Music was playing upstairs, as Arthur slipped in the door: sounded like the kids' cartoon superhero TV soundtracks. There were lights on in the kitchen, and he could hear a murmur of voices. When in doubt, head towards the source of food. Walking towards the half-shut kitchen door, he opened it quietly. Mum was on the other side of the kitchen table, chopping vegetables, listening to something political on Radio 4. She looked up at him as he walked in. No, in fact her head jerked up. And her face registered shock.
"Who the hell are you?" she demanded, white in the face, soft French accent prevailing even after all these years. "Who are you? What do you think you're doing here?"
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Arthur got that a lot: with Mum -- Mal, but it did no good to fall out of character, even in his own head.
Maintain cover, at all times.
With Mum, sometimes with Dom -- Dad, occasionally with Pip and Jimmy, even. Younger minds were easier to control. He could bullshit a lot about the reasons Mal broke out of trance more frequently than Dom –- anyone could probably come up with a few: feminine intuition, interpersonal relationships, non-verbal cues, female strength etc etc. Personally he thought it was just a personal thing –- she didn't personally like Arthur, much. Of course she loved him, but if he was a stranger – which he was – she wouldn't much take to him. They'd have little to say to each other. And he thought that lack of a bond, other than that of blood and family -- as far as she knew – was what tipped her off, on a fairly regular basis, that hey, there's something really wrong here.
But hey, no sweat. Arthur got it under control pretty quick – he always got it under control. So far. So far it had always happened when he'd suddenly sprung himself on her – it seemed to require that sudden stimulus for her awareness of wrongness to break the surface of consciousness. It did sometimes worry him that it might happen in his absence. With other people around for her to start talking to – and she could say anything. What would happen then?
Arthur's guess was she'd wind up in a psychiatric institution.
With caring and concerned relatives visiting her daily.
He didn't want that to happen to Mal. He loved her.
