"Important!" he echoed, his tone one of mocking awe as though he could simply not wait to hear whatever news it was she had come to bring them. In reality, he had very little notion that this would prove to be actually important. Women in general tended to overstate things, he had always found, and the Trelawneys in general had a proclivity towards melodramatics.

"I'm sure Sarah would be delighted to speak to you," he continued, before taking a long drink of his coffee. He made no movement either to go and fetch Sarah, nor to indicate where she was. The house was hardly a large one; it was not as though Miriam would get lost looking for her sister on her own, and he wasn't thrilled by the prospect of playing errand boy and going to track his wife down.