Chapter 18 #2
Christmas had been utterly suffocating, but Matthew had gritted his teeth and dealt with it.
They’d never made much fuss of the equinox as a family, other than enjoying a bit of time off.
They didn’t go in for the public processions on May Day, or have any connection to any of the demesne estates outside London, not for generations.
But May Day still loomed as a time to be together and celebrate whatever needed celebrating.
“That, yes.” He swallowed slightly. “Thank you for the offer, though. I don’t expect I’ll be able to come, but would you let me know the details by journal, if you get a chance?” That would leave the matter with her. If she didn’t follow up, well, that would give him some information to go on too.
It got him a brief, approving smile. “Glad to. I’ll send along a note when I’m back in my office.
” She then glanced at the door, as if estimating something, then did the same combination of gestures Claudio did for the privacy charms. Exactly the same, Matthew realised, which suggested where he’d learned it.
She was watching him too, and there was another of those small twitches of her mouth that suggested she’d noticed something else, and she was letting him see she had. “Question?”
Caught out like that, he coughed. “The privacy charm. I was thinking Claudio uses the same one. He must have learned it from you?”
“Technically, he learned that one from Gabe. Gabriel Edgarton, I had the delight of training Gabe officially, though with the Penelopes it’s always a group effort.
I was deemed young and energetic enough at the time to keep up with him, and also as standing a chance of getting the finicky detailed work into his head.
We try to alternate that in our apprenticing.
Someone who is made of impulses apprenticing to someone who can deal with the details.
Our work needing quite a bit of both and not doing well for people who insist on one or the other. ”
That was an interesting way of putting things, especially given Matthew’s thoughts today about how the Ministry was decidedly prone to favour the somewhat stodgy and slow to change.
Matthew had been running into that a bit more too as he’d worked through some of the backlog in the enchantments.
He’d started a list of things that could be improved, if certain key people could be talked into it.
That thought made him venture something, “And because that’s a pattern, it’s easier for all of you to maintain, yes? Claudio’s attention to detail has been appreciated, but also, he’s been most helpful in proposing new ways to think about whatever we’re talking about.”
“That, yes. Though Claudio’s real gift, once he’s got the context, is institutional memory.
Understanding how a thing was done, how it is currently being handled, but also being able to work through what might be options in the future.
Gabe does it intuitively, a good half the time, but Claudio’s systematic about it.
” Doyle tilted her head slightly. “One thing we think about a lot— in part because none of us are good at actually retiring from our work unless there’s some calamitous injury that requires it— is how to leave space for people to come up behind us and improve things more than we could. ”
It was a fascinating statement, given the problems of ossification. Matthew hesitated, then took a risk and said what he was thinking out loud. “Like the Ministry, only we’re not so reliably good at it.”
“Like the Ministry. Like the Council can be if it’s not careful, or the schools, or the Temple of Healing, or the Guard.
Though I will say the schools have been making a solid attempt to keep growing for what their students need, since my own school days.
And the Council keeps getting dragged into the twentieth century, whether they like it or not.
That’s one of Gabe’s ongoing projects, so I hear a certain amount about it when he needs someone to complain to. ”
Matthew nodded. “You’re—” He hesitated. “You’re fond of him, beyond the training of him.”
“Oh, yes. That’s tricky to navigate too, of course, because he’s not right all the time.
Neither am I. Figuring out how to disagree, and still care for and about each other, and trust each other.
That’s actually a fairly big part of our training.
Because we have to rely on each other, sometimes in situations where a lack of trust could be dangerous or even fatal.
And most of Albion— or Britain, to be fair— doesn’t get much help learning how to have fair fights or solve problems before they’re a fight. ”
She said nothing specific about how Claudio fit into that, though Matthew could assume that he’d had that sort of training too.
Then she shrugged agreeably. “Anyway. If you want help figuring out the problem of an ossified layer above you, I am sure Claudio would have some ideas about how to go about it. I hope you have a pleasant week, and I’ll send round a bit about May Day.
If you can come, that's wonderful. If not, I’m sure I’ll see you at some point. ”
That was certainly her drawing the conversation to a close. “A pleasure, Penelope Doyle, and thank you for your—” He fumbled for a word for a second. “Your goodwill and advice. Offering to share it, I mean.” That was clumsy, but she gave him a broader smile.
“Have a good afternoon.” She’d somehow pulled together her notes without him noticing she was doing it.
Now she smoothly tucked them into her satchel, crooked her fingers at the privacy warding and undid it, and went out.
It left Matthew staring after her for a minute before he packed up his own things.
He went off to his office to write up a summary and leave his notes in good order for tomorrow’s work.