Essery actually looked offended. "He isn't," She said defensively, but it softened a second later as she shrugged and sank back into the sofa again. "I mean, we all thought he was when we were students. Being a git was his job, then. And he isn't exactly warm and personable, I don't expect to see him hugging a crying student at any point in the future but..."
She sighed, looking at her brother evenly, and the soft look she got said very clearly she was serious about what she was saying, "But he's interesting. And intelligent. Witty. Ridiculously sarcastic. It's true he's a bit stiff, but in a way that's more defensive and awkward than it should be for a man his age, which makes it ... endearing." And god, she'd obviously spent quite a bit too much time thinking about this.