"Your attitude does you a great deal of credit," Susan replied, pleased and hoping that his unflappability would withstand the battering it would no doubt receive daily. They left the common room, and she led the way from Ravenclaw tower towards the library.
"The goddess? Her name is Psyche*. Her husband Eros is here too, and he's not very popular at the moment." The corner of her mouth quirked slightly. "Long story, which I can bore you with later, if you're interested. As for Miss Palmer -- the young lady I mentioned earlier -- no, she looks like any ordinary living person. Really sweet girl, very intelligent. And she's not the only, um, post-dead person here. Apparently the afterlife is a dull place."
She thumped on the banister of the staircase, which for reasons of its own, didn't seem interested in letting anyone descend to the next floor. "Come on then," she said, "d'you want us to report you to the Headmistress?" The stair slowly swung into place. "Thank you," she said, and continued on.
Chuckling softly, John said, "She is a remarkable woman, in my rather biased opinion. She's beautiful, intelligent, well-read, thoughtful, opinionated, understanding, passionate, and caring." His eyes moved to catch Susan's. "In many ways you remind me of her a great deal. I felt that when we first met. But I don't want you to think that I only enjoy your company because you remind me of her. You are quite a remarkable woman in your own right."
Susan blinked; she could feel her ears getting warm, and, feeling awkward, she shifted her gaze to the ground. "Um. Thank you. That's very kind of you to say." Lovely, Susan. Did you ignore the lessons about accepting comments gracefully because you never thought you'd get any? She forced herself to look up and smile at her companion. "The enjoyment is mutual, in any case," she said, a little more stiffly than she would have liked, but she'd never been very good at this sort of thing. "It's a pleasure to talk to someone so intelligent and ... well, unflappable."
He laughed. "I assure you, madam, I am eminently flappable if your name is John Dickenson, Thomas Jefferson, or Edward Rutledge. Those gentlemen are quick to tell me that I am obnoxious and disliked, though I care nothing for that so long as the precious cause is supported."
John looked back at the school, upset with himself for having embarrassed Miss Sto Helit. "I expect my current sanguine mood could be attributed to simple shock and your kind assistance. At the moment I think I could believe anything."
Recovering her composure slightly (and feeling annoyed with herself for having lost any of it at all), Susan smiled. "I find you neither obnoxious or unlikable, sir, although not being one of your political opponents probably has something to do with that. And I have ... well, something of a history of being unlikable myself, I suppose, so I sympathise."
With a slight bow, John said, "Thank you, madam. But I hope that we never seriously disagree on anything or else I suspect that I shall lose."
Then he looked surprised. "You? Unlikable? I cannot imagine it! You have been kindness itself." John smiled. "Unless we already have kindness personified at the school..."
"We appear to be seeing each others' best sides, I think," Susan replied wryly. "If you asked the headmistress of the school where I was teaching in Ankh-Morpork, she'd probably tell you I was cold and had a problem with authority, and there are those here who call me smug. I'm not too arrogant to admit that both criticisms have their points. Just as well I'm not too worried about being liked."
"I might argue that those aren't necessarily bad traits," he said thoughtfully. "I'm obstinate and short-tempered, myself. Sometimes I think it's my tenacity that has got me where I am rather than my reasoning."
John noticed a massive lake off to one side and unconsciously directed his steps towards it. "I have the opinion of the headmistress now. What would the students say?"
"Oddly, I find children like me. Mostly. I get on with them, anyway." She shrugged. "I think it's mostly that I don't condescend to them. And I try not to underestimate them."
Out in the middle of the lake, she saw a hump in the water that indicated that the squid was checking out the scenery. She waved, and was rewarded with a raised tentacle in response.
John raised his eyebrows in surprise, more at the tentacle than the fact that Miss Sto Helit got on with children, but he essayed a wave of his own and was rewarded with a second tentacle appearing.
"Incredible," he murmured again and directed his attention back to Susan. "I think I understand. Children should not be underestimated, and it's to your credit that you do not, but why would one condescend to them?"*
*In John's time, children were basically seen as miniature adults. Treating them as imbeciles just because they were young hadn't occurred to society yet.
"You know, I've never been entirely clear on that one myself," Susan said. "Back home, there's this popular idea -- at least in the posh classes; in my experience, farmers and the like are too damn practical to be this foolish -- that youngsters have tender sensibilities and should be carefully nursed." She snorted. "Have they ever seen how a child reacts to a mud puddle with frogs in? True, every child is different, but for the most part, they're brighter and tougher than most adults I know give them credit for being. Anyway, foolish children grow into foolish adults, and I like to think I do my part to keep that from happening as often."
"Tender sensibilities!" John thought of his three boys and laughed. "Do these parents not spend any time at all with their children? Mine have been working on our farm from very nearly the moment they could walk. They milk the cows, feed the horses and chickens, pick the apples, and collect the eggs in the morning. In the afternoon, they attend to their studies and Abigail makes them work, I assure you. Abby and Quincy are already arguing politics and philosophy and Charles is excellent in maths. Even little Tom knows his letters and numbers."
Susan smiled broadly and chuckled. "I'm glad to hear it. They sound like they're growing up well. No, I'm afraid some of these people don't spend time with their children." She kicked at a rock on the path, bouncing it into the lake; this was always something that had annoyed her about her upper-class employers. "When I was a governess, I worked for parents who didn't even know what their child's favourite food was. They had to ask me." She shook her head.
"Good God!" exclaimed John. "Makes one wonder what the point of having children is then. But that doesn't bode well for future society." Then he laughed. "In thirty or forty years, we shall have to ask the leaders of the land who their primary school teacher was. I expect to hear a lot of Miss Sto Helits."
She walked in silence for a moment, and then Susan said, "If you don't mind my asking ... I'd imagine you'd want to find your way home as soon as you can, since it sounds like your removal couldn't have come at a more inopportune time. Have you many plans for your time here beyond that?"
((OOC: If this gets too meta for comfort, please let me know and I'll delete.))John thought about the question for a minute. "While it's true that my arrival couldn't have come at a worse moment, I don't believe it affected the course of history. Master Dib tells me that the vote was held and passed and that I participated in it, so perhaps I'll return to the time in which I left? Though whether I'll retain the knowledge I gain here is a worrisome proposition. If I do, how will that affect my future? Or my people's future if I'm to lead them someday? History apparents records me doing certain things that I suspect that a working knowledge of magic would change significantly. But if I won't remember, what would be the point of spending my time here or learning anything at all
( ... )
"The goddess? Her name is Psyche*. Her husband Eros is here too, and he's not very popular at the moment." The corner of her mouth quirked slightly. "Long story, which I can bore you with later, if you're interested. As for Miss Palmer -- the young lady I mentioned earlier -- no, she looks like any ordinary living person. Really sweet girl, very intelligent. And she's not the only, um, post-dead person here. Apparently the afterlife is a dull place."
She thumped on the banister of the staircase, which for reasons of its own, didn't seem interested in letting anyone descend to the next floor. "Come on then," she said, "d'you want us to report you to the Headmistress?" The stair slowly swung into place. "Thank you," she said, and continued on.
* At this point, Susan ( ... )
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John looked back at the school, upset with himself for having embarrassed Miss Sto Helit. "I expect my current sanguine mood could be attributed to simple shock and your kind assistance. At the moment I think I could believe anything."
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Then he looked surprised. "You? Unlikable? I cannot imagine it! You have been kindness itself." John smiled. "Unless we already have kindness personified at the school..."
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John noticed a massive lake off to one side and unconsciously directed his steps towards it. "I have the opinion of the headmistress now. What would the students say?"
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Out in the middle of the lake, she saw a hump in the water that indicated that the squid was checking out the scenery. She waved, and was rewarded with a raised tentacle in response.
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"Incredible," he murmured again and directed his attention back to Susan. "I think I understand. Children should not be underestimated, and it's to your credit that you do not, but why would one condescend to them?"*
*In John's time, children were basically seen as miniature adults. Treating them as imbeciles just because they were young hadn't occurred to society yet.
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She walked in silence for a moment, and then Susan said, "If you don't mind my asking ... I'd imagine you'd want to find your way home as soon as you can, since it sounds like your removal couldn't have come at a more inopportune time. Have you many plans for your time here beyond that?"
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