Only after she spoke up did Kest or Anton seem to notice her presence. Rarely did she make a conscious effort to be so stealthy. It just sort of...happened. Grace retreated back into silence, eating her toast as Anton talked about preparing peach scones and Kest opened the window. The head butler appeared transfixed by the rain. For a few seconds, he stared wistfully out of the window, inhaling the scent of the air. 

Then he seemed to remember that he was not the only one in the room, and turned to face Grace. "How are you doing? Have you finally settled in?" he asked her. 

She gave a shrug, popping the last bite of toast into her mouth. Grace had been in the mansion two years now. And despite virtually no memory of a time before Lady Sinclair's house, she'd had an impossibly difficult time adjusting to life here. She avoided the question, , answering with a vague, [b]"Well enough,"[/b] and moving to help Kest push in the last few chairs around the table. [b]"The rain is soaking the garden. I didn't get anything done last night,"[/b] she said. It was difficult to tell whether she was apologizing or simply telling him. 

She stepped back, looking at the table. Seven was a lot of new people. Regardless of whether or not she could get anything done outside today, there would be work in the house to do. [b]"What do you need help with in here?"[/b] she asked. Despite being awake all night, it would still be a few hours before exhaustion hit Grace.