When evening fell, most of the work had already been done. The guests were to come the next day, and because of the tedious and thorough cleaning of the day, most of the staff retired to bed early to prepare for the next day. She and Penelope had just eaten dinner, and throughout, Penelope could not hold down her yawns.
"We should sleep.", Penelope said after a long yawn.
Neera shook her head. "I will join you soon. I want to take a bit of a walk."
Neera caught Penelope looking at her from her peripheral view. Confused, she gave her an inquiring look.
"Do you miss him a lot?" Penelope asked out of the blue. She knew she had been thinking about him all day, and pretended to be fine, but she had just ignored it. There was no need to bring it up when she was trying to keep her mind off it, but now seeing her almost at the brink of tears, she asked;
