The dining room at the Starlight household had the particular quality of a space that had been filled by a large family for generations and retained that quality even when it was only occupied by four people.
Diana had made tea and had found bread from the previous day and the good butter from the cold store, and she was sitting with the morning light coming through the east-facing window and the expression of someone who had woken up at a reasonable hour and was satisfied with the decision.
Lily was less satisfied. Lily had been dragged to the morning by some combination of internal energy and the specific motivation of not wanting to miss whatever was happening at the breakfast table, and she was sitting with both hands around her cup and the expression of someone who was awake in a technical sense and working toward the broader definition.
"Elizabeth," Lily said, when Elizabeth sat down. "You have the look."
"I have several looks," Elizabeth said.
