alt_pomona

That was a more pleasant and also more challenging hour than I'd anticipated. You might have seen your Neville write earlier. He came to me asking how to best tend the cutting you sent him, Alice, dear.

Hawthorne's a fair bit trickier than some, but he and I had a good chat about it and I showed him a few of the methods to keep it stable until he gets back to Augusta's and can plant it properly, and what to watch for. Naturally, I did not push at his story that it came from "a gardening friend".

There were a few times he quite had to stop talking for a minute or two, as the talk turned Hannah. Thankfully, having one's hands in dirt does give one an excuse or two for that kind of thing. It's clear he cared more than a little for her - he's taking it near as hard as her yearmates.

And so I did something I'd not have done for many. We're having a gathering - just the House - to remember her tomorrow night, and I invited him. Quite startled him, I think, when he realised. I do hope the sett will understand, but I think they will, and turning him away seemed quite the wrong thing indeed.

He offered, then, to come in and spend time tomorrow afternoon helping me finish tidying and clearing some space. So if there's anything you'd like me to have an eye or ear toward, I'll have a bit more time with him then.