Jeanne: Significant Looks

Druce narrowed one eye at the boy, whose face showed an overabundance of nonchalance. "Broke both arms!" he repeated; "you should have broken your head."

The woman, evidently frustrated with interruptions, nevertheless took the time to observe Druce's gash with one eye while keeping the other on the boy. It was not what he wanted; he had hoped to steal in, clean off the excess dirt, wrap up his palm, and be back to the trenches before the rain came - but women, he thought to himself, always make more trouble than necessary.

He and the boy were packed out of the kitchen before he could fully protest, and in the privacy of the atrium he glanced down at the crooked-armed lad. "What's this about, you scalawag? There's mischief in your face: I could spy it a mile away."