"Oh, what beautiful flowers!" exclaimed the nanny on the stairs.
"Do you like them?" Edgar asked and handed them to her without stopping to walk toward his room.
"Thank you," said the nanny. Her wise, old eyes filled with light. "But they weren't for me, were they?"
"Actually," Edgar replied, "they were for my mother. I wanted to bring them to her at the cemetery... but I'm happy to give them to you."
"Oh, what a sweet thought," sighed the old nanny, smelling the flowers. "Your mother loved them very much. You are truly the son every mother would wish for." And then she concluded, "Now I'll go gather some new ones. This afternoon, I'll take them to your mother myself."
"I would be very grateful," Edgar replied and climbed the stairs.
"Sir, sir," he heard the woman's voice.
"Oh, I see you've met my granddaughter!" the nanny exclaimed.
"Grandmother..."
"I must go. Ladies..." and he went into the first door on the right. It was the library.
This time, Edgar didn't sit down to read but, with energetic movements, began taking all the books off the shelves. Each book he took found a place on the floor near another of the same genre. Once the books were divided, Edgar called for the servants to dust the shelves and put everything back in order according to his precise instructions.
"The dead languages on top," he said. "Since no one speaks them anymore... The dictionaries for the modern languages over here..." And the servants obeyed.
Once finished with his father's books, Edgar started organizing his novels. There weren't many, so he decided to do it himself. He took the first four books and arranged them on the lower shelf, easily reachable for a curious reader. They were children's books that his mother often read to him.
He opened one and found a sentence underlined: "Because love is the greatest thing a human being can find..."
Edgar was moved but then heard a knock, and the book fell from his hands.
"Excuse me, may I?" asked the voice of the girl from earlier.
Edgar wanted to tell her no, but then he heard the voice of his nanny and softened.
"Please, come in," he finally said. "And excuse the mess."
The two women didn't need to be asked twice. First, the nanny entered, and behind her followed her granddaughter. The look on the granddaughter's face was desolate.
"I'm so sorry for earlier," she said.
Edgar put the books on the children's shelf and quickly approached her. He extended his hand, and when she hesitantly gave it to him, he kissed it.
"Nice to meet you," the young man said. "I'm Edgar Scott."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Sofia Swan. I deeply regret what happened earlier..."
"Now that we've introduced ourselves, I'd say it's time to take our leave," Edgar interrupted her.
"You should never be so impetuous."
"Are you here to teach me manners? If you can't see it for yourself, I'll tell you. I'm very busy at the moment. I want to open the library to the public as early as tomorrow."
"What a wonderful idea, young man! Let's not disturb him."
And the old woman took her granddaughter by the arm to escort her out.
"I love reading too, you know?"
"I'm glad, but I think it's the bare minimum a woman should do."
"You don't like women, do you?"
"I'm not here to talk about politics."
"It's not about politics."
"Then what is it about?"
"It's about respect."
He finally lifted his gaze from the books and looked at her.
"Have I perhaps disrespected you?"
"No, but..."
"Then there's nothing to argue about."
"I'm not arguing. I'm not arguing at all."
"I beg your pardon, but I'm busy," Edgar repeated.
"Don't insist, dear," her grandmother said.
"If I were you, I'd follow her advice."
"Alright," said Sofia. "Goodbye."
And she left the room. The old woman shrugged and silently followed her.