In the library. The leather, the table, and whether I’m able to do with Miss Kew what Lone said.
What Lone said was, ‘There’s a woman lives up on the top of the hill in the Heights section, name of Kew. She’ll have to take care of you. You got to get her to do that. Do everything she tells you, only stay together. Don’t you ever let any one of you get away from the others, hear? Aside from that, just you keep Miss Kew happy and she’ll keep you happy. Now you do what I say.’ That’s what Lone said. Between every word there was a link like steel cable, and the whole thing made something that couldn’t be broken. Not by me it couldn’t.
Miss Kew said, ‘Where are your sisters and the baby?’
I’ll bring ‘em.’
‘Is it near here?’
‘Near enough.’ She didn’t say anything to that, so I got up. ‘I’ll be back soon.’
‘Wait,’ she said. ‘I—really, I haven’t had time to think. I mean—I’ve got to get things ready, you know.’
I said, ‘You don’t need to think and you are ready. So long.’
From the door I heard her saying, louder and louder as I walked away, ‘Young man, if you’re to live in this house, you’ll learn to be a good deal better-mannered—‘and a lot more of the same.
I yelled back at her, ‘Okay, okay! ’ and went out.