all, and heaven's knows it's terribly hard to side with someone mute and wincing.
James it was, then.
So she nodded, then took it upon herself to make Tom stop flubbering around with his words. "I can' believe you ain't gonna let me eat anything! I'm gonna starve -"
"Not if you behave!" It worked, then, the attempt to make Tom speak.
James could smirk if he liked, and he did. "That's not likely."
"- and I'm gonna get skinny, and -"
"You're already skinny, Elizabeth."
"- and you rotter don't give a damn! How could you let me die of hungeration?"
"Starvation?"
"Sure, tha'. Don' matter, anyway, I'll be dead soon then."
Tom held his forehead in his hands, tiredly realizing that he did that far more than he ever had before taking on the formidable challenge that was Bit. The girl yammered on in, her words projecting extremely well through the room, and even better through Tom's poor, pounding head.
"Elizabeth, it's just temporary, and only to keep you from making a complete fool of yourself-"
James cut in with a much more too-the-point message. "Bit, y'eat like an animal."
That silenced her.
What a novel idea! She ate like an animal? How on earth was that? Did she shovel food into her mouth with her hands? Did she ravenously lick her plate at the end of each course? Were most utensils completely disregarded during the course of a meal? How silly. She didn't eat like an animal.
It was only after emphatically stating that she "didn't eat like no animal, y'stupid bugger" that she realized, belatedly, that the answer to the previous three or so statements was a resounding yes.
How humiliating.
Noting that Bit was temporarily cowed, Tom jumped on the opportunity. "Elizabeth, you do know that the goal of this intrepid endeavor is to turn you in to something...well, something resembling -"
"-no matter how vaguely-"
"Stuff it, James - something resembling a proper, well-rounded young lady, yes? Proper table etiquette is an extremely prominent part of being refined, as I'm sure you'll realize -"
"- don't count on it -"
"Again, stuff it, James - and this seems like the only way to actually get you to use manners at the dining table! It is temporary, Elizabeth, insofar as you improve your manners
James it was, then.
So she nodded, then took it upon herself to make Tom stop flubbering around with his words. "I can' believe you ain't gonna let me eat anything! I'm gonna starve -"
"Not if you behave!" It worked, then, the attempt to make Tom speak.
James could smirk if he liked, and he did. "That's not likely."
"- and I'm gonna get skinny, and -"
"You're already skinny, Elizabeth."
"- and you rotter don't give a damn! How could you let me die of hungeration?"
"Starvation?"
"Sure, tha'. Don' matter, anyway, I'll be dead soon then."
Tom held his forehead in his hands, tiredly realizing that he did that far more than he ever had before taking on the formidable challenge that was Bit. The girl yammered on in, her words projecting extremely well through the room, and even better through Tom's poor, pounding head.
"Elizabeth, it's just temporary, and only to keep you from making a complete fool of yourself-"
James cut in with a much more too-the-point message. "Bit, y'eat like an animal."
That silenced her.
What a novel idea! She ate like an animal? How on earth was that? Did she shovel food into her mouth with her hands? Did she ravenously lick her plate at the end of each course? Were most utensils completely disregarded during the course of a meal? How silly. She didn't eat like an animal.
It was only after emphatically stating that she "didn't eat like no animal, y'stupid bugger" that she realized, belatedly, that the answer to the previous three or so statements was a resounding yes.
How humiliating.
Noting that Bit was temporarily cowed, Tom jumped on the opportunity. "Elizabeth, you do know that the goal of this intrepid endeavor is to turn you in to something...well, something resembling -"
"-no matter how vaguely-"
"Stuff it, James - something resembling a proper, well-rounded young lady, yes? Proper table etiquette is an extremely prominent part of being refined, as I'm sure you'll realize -"
"- don't count on it -"
"Again, stuff it, James - and this seems like the only way to actually get you to use manners at the dining table! It is temporary, Elizabeth, insofar as you improve your manners
