Underland: What sort of nonsense is this anyway?

“Hello Hortie,”  Lizzie said, remembering to use Hortensia’s preferred nickname of choice.  “Your books are amazing.”

“I didn’t know you read…or liked to read, rather,” Hortensia said, stumbling over trying to not accidentally insult the girl’s intelligence.  What she had meant to say was that she had never seen her with any books during her stay with her.  Of course, if the girl was in school, she would have had to read.

“These books I certainly do.  What sort of nonsense is this anyway? The Study of the Unicorn and Other Majestic Beasts and Under the Over, a History — sound a bit like hogwash to me,”  Lizzie said.  “Granted, it is interesting though.”

Hortensia was tempted to tell her that unicorns were indeed real, but then she wondered whether or not she was allowed to disclose that sort of information to a non-faerie, and if so, what the repercussions might be.