And, as if by a trick of fate, it was then that Basilios came into view. Realizing that Procopia had noticed him, he raised his hand for a quick, gentle wave. Slightly confused, she returned it, not caught especially off-guard by the fact that it inspired a smile on him that he fought to conceal, but lacking the intention to cause that nonetheless.
He approached, tripping slightly over the grass, and keeping a solid distance from Procopia even as he meant to speak. "Hello, I- I assumed you must be out here…"
"Well…" She glanced to the side. "Yes, I'm out here…"
"Reading, I see," Basilios responded, slightly uncertain in his gestures as he maintained his distance.
Still remarkably confused, Procopia only nodded. "As… one does with a book."
Why was he still so far away? Bless the man, truly, for these strange measures; she might have even thought him monk-like in his self-restraint, if self-restrained didn't seem to be the very way he carried on through life.
Basilios nodded, before clearing his throat. "Right. I was- I was just off to see Adrian Hyrtakenas, he invited me to go meet with him. Something about my title…"
Procopia's brow furrowed. "Gerasimos' father?"
"HIM, yes, exactly, I mean-" Basilios shook his head. "I was just going to ask if you'd like to join me. I don't think he'd mind, and considering your expertise compared to mine…"
She tried to scrutinize his expression. Clearly he wasn't just offering to be polite, he could have easily left without comment, but surely he'd have been more direct if he actually wanted her to join him. Though… it was Basilios she was talking to here.
Within a moment she felt a jolt of guilt, and hated the sudden feeling that she was observing him like some animal in a pen. Felt an even greater hatred towards the thought that she did this often.
She shrugged, shaking away the thought for now. "If he only extended the invitation to you, then I think it'd be best for you to meet him alone."
Taking a breath, Basilios nodded again. "No, of course, you're right, as always…" A nervous laugh escaped him. "Which means, in that case, I'm off. I'll… see you tonight?" He turned away, only to swiftly turn back and gesture to her book with a slight smile. "I hope that's a good one."
"I'll see you then, Basilios. And thank you," Procopia offered, watching him leave.
She tried then to observe him as the man he was, not as some animal, not as some subject. The man whose neck got red beneath his shaggy hair when he blushed, the man who always stumbled over the overgrown grass around the castle when he got nervous, and the man who stood dramatic lengths away from his wife despite knowing that she, at the very least, tolerated sleeping in the same bed as him every night for the sake of convenience.
Her fingers traced the edge of her book's solid cover. Lord help Basilios, she thought, so that he might get past this silly infatuation for everyone's sake…
