Ben walked to the teapot with the kettle in hand and poured it through, then settled into the empty chair so he could wait for it to steep before he poured. He really should have taken the kettle back in to the kitchen, but instead he simply set it down on the brick path behind the chair, likely to be forgotten until the housekeeper arrived the next morning and chided him for leaving it out in the wet dew overnight.

"You could never impose," he said warmly. "Though I was surprised at such a sudden request."

It occurred to him immediately as he said it that there was likely a reason she'd written yesterday with such an urgency to see him, and his stomach sank. This might not be such a quick and painless little interaction after all — but at least it was Nova who had visited and not Aldous. He thought that was better. Whether it really was or not remained to be seen.

"Is this, uhm — about that magazine?" he asked awkwardly.