|
Coen dearly wanted to escape this man, but could not think of a way to do so without upsetting him. In his mind, a 'no thank you' was as plain as 'no' any day, and he couldn't think of a polite way to say 'no, I'd really rather you go away now.' He did not hold any quarrel against this Erbrand, though he had seen the look on the man's face only a moment before. It was perhaps best to step lightly around this man, if possible, so Coen simply nodded politely in recognition of his reinforced offer. He then turned his attention immediately to those carrying the baggage and requested, "Try to be careful with those." They weren't all his men, so he did not wish to sound like he was barking orders at them yet.
He was about to go find Hilderinc, leaving his conversation with Erbrand as it was - if the man wished to follow him, so be it - when just moments after his 'request' he heard a very slight thud and an "oops." He turned to see a boy with a package about to unwrap or fall from his hands, and one of (he assumed) Lady Wynflaed's combs already on the ground in front of him. Coenred closed his mouth and went over to the boy, and stooped to put a hand under the package in the child's arms and pick up the comb.
"That's a difficult one," he said simply. Taking the package from the boy, he turned to Erbrand and offered him the package. "Would you mind placing this with the others, sir? There's something I dearly need to attend to."
|