It wasn't a definitive answer, but Paddy probably shouldn't have been expecting one. Non-sorcerers weren't supposed to know about magic, and Solomon had implied that Paddy would have to watch his own step around the governing body - the Sanctuary - from now on. Sean was still too young to have to deal with that, or with the implied consequences of telling anyone else.
But on the other hand, Sean would find out eventually. Especially if Paddy remained as involved in the world of magic as he was. And Sean, unlike his mother, wouldn't feel the need to tell anyone else, much less actually do so. Best to tell him now, when accompanying the revelation with a warning might actually have some sort of effect.
"Sean?" Paddy hesitated in the doorway of his dining room, trying to phrase things as truthfully as possible. "I need your help in the church, please."
"Who was that at the door?" Erin, Paddy's sister, quite reasonably asked.
"Friends of mine." Paddy grimaced with what he hoped was a considerable amount of self-embarrassment and apology. It wasn't all fake. "I'm sorry about dinner, but I should be back before too long. Please, Erin, don't clean up without me."
It was the perfect thing to say to make her forget about her curiosity, because of course, she would clean up without him. Not out of gratitude or niceties, but because Erin was the sort of person who did the exact opposite of what she was told. Not a bad trait, exactly, since it wasn't out of spite either, and it worked nicely in Paddy's favour when he knew how to manipulate it.
"Why do you need my help?" Sean asked on their way over into the chapel.
"You'll see."
"I don't want to see, I want to know."
"Patience is a virtue," Paddy reminded him with a smile. "It'll be worth it, I promise. Now, when we go into the kitchen, you need to promise me that you won't say anything, no matter what you might hear."
"Why can't I?"
"Because you're going to want to. And normally, I'm sure you could." The empty chapel echoed with his words, as Paddy led Sean almost immediately into the lower hallways. "But there's someone who needs my help, and that has to take priority over any of your questions. For now, just listen. I'll explain as much as I can later."
"He didn't sound like he needed any help," Sean pointed out. "He was laughing."
"Yes, he was, wasn't he? I can't imagine why." Paddy pushed open the kitchen door before his nephew could ask any more questions, just in time to hear the man he didn't know pointing at a coffee mug in the sink and saying something about the great Coffee Grind Panic of the late 1970's.
no subject
But on the other hand, Sean would find out eventually. Especially if Paddy remained as involved in the world of magic as he was. And Sean, unlike his mother, wouldn't feel the need to tell anyone else, much less actually do so. Best to tell him now, when accompanying the revelation with a warning might actually have some sort of effect.
"Sean?" Paddy hesitated in the doorway of his dining room, trying to phrase things as truthfully as possible. "I need your help in the church, please."
"Who was that at the door?" Erin, Paddy's sister, quite reasonably asked.
"Friends of mine." Paddy grimaced with what he hoped was a considerable amount of self-embarrassment and apology. It wasn't all fake. "I'm sorry about dinner, but I should be back before too long. Please, Erin, don't clean up without me."
It was the perfect thing to say to make her forget about her curiosity, because of course, she would clean up without him. Not out of gratitude or niceties, but because Erin was the sort of person who did the exact opposite of what she was told. Not a bad trait, exactly, since it wasn't out of spite either, and it worked nicely in Paddy's favour when he knew how to manipulate it.
"Why do you need my help?" Sean asked on their way over into the chapel.
"You'll see."
"I don't want to see, I want to know."
"Patience is a virtue," Paddy reminded him with a smile. "It'll be worth it, I promise. Now, when we go into the kitchen, you need to promise me that you won't say anything, no matter what you might hear."
"Why can't I?"
"Because you're going to want to. And normally, I'm sure you could." The empty chapel echoed with his words, as Paddy led Sean almost immediately into the lower hallways. "But there's someone who needs my help, and that has to take priority over any of your questions. For now, just listen. I'll explain as much as I can later."
"He didn't sound like he needed any help," Sean pointed out. "He was laughing."
"Yes, he was, wasn't he? I can't imagine why." Paddy pushed open the kitchen door before his nephew could ask any more questions, just in time to hear the man he didn't know pointing at a coffee mug in the sink and saying something about the great Coffee Grind Panic of the late 1970's.