A whisper soon spread from circle to circle so that every noble and servant seven hundred miles north, four hundred miles south, three hundred miles east and five hundred miles west arrived at the understanding that Ellie Gibbs had died.

What a shame.

And the Lady Gibbs was so very excited on her last visit.

What about that niece of yours? Anna, the poor girl? She was supposed to be her nurse, no?

The grey beast of wind and water roared its thunderous roar as it rolled on, passing over their meeting place. The glass of the window shook a little on its hinges. The droplets outside made a choir of snaps and whacks; the wind had been whipping them against the ground. It had been this way for over an hour. None of the Whos so much as flinched at the sound anymore. In fact, they were rather happy at the storm. Children couldn't get into as much trouble or cause as much of a mess when they were too afraid to step out of their rooms. On those fair occasions when the rascals passed off into an early sleep, a good many of the servants found themselves with relatively more free time. So it was that the fellowship of Stephen, Whitney, Natalie and Adam wound up sitting in a crooked circle by a crackling fire.

She did say she preferred managing girls to boys.

She has very good sense.

Tis true but Darius is nicer than most boys. But the timing- oh dear...

What do you mean?

It was the most terrible thing. Not even a day before the death of Ellie Gibbs, a dear fellow of Anna's fell victim to Cooties!

The Medusa Plague? Even in this day and age? How dreadful!

Bad way to go... turned to stone... no hope of a cure... (shivers).

What's worse, that fellow of hers left a babe behind! A daughter by some good-for-nothing drunkard! And on her deathbed, she left the child to Anna! Perhaps she wanted the child to be raised in a good home. And, of course, being a nurse for the Gibbses, Anna could provide just that but... what a burden it is on my dear niece! How terrible it is that the babe should be dumb!

Dumb? You mean she has no voice?

Not even enough to cry.

The poor girl. But aren't there Overseers nearer to the Gibbses? Couldn't they help the girl in some way?

Anna won't even consider asking!

It seems the good sir has had an effect on her. The Fates bless the man but he is stubborn as a mule. I still don't understand why he didn't have an Overseer present for his daughter's birth. At least to examine the blanket. Master Jack is a good Who but still a Who and able to err. And we Arduskans still know precious little about the higher things.

Ha! Overseers, indeed!

It was then that everyone but Adam flinched. Their eyes winced. Stephen and Natalie even began to fidget as Whitney scratched her own forearm and then the back of her own head. Suddenly every breeze and branch- every silhouette and shadow -became, in their imaginings, a possible Overseer going about their martyric business and being terribly insulted. As soon as Adam opened his mouth, Stephen regretted bringing up the Overseers. People who had never met them seldom had anything useful to say about them. Adam had yet to have the chance and so he claimed not to be in the slightest bit interested. Whitney often wanted to punch him for the things he'd say about them but Natalie kept her and herself quiet. She had convinced her early on that it was better to wait for him to meet one himself and find his own foot in his mouth.

You are too quick to blame Master Jack. For all we know, it was the Stork who got it wrong. If those aliens had any care at all for their fellow Whos, they'd stop forcing us to rely on those callous birds and teach us how to get those sorts of blankets on our own!

By the pinky, what are you on about this time?

My grandad saw it with his own two eyes: An Overseer flying! And not one of the queer Overseers either. He had no unnatural, feathered limbs. His descent was not bird-ish or horse-like but ape-ish! He was a Who like the rest of us true Arduskans! Think of it: a Who flying side-by-side with, or- even better -in place of Storks! I tell you, we'd get it right. No more of the blind, deaf or dumb. Imagine that.

(to Adam) Astounding! You've yet to make a single edible dish and you talk of pulling children out of the Deep? Any child of your delivery wouldn't need to fear being blind, deaf or dumb! They'd be dead before they... (realising)...... (to Whitney) sorry.

It's alright. A-As for you Adam, don't you go calling those other peoples que- (stuck in her tongue) odd. They are men as much as we and we are Talking Beasts as much as they. Talking Apes, we Whos are, as much as a Hobbit's a Talking Rabbit.

As much as a Pixie's a Talking Butterfly, indeed. But not all beasts are created equal. Even before our ancestors were blessed with speech, they were surely more blessed than rabbits or butterflies.

Even with speech, it seems, some are still but beasts.

By then the rain had become less vain. The wind was no longer whistling through the gaps and cracks, and the drops were not being whipped against the ground- they were merely left to fall. By the end, a little bit of light managed to find its way into the room, if only for a little while before twilight.

Could the Overseers have healed the girls, do you think?

If the Fates would have them be healed, perhaps. If not...

Oh! But if you think about it, it is by the Fates that she got to be Darius' nurse! Anna, I mean! It seems you have done good by finding your niece such a post, Whitney! By your work, that orphan's mother had a fellow in Anna! Don't you see? You've saved the babe's life! Could you imagine growing up in some cursed orphanage without a voice? Now, she'll be raised in the good sir's own home! Surely he will accommodate! And surely Darius, the good-sir-to-be, will be a brother to her since he is, as you say, nicer than most boys! Even if they would not have her be healed, the Fates could not have put her in a better place to live as she is!

I suppose so! Oh the Fates do work in mysterious ways! And the good sir was so good about it too! Lord Gibbs didn't even hesitate to welcome the child into his estate- though it had come about so close to his own tragic loss.

Truly, a noble-man!

Indeed... So Anna and Lord Gibbs are quite close?

I take it they are quite good to one another though he is still her Lord. As for the girl, I hear she has been fated Kiara against her blanket's command!

What makes you say so?

By the time Anna had adopted her, the girl's mother had already disposed of it. What other reason can there be to dispose of a Stork-ish blanket other than rebellion.

What a fun idea!

Adam, be quiet.

Still... Kiara Nurse... It is a very sweet fate.... A-And, in any case, I do think that newborn Kiara- though far from a replacement -will still prove to be some comfort in the matter of stillborn Ellie.

Yes...

From then on Stephen wore a very grim face as the last light of day disappeared beyond the horizon and night crept in all around them. There was a long pause that followed the utterance of the girl's fate. No one knew what to say in reply as they sat amidst the grand dance of fiery light and shadow swaying from wall to floor in harmony with the smoke in the air. Then, when Stephen got up to open the window and let some of that smoke out, Adam became bored enough to talk as he wished- regardless of the direction of conversation.

In any case, the whole thing's a bit of a relief for us I suppose.

How can you say such a thing?

Consider it! Our Lady is certainly going to mourn her niece. The good dame can hardly leave her cousin alone at such a time, whatever she thinks of his wife- and who doesn't. And our Lord can hardly leave his wife there alone. He'll stay with her, of course, and as long as we keep the little masters clean and happy, we've pretty much the house to our own mastery!

Only a true gentleman could have laid out the benefits of a dead baby girl so eloquently.

That's... Stop twisting my words. You know that's not what I meant.

Oh? What did you mean then?

I only... (sigh) I mean there's really nothing to do with us. I'm sorry for young Anna but are we going to go into despair for every baby girl that dies in the world? We'd never have a day of laughter to ourselves in such a case.

Not every girl. But this one was rather important, no? Our Lady was so set on matching her up with the Lordling.

Is there a sudden shortage of noble girls?

Girls with her eyes. The House of Gibbs has been very "fortunate" of late. The good sir's firstborn was a boy. And all his siblings have had, between them, nine boys and two girls.

I still think it irresponsible that the good sir married so late.

That's because you let the good dame do all your thinking for you!

Why not? If she's right-

Anyway! While we thank the Fates for the many little masters, we wouldn't mind a few little dames as well.

Why must the girls be Gibbses? Our Lord is not a Gibbs and neither is Master Bruce.

: It's the eyes, youngling! The eyes! The fate of "Gibbs" is nothing compared to the red and green. Lady Cornelia's got the fate and she's one of the most wretched women I've ever met.

The red an- You mean the good dame's eyes?

Precisely. Master Bruce hasn't got them. We can only hope that his someday-wife will.

Why does it matter?

Tell me Adam, what do you call our Lord?

Lord Cantor.

And what about his brother and his sister?

Lord Cantor also and his sister, Lady Hawthorne

And would you dare call Lord Cantor "Master"? Or Lady Hawthorne, "Madame"?

Most certainly not! I would not insult them by suggesting that they were at the head of a profession. To suggest that they had to work at all- I may be only a new servant but I know that much.

Why do you dare call Lord Gibbs "good sir" and our Lady "good dame" then?

Ah... well... They asked me too, is all! I didn't at first!

Precisely. It is the eyes! It is well-known, you see, that if ever you find yourself in the employ of someone with red and green eyes...

: The eyes of the House of Gibbs.

... You are sure to be well-treated. That is why we are so sure Darius will be a brother to little Tiana-

Kiara.

Kiara- yes, of course. It is because he has the eyes! And unfortunately Master Bruce hasn't. So our best shot of still having a good dame once our Lady is gone, is by praying that she can find her son a good match!

You cannot be serious. Whitney! Stephen! Surely you are more sensible than this!

A sensible man accepts the evidence regardless of his own biases. What's true is true whether I think it ridiculous or not.

But surely there are good employers without red and green eyes! Master Bruce seems delightful enough! I'm sure he'll grow to be a gentle-man worth the description!

Yes, but there are no bad employers with red and green eyes! It is insurance!

So... w-what your saying is red and green-

Red and green eyes! No doubt about it!

Balderdash...

It wasn't long after that, when they began to retire. Whitney went off first. Natalie and Adam took leave soon after. Stephen stayed behind to clean up whatever mess their little meeting had left. And as he was moving about alone, and as he was climbing the steps leading to his own bedroom, and as he was pacing around his bed, he could not help but find Whitney's witness more than a little odd. And as he was lying down, staring blankly at the ceiling, every word of the account leapt all o'er his mind as if they were little knick knacks making echoes in a great cavern. The noise kept him up for hours.

Good sir... what have you done?