Jenny blushed when the man didn't seem to hear him. He was staring hard at the wall, and whatever was on his mind, Jenny didn't want to disturb him in his rumination. Mr. Appleton would want her to make tea anyway, no matter how many guests there were. And so she quietly disappeared back into the kitchen.

Quiet girls voices could be heard upstairs. There was the noise outside of the cart being moved, Tobias' voice and that of a boy, and chicken out in the yard.