"Yeah, soft," he said. It wasn't Elijah he was angry with. But Elijah was there. And soft. He kicked the door. "Let me out! I'm innocent. You have no right to keep me!"

Elijah rubbed his face. "You know I can't just do that. Just tell me why you were at the market. Were you there for something in particular?" He figured he should keep the questions short and simple. One at a time.

He looked in at him and it reminded him how he'd left the young man. How he wished he'd stop seeing him as his enemy all the time.

"Want me to keep shouting through a door?" Noah kicked the door.

Elijah winced at the noise. "You don't have to shout at all, I can hear you just fine. Just as you hear me. Now calm down. I honestly do not feel like dealing with your attitude today. I have problems of my own." He knew it was the wrong thing to say, but he said it anyway.

"I know! Everybody's talkin' about you!" If he made Crane feel miserable, perhaps he'd feel better in comparison.

That made Crane pause and freeze up. "Ta-talking? A-about me?" Worry filled him immediately and that embarrassing stutter resurfaced. "Like... I.. I am..back in..town?"

Maybe he felt a little bad hearing Crane stammer. The constable was a constable, but he had been ok to Noah when he was younger (and not caught stealing, or playing truant, or fighting in the street). "Apparently someone published another shitty article about ye, suggesting you like it up the arse..." he said.

Elijah's breath caught in his throat. Even Noah knew about it. He felt a tremor in his voice as he was about to speak and put a hand to the door to steady his stance as he stared down. He spoke softly but very carefully to make sure every word came out without a tremble and with careful confidence. "It's.. just a .. trashy paper. And from a woman who was mad at .. being.. turned down. I've said nothing.. I've .. lived..in..this...town for.. thirty years."

He remembered that Noah had shared a cell with the very man he had been with . The only man in his entire miserable existence that he'd taken the risk to be intimate with. He felt hot with shame and covered his face. "If.. I was... some sort.. of deviant who.. laid with men... on the regular.. I'm sure.. someone.. would have said something.. by now. Lots of folks don't like me.. someone would.. have said something. She's just angry.. at me. I can.. have reasons to want a wife... I've lived all my life.. thinking .. I couldn't have someone.. and the moment.. I just.. try.." He felt tears. It was so stupid. Why did she write that? Why were people spreading it?! Couldn't they just leave him alone for a little bit? He hadn't even been in town for a damned month!

[CW: Homophobia]

Noah hadn't known how much truth to attach to the gossip. Crane was an odd one, and unmarried for this long, and Noah himself had made some remarks about him in that direction in the past. But he had never been serious - only tried to provoke the constable. He had simply never given it a lot of thought.

But when the constable started to defend himself, half-stammering and clearly upset, Noah frowned? Crane actually liked men. Eww.

He rested his forearm against the metal door. "Let me out and I'll shut up about it!" he offered.

Elijah backed away from the door and began to pace. "Why don't you listen?! I can't! I can't ! If constables could just let people out, it would be madness. And I'm going to try to free you. But this has nothing to do with the article. It's..." he wanted to shout it was untrue but every time be lied it felt like something wrong. He felt wrong.

"It doesn't matter, everyone seems to be talking about it. What's one more.." he frowned painfully and rubbed at his teary face. "I should...go to the Meijer farm to..ask about you. " Uriel would not believe such rumors, right? Or would his wife just deny him entry? No. He couldn't believe people would be that bad. Not over a random trashy article by an unknown woman .