So many questions from Tobias was intimidating, but he had good reason to ask them, so Edmund tried not to let it bother him.  "Mable's tutor wasn't - she didn't live with us on the farm.  She was a teacher in the town closest to us, but we lived too far to attend lessons regularly, so she asked us to pay for private lessons."

A nervous habit, Edmund tugged on the hair at the base of his neck as he spoke, his eyes never lifting above Tobias' neck.  "We didn't have a lot of money at the time, so I let Mable take the lessons rather than me.  I was - it might have not been the smartest decision, but I was young at the time.  And I don't regret it either.  I don't have time to sit and read books anyway, but it's something that Mable enjoys.  So."