"But they weren't beyond my control, Rupert," she argued, leaning her head back against the cupboards as he comfortingly ran his hands up and down her thighs. "I had the power to nip that entire situation in the bud, and what did I do instead? I just gave her a disapproving frown, maybe the silent treatment for a little bit, and assumed that would be enough. It wasn't. I could've done so much more."
"So what would you have done, then?" he challenged, quirking an eyebrow.
She frowned her confusion at him. "What?"
"You say you could've done more. What would you have done then, Jenny?"
Jenny searched his eyes, for some reason unprepared to answer his question. When she opened her mouth to reply, he beat her to the punch.
"Would you have taken her books away? Hmm? No, you already did that and it didn't make a damn bit of difference. Willow's just as fond of those blasted idiot boxes as you are. She had pages and pages of information at her disposal, without the binding of a book."
She bit back a smirk at his mistaken reference to computers, the firmness in his tone not allowing for much humor as he went on.
"Would you have outright forbidden her to do magic? Tara gave her that very same ultimatum and it didn't change a thing."
"Well, I--"
"Or perhaps you could have taken her ingredients away," he cut her off again. "Her oils and powders, all the dried flowers and liniments and candles and sand. But she could always get more of those, couldn't she?"
Jenny watched him shrug as his diatribe continued. "If not from the Magic Box, then from any other curio shoppe or magic store in town. Lord knows Sunnydale had plenty for her to choose from."
"So what would you have done, then?" he challenged, quirking an eyebrow.
She frowned her confusion at him. "What?"
"You say you could've done more. What would you have done then, Jenny?"
Jenny searched his eyes, for some reason unprepared to answer his question. When she opened her mouth to reply, he beat her to the punch.
"Would you have taken her books away? Hmm? No, you already did that and it didn't make a damn bit of difference. Willow's just as fond of those blasted idiot boxes as you are. She had pages and pages of information at her disposal, without the binding of a book."
She bit back a smirk at his mistaken reference to computers, the firmness in his tone not allowing for much humor as he went on.
"Would you have outright forbidden her to do magic? Tara gave her that very same ultimatum and it didn't change a thing."
"Well, I--"
"Or perhaps you could have taken her ingredients away," he cut her off again. "Her oils and powders, all the dried flowers and liniments and candles and sand. But she could always get more of those, couldn't she?"
Jenny watched him shrug as his diatribe continued. "If not from the Magic Box, then from any other curio shoppe or magic store in town. Lord knows Sunnydale had plenty for her to choose from."
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