"You sit down there, and eat half this lunch. It's a grand tiffin. Where did you learn to cook, Jane Judd?"
She sat down opposite him, trembling in every inch of her body, but her face wore its usual calm.
"Women don't learn to cook; they just absorb it. I've always done it."
She went to the little stove to serve herself to lunch and when she came back he was studying his sketch while he ate. He scarcely noticed her. When she refilled his coffee cup he became aware of her again.
"Heard about this big show I'm getting up?"
"Yes."
"Interesting thing. How did you hear about it?"
"Everybody talks about it. I was at the Chatfields' yesterday. They were discussing it."
"Were they? What did they say?"
"I didn't listen."