Kit's suspicion that Lola informed Narin of his trilingual skills are confirmed two days later. It's a cold and frigid Thursday as Kit makes the journey home with Emmett, Lola and Henri. Emmett and Henri walk a few feet ahead of them. Henri's English has improved rapidly in the last two months, he has a basic understanding of it now. He told Emmett to speak slower when he is conversing with Henri as the more people Henri talks to the quicker his English will evolve. Henri's face is scrunched up in concentration as Emmett speaks to him about winning the latest rugby match, whether or not he is following the conversation is unclear but what matters is that he is trying.

Lola walks beside him, waving her hands in the air as she tells Kit about the latest trick she taught Pearl.

Kit glances down at her. He says, "thank you."

Lola blinks and glances up at him. "For what?"

Lola is a lot sharper than most people think. She picked up French with such lightning speed and determination, Kit wouldn't be surprised if she was fluent within a few years.

He's overheard some of the teachers talk about her, particularly Mr. Clayson who teaches arithmetics. The amusement in his voice as he jokes with the other teachers about Lola's mathematical abilities is — it is aggravating to say the least. He hopes Lola hasn't heard any of it, judging by Lola's consistently sunny disposition she hasn't heard it or doesn't care. Lola is only fifteen, Kit hazards that it is the former.

"For telling Narin I'm a translator," Kit says, wanting to add even though I'm not but decides against it, "she dropped off some books she needed help translating and I've been working on them to show her today."

It was what he needed after spending a week in bed battling a horrible fever. He devoured all the books Narin left within a day and he's spent every day since then working on the Latin to English translations for Ovid as she requested. He has not started on Flowers of Evil as she didn't make it clear in her notes which language she wanted it translated to. It's most likely English but he didn't want to waste time doing that only to find out she wanted it in Latin.

"Oh, right, you're welcome," Lola says, glancing away and then turning to face Kit with one of those bright grins that turns her into the spitting image of Emmett. Her grin falters, "I felt bad that you spent your birthday ill and Mrs. Tail—your nan wouldn't let us see you so I thought, wait, what would normal people find depressing but Kit would love? Reading and translating really old, really boring books!"

The corner of Kit's lips quirk up.

"Well, I'm glad I came to mind then," Kit says, placing a hand on his chest in fake sincerity.

Lola's bright grin returns, "you're such a bookworm I reckon you had the time of your life reading 'em. What books did she even give you? Poetry?"

Henri's laughter echoes in the quiet street. Kit looks up to find Emmett's making a silly face at the younger boy.

He nods as he glances back at Lola, "Ovid and Baudelaire."

Lola squints, "are those people or are those the book titles? I can never tell."

"People," Kit replies with a soft smile, "in fact, they considered to be some of the greatest writers in history."

It is part of the reason Kit was so reluctant to work on their translations. How could he, a boy of barely seventeen, hope to ever interpret the work of the greats for the masses. It was one thing to do it in his spare time where the only set of eyes were his but it is quite another to do it professionally.

They turn onto the narrow, dirt path behind a row of terraced houses. It's a short cut that takes them straight to a small stone bridge coated with moss and vines where the river runs underneath. Otherwise it's a longer walk through the Square and the local park to get to their respective homes.

Lola whistles, "who's your favourite then?"

Kit opens to mouth, then snaps it shut and frowns as he realises no one has ever asked him that question, nor has he ever considered it himself. How odd. He quickly runs through the names and works of the hundreds of poets and writers' in his mind but he may adore too many to single out a specific one. 

Luckily, Kit is saved from answering as Henri and Emmett reach the end of the dirt path and turn to face them. The stone bridge is just behind.

"Chop, chop, you two," Emmett says, "some of us have jobs to get to. Mr. Gordon is looking for any reason to sack me after I accidentally lost half the papers last week."

"How did that happen?" Kit asks when him and Lola have reached them.

"Long story short," Emmett answers as the four of them cross the bridge, "the bloody wind took them and the snow ruined on the ones I couldn't pick up in time."

Lola laughs, "you should have seen him, Kit, he was running around trying to get them all back. It was the funniest thing I've ever seen!"

"Yeah, and this pillock," Emmett points to his younger sister, "offered no help."

Lola shakes her head, "and ruin the entertaining show you gave me?"

Emmett pushes Lola who stumbles and almost slips on the icy ground but Kit catches her with an arm around her shoulders. He pulls Lola against him to ensure he does not fall over, when he glances down at Lola to check she's fine it is to find Lola staring up at him with flushed cheeks and wide dark eyes.

Kit says, "Are you ok?"

The flush on Lola's cheeks spreads to the rest of her face as her mouth hangs open and she continues to stare at Kit like she's never seen him before.

Kit frowns, wondering if the cold has gotten to her. "Lola?"

Lola blinks about a hundred times in one second before she sputters and pushes away from Kit. In her hurry, she almost slips again but she reaches out and grabs bridge's wooden railing.

"I—I'm fine," she says with a flushed face. "Thanks."

Lola crouches down to collect some snow she quickly forms into a lumpy ball and she chucks it at Emmett. Lola groans in annoyance when Emmett ducks down in time and the snowball flies into the river below instead.

"One day, Lola!" Emmett shouts as Lola attempts to chase him and Henri laughs with his arms wrapped around his sLolaach.

*

Henri's house is the last stop on their morning walks to school and it is the first stop on their way back home. The stone cottage is nestled at the end of Wick Lane surrounded by high hedges.

"What are you doing?" Emmett asks when Kit starts following Henri to his house.

"Narin gave me some books to translate," he says as Henri knocks on the door, "I'm giving them back to her."

Emmett perks up then and jogs over to them as Lola hangs back.

"She did?" Emmett says, "since when do you speak to her?"

"Since Lola told her I can help with translations," Kit says.

Emmett glances back at his sister who smiles back at him like she knows a secret. Emmett turns to face Kit, he says, "does she—"

The door opens to reveal Narin standing on the other side. She pauses as her big brown eyes, a shade lighter than Henri's, take in Kit, Henri and Emmett on her doorstep and Lola standing in the street behind them. Her eyes land on Emmett and she seems to straighten up ever so slightly you wouldn't notice unless you were paying close attention.

Her smile is shy when she says, "um, hello."

"Hello," Emmett repeats, his dark eyes never leaving hers. His own smile spreads slowly across his face.

Narin and Emmett watch each other for a moment too long before Henri pushes Narin aside and rushes into his house, shouting that he needs the loo in French.

Narin huffs and glances back at her younger cousin as he disappears behind a corner, "ne courez pas autour de la maison, Henri!" Don't run in the house, Henri!

She chuckles as she turns back to the boys. Kit shrugs off his leather book bag and takes out Narin's books, he bound them back in the same spindly rope but this time with two notebooks worth of translation drafts and notes attached.

"The, uh, stuff you wanted," he says, clearing his throat, "I only did the sections you highlighted. I wasn't quite sure which language you wanted with The Flowers of Evil but I did add annotations in Latin and English in case you wanted both or...." he chews the inside of his cheek, a habit Nan often admonishes him for, "...or either, I don't know."

Narin looks at the books with awe and turns the same look on Kit.

"This...this is marvellous," Narin says in that lilting French accent of hers.

Nan says she has a gentle voice like Kit and that she could listen to 'that lovely Frenchy talk all day long!' Who knows, Nan might swap Kit for Narin to read her poetry on the evenings they spend sat around the fireplace.

"C'est pas vrai," Narin continues, pulling out one of Kit's notebooks and flicking through it. Unbelievable. "And you did it so quickly!"

Kit shrugs, "it's nothing. I'm not a professional by any means but I gave it a go. I suppose that's all one can do."

"Merci beaucoup," Narin smiles at him, her eyes crinkling at the corners. The passing wind sends a loose strand of chocolate brown hair falling over her plump face. She blows it aside and says "I am working on..."

"Wait, uh, what," Emmett starts, stepping forward, "do you...do you need any help with that?"

Narin opens her mouth to answer but Lola is already crossing the street and grabbing Emmett by his arm. "You only speak English," she says, dragging him away, "they don't need your help, now, c'mon, I wanna go home and you have a paper round to get to."

"Oh, I gotta go but...see you soon, Narin!" Emmett shouts as Lola pulls him further down the street.

"À plus tard!" Narin smiles and waves at him. See you later! She turns back to Kit, "please, come in."

"Thank you," Kit says as Narin steps aside to let him in. "I — I meant to ask, why do you need help translating Baudelaire? Your English is excellent."

"Ah, because Cambridge would like it to be translated into Latin for archival purposes and while I am fluent in Latin, it is my weakest language," she explains, shutting the door behind him, "and Lola said you are very talented in both French and Latin." She smiles at him, "Lola is a sweet girl, the only one to make friends with Henri so I trust her judgement of you."

Kit blinks, then scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. Eton had been crushingly lonely at times but it seems Lola is resolute on making sure that's not repeated in Rainford, whether she realises it or not. He opens his mouth to say something but Narin is already walking down the hall to the study.