The clink of flatware against the china plates increased to deafening proportions, and finally John felt compelled to say, "It's very good," referring to the food on his plate. But if anyone agreed with him, they kept it to themselves, and it was only as Rosa was filling Jennings' plate a second time that he looked up and ventured a word. "Did you sleep well, Eden?" he inquired, a stiffness to his voice. "Very well, thank you. The bed is quite comfortable." And that was that, at least for the second go-around, and during the silence, waves of melancholy beat upon John's brain along with the rising conviction that he was seated in the heart of a mystery. He wanted to ask questions of everyone, particularly Dhari, but that fine countenance had not looked up once during the entire meal. At last, as Rosa was serving tea, Jennings asked, "Well, what now, Eden?" While John had hungered for conversation, he was not prepared for so blunt a question.
