The Sterling Nightingale ⟷ Finnick Odair/OC

I might pretend

Chapter Forty Four | I might pretend

"Vainly she tried to shake off an unaccustomed feeling of nervousness: she was trembling from head to foot. A wild, unconquerable desire seized her to see her husband again, at once, if only he had not already started." Emma Orczy, The Scarlet Pimpernel

The news spreads like an electric current. The Sterling Nightingale, sought after for years, is a Victor? And not only a Victor, but the silliest Victor in Panem? The news stations are going crazy. Even with the war on their doorstep, they pump out article after article of their findings, exaggerating what they do not know with rumors. Not everyone is all that surprised to hear about Silver Lamprey Cornelius's latest drama, though.

"Some ginger tea, Hale?" Gemma Cornelius wonders as he sees his Head of House pass by the patio's doors. The inquiry immediately has the butler pausing, no doubt assuming that he is being asked to make said tea. When he sees the teapot sitting idly on the silver tray beside his employer, though, Hale merely raises an eyebrow curiously.

Gemma notices and chuckles, "I do know how to make tea, Hale. It's a fairly simple process."

Hale purses his lips to keep his smile at bay and says as stoically as possible, "Of course, sir." But – the amused gleam in his eyes is not so easily kept down, and Gemma chuckles again.

"Perhaps some fruit slices would be appealing," Hale suggests, ready to head off and prepare some. But, once more, his employer stops him.

Gemma turns to spear him a look and says, "What do you think of my daughter's latest dilemma?"

The suddenness of his question makes Hale raise his eyebrows in surprise, looking down to study his boss. He's worked for the Cornelius family for decades now, living in these halls and running the household with an expertise that comes only from experience. Like everything in this world, there have been times of great joy here, and times of great sadness. Hale has been through them all, and so it doesn't necessarily surprise him that Gemma is asking after his thoughts. What surprises him more is the direction said thoughts.

It isn't every day, after all, that one realizes that the young woman who has grown up under his watchful eye is in fact one of the most well-known rebels in Panem.

Hale shifts in the doorway for a moment before stepping onto the patio and murmuring, "Perhaps I will take a cup of tea." He's about to pour himself one when Gemma himself takes the teapot and does so. As he hands the cup and saucer to his worker, Hale murmurs, "Ah. Thank you."

Though the relationship between the two men has always been a professional one, it's also verged on friendship over the course of Hale's employment. Since Mrs. Cornelius had died years before, Hale has stepped into the role of Gemma's confidant in ways that he hadn't done before. It isn't very surprising that he wishes to know what Hale's thoughts are, despite it being somewhat unconventional.

"Silver has always had a rebellious heart," Gemma murmurs, leaning back in his chair as he looks out over the desert. The stretch of sand is interrupted by hundreds of cacti, and the morning sun breaks over the rocky hills in the far distance in a singularly poetic manner, as if it is breaking through the very center of the world. In a way, it is. The Cornelius Estate is a world of its own, and the news of the Sterling Nightingale's true identity certainly fractures some integral part of this place.

Hale takes a sip of tea before thoughtfully responding, "She was a wild girl." As the ginger invades his senses, Hale chuckles and glances over at Gemma. "Do you recall her eighth birthday, when all she wanted was a bow and arrow?"

Gemma laughs at the memory and fondly remembers, "She used the cacti for target practice. Your hands were in bandages for days after she wrangled you into retrieving her arrows."