Skulduggery returned the sidelong look. "Why wouldn't I - "
He stopped, and looked away again. "Ah."
It was practical. It made sense. They weren't going to find Marr if they had to keep backtracking every place they went to with help from the Sanctuary, and finding Marr was the most important thing right now. It had to take precedence over everything, including... what had Rafe called it? Skulduggery's neuroses?
But this had nothing to do with how he felt about Gabe, or about himself. It had everything to do with how Skulduggery felt about his wife.
"I don't get it," said Valkyrie from the backseat. "What's the problem?"
Skulduggery took an extra second to center himself, took a conscious and steadying breath, then turned back. "Nothing. There is no problem. Gabe, do you need us to wait out here? There's an ice cream parlour just around the corner, and I've always been curious about the hype."
It was an innocent enough question, but it didn't fool anyone in the car - even if Valkyrie hadn't quite gotten the significance behind it yet. It wasn't very often Skulduggery willingly removed himself from any part of an investigation, but he felt that this could easily be one of the few exceptions. The less he saw, the better.
no subject
He stopped, and looked away again. "Ah."
It was practical. It made sense. They weren't going to find Marr if they had to keep backtracking every place they went to with help from the Sanctuary, and finding Marr was the most important thing right now. It had to take precedence over everything, including... what had Rafe called it? Skulduggery's neuroses?
But this had nothing to do with how he felt about Gabe, or about himself. It had everything to do with how Skulduggery felt about his wife.
"I don't get it," said Valkyrie from the backseat. "What's the problem?"
Skulduggery took an extra second to center himself, took a conscious and steadying breath, then turned back. "Nothing. There is no problem. Gabe, do you need us to wait out here? There's an ice cream parlour just around the corner, and I've always been curious about the hype."
It was an innocent enough question, but it didn't fool anyone in the car - even if Valkyrie hadn't quite gotten the significance behind it yet. It wasn't very often Skulduggery willingly removed himself from any part of an investigation, but he felt that this could easily be one of the few exceptions. The less he saw, the better.