There was no one in the main room, though there was a cheerless greeting from the wall in the form of a photograph of an austere looking man with sideburns sitting on a chair, a woman with a plain face standing beside him with her hand on his shoulder, and four solemn children standing around them. Not much had changed around the room since Nate and Tobias since they were boys, other than the sofa having been replaced, a child's spelling medal having been removed from the mantlepiece, and the piano of Tobias' first wife, Sally, making the entire room seem just a little less bleak. A small picture of her still adorned the top, offering Nate the only smile in the room.

The door to the kitchen opened and the maid peeked out. "Oh Mr. Appleton. I didn't know ye were comin'!"