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Right. She guessed he didn’t want her moving off his lap.
“Aww. No one ever lets me see their snot. I don’t think I’ve ever seen girl snot. Is it different from boy snot?”
“I think all snot is the same,” Regent told him.
“It’s really not. Some of it is really gross. Like green or yellow. The clear stuff is boring.”
“This stuff was clear,” Regent told him.
Dear Lord. Were they really discussing her snot color?
“I figured,” Ace said with a sad sigh. “Girls never do much that’s interesting.”
“I wouldn’t say that is true,” Regent said, winking at her.
Had he ever winked before? She gaped at him.
Was this a sign of the new Regent? Did she really want him to change? Well, only if he wanted to. And she kind of thought he might be happier if he left some of what his father taught him behind.
“Well, Jilly was pretty good on that hoverboard, before you yelled at her and made her fall.”
Regent winced. “I did do that, didn’t I?”
“It’s okay,” she said.
“Jardin said you were just worried about her and that’s why you yelled. Not because you cared about that old vase. But if it costs lots, well, I’ve been saving to go to Disney World and you can have that money. ‘Cause I’m the one that was using the hoverboard inside when I know I’m not supposed to, and then I let Jilly use it, and she might not have known. Plus, I don’t want her to be in trouble. So, do you want the money? I have like a hundred and twelve dollars saved.”
Jilly could feel the tears forming. She blinked, trying to keep them back, knowing how Ace felt about tears. But they slid down her cheeks.
“Oh no, she’s crying. Jilly! You’re not good at keeping your promise.”
“These are happy tears.”
Ace sighed and shook his head. “Girls. Always crying. Am I right?”
Regent bit his lip as he shook against her. Was he trying not to laugh.
“Uh, Ace, I don’t believe you should say that about girls.”
Ace sighed. “I know. So, Uncle Reggie, do you want my Disney World money? You didn’t yell too much at Jilly, did you?”
“He didn’t yell at me at all, Ace. Everything is fine.”
“It is,” Regent said. “And keep your money, Ace. The broken vase was entirely my fault.”
“But Jardin said I have to take responsibility when I mess up, and I wasn’t supposed to be riding the hoverboard inside because you still have some of those ugly vases and statues and stuff. Even though you got rid of most of them.”
“I put away all of the ones that meant something. I’m not really worried if the rest get broken.”
“So can we ride the hoverboard inside?” Ace asked.
“Sure. As long as you have the correct protective gear on.”
“Yes!” Ace pumped his fist into the air. “You hear that, Jilly? Maybe you need to ask Santa for your own one and we can have races.”
“No races,” Regent said firmly.
“Darn it. Oh well. It will still be fun.” Ace smiled at her and she grinned back. “I mean so long as you don’t cry when you fall over.”
