Victor narrowed his eyes as he watched how she wrung her hands, the strange shift in stance and the distant look in her eyes telling the one time solider that she had become preoccupied with some weighty and worrisome matter. Even the smile that she tried to give him was a tad strained. He made note of it, then looked out towards his trees again to make it appear he'd either seen nothing or was disinterested in pursuing it. Another puff, and a plume of white smoke floated up and away into the air, the scent of rum enriched pipe weed sweetly carried upon the breeze. Vincent lowered the pipe to stare into the shadows cast by the setting sun.

"There's a pot of stew bubbling on the heart," he finally offered. "Hard cider in the jug by the back door, and you'll find bowls and mugs on the table, miss. Not the fare you're used to probably, living in Verrun and eating... whatever you nobs eat. But it'll fill your belly and warm your toes. 'Specially the cider." Vincent said nothing more, instead taking a deep breath and relaxing back into his chair as though he was the only one there. All the while, however, his mind ran over how nice it might be to have a pretty face about the house, even if just for a little while.

Alderman Brown struggled up the last of the bags before taking his leave. "You're all set then, Miss!" he huffed red-faced as he exited. "I'll be taking the cart back home now before the missus wonders where I took myself to. Good night to you both, then."

Feather followed close behind, her pale face glowing happily as she came out onto the porch. "Oh, Mistress Kijani!" she bubbled. "I've got the rooms aired out a bit, Mistress, and the bedding's all changed out. I've never had my own room before. And I get my own bed with it, Mistress! It's smaller than the one I share with my Gram, but since she's pretty heavy it looks bigger! I don't know why me Mum told me to use Master Vinegar's bed!" 

At this last piece of news, Victor choked on his pipe smoke and began to cough violently in surprise, a wracking sputter that took him a bit to recover.

Kijani's new maid continued onwards blithely, completely oblivious to their host's sudden convulsive fit. "I have your things neatly in the wardrobe, Mistress Kijani, and your unmentionables in the drawers by the bed." There was another bout of coughing. "If you'd like to eat, I can serve you now, Mistress!"