"I do quite well, thank you," Peggy said, briefly amused. "As do you, I'm sure, if you enjoy exploration." The nexus would be like a dream come true, if that was what this man wanted out of life.

Science and poetry, now... She smiled. "I've known some very dear scientists in my time," she said. "Though I sometimes wonder if too much science fosters impracticality." She certainly didn't count poetry as practical, though she refrained from sharing her opinion there...again. "What is it that you--" She paused, held up her hand, listening to something on the edge of her hearing.

From inside the house, someone -- it sounded like Mrs. Bennet -- was calling out for Elizabeth.