rubbish their being worried about the risk of you, well, breeding you know. I asked one of Syd's friends who knows about that sort of thing, this very nice boy named Jacob, I do think you should meet him someday, and he said that squibs are rare for a reason, the magic gene is very dominant and there should be no risk at all to anyone with any sense, or even those without. And there was something about female squibs being magic carriers and oh I don't know, it was all very technical and I was tired. But he is a very nice young man, as Aunt Philippa would say but without the horribly boring connotations of being a nice young man in Aunt Philippa's books. He would do a very good job of keeping you fed, and wouldn't need much reminding himself, and what more can you ask from a man who isn't my Syd?
I don't really blame you for leaving, Viv, you know that don't you? Except for you not being here to entertain me, I do sometimes wish you didn't have control of your own destiny and all that rot. And I'm jealous of Sam, so jealous, though I'm glad you'll have someone there to amuse you. I want to come so badly, really I do, but I always think about it and then I think about all that's going on here and Auntie and Uncle and everyone and I feel like I can't possibly just yet, which is silly because it's not like I'm doing anything that important here. I don't think it's even my ridiculous sense of responsibility, it's just me not wanting to feel guilty if anything catastrophic happens. Maybe you should write Syd in secret and tell him I need a holiday.
I also envy you your ghost. You should call her Alice, it's such a nice name. That's what I'd name a daughter if I had one, which no, I'm not, nor a son either because I'm not pregnant, alas. I'd rather like to be, you know? Me and Syd would make such adorable little children. And it would utterly horrify the parents, more even than the thought of the theatre or my disgraceful shorn hair, which is always lovely. But no, I'm not, though I'll tell you if that changes.
Poor Kitty. She really is capable of being nice, so I hear, and even if she's not it's so taxing to have to worry about money. That can make a crab out of even the sweetest people, I daresay even you snapped at people on once or twice before your windfall. You know what I think? I think you should save Markus from her - you've money now, you can make him your kept man or something. It's a brilliant idea, admit it. (As a sidenote, I'm sure not everyone everywhere knows about their state - there's probably someone in Timbucktu who has absolutely no idea they exist, lucky thing!)
And I've actually got the dreadfulest headache, so I'm going to just wrap up and send this along. I'm glad the horrors are more bearable lately, and I hope that keeps up - especially since I've come to find that the money actually is there and their threats and wheedlings aren't entirely without basis... though I don't think they have as much as they claim, though I of course don't know how much that is. Maybe you could give Markus to Acantha if you don't want him yourself.
Yours in every adorable thing,
Cassie
PS - Do give Sam my love when you write to or see him next, but not all of it as I haven't quite forgiven him for the pasta incident. |