[He blinks. And then starts laughing, almost wheezing from it. That is how it looks to her, isn't it? Unbelievable, the things his mother pulls off. It's a few moments before he recovers.]
She doesn't listen to me any more than you.
[They're both tools, after all, being gussied up for different parts of the same stupid, awful purpose. Doting on him? All show, a meagre attempt at manipulation just for extra insurance on top of the curses.
It occurs to him, now, that maybe part of the point of that show is to make sure he and Cecelia would be at odds.]
no subject
She doesn't listen to me any more than you.
[They're both tools, after all, being gussied up for different parts of the same stupid, awful purpose. Doting on him? All show, a meagre attempt at manipulation just for extra insurance on top of the curses.
It occurs to him, now, that maybe part of the point of that show is to make sure he and Cecelia would be at odds.]