|
Léof wasn’t sure whether to take Thornden’s words as a lecture, a rebuke, or an encouragement. A lesson, maybe. It was not what Léof had expected; he had hoped that Thornden would simply agree with him and that they might commiserate together. But Thornden didn’t agree with the soldiers, did he? No, that wasn’t it. If Thornden had seemed at all upset or angry with him during the speech, Léof probably would have interrupted him then and there and stalked off. But he was not; quite the opposite.
“…If you truly think you ought to be treated like a man, then act the way you think a man should act. Perhaps you are angry at them because you are not yet certain of your manhood yourself.”
Well, that stung a bit. Léof’s first impulse was to respond with an angry retort, but he held it back. Was Thornden right? Was he letting the soldiers walk all over him? “Then… what was I supposed to do?” Léof asked, a little bit of defensiveness creeping into his tone. “Have I been doing something wrong? And what am I supposed to do now?”
|