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It was still early, barely sunrise, but there was fresh bread and homemade apple butter and raspberry jam, cinnamon rolls and sausage balls and fruit salad, all laid out mysteriously on the kitchen counter

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[bennet_beauty]

Jane could not find Nicki when she arrived for breakfast, which was a strange thing. She settled Lydia in a chair and began to assemble food for herself, her mind drifting away to horrid possibilities of what might happen, but it seemed that all was well-enough. There was food, after all. She stroked Lydia's hair the once before drifting away to try and put together both meals and an explanation of events.

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Getting to her feet to refill her juice, Nicki walked into the kitchen still stretching a muscle cramp from her wrist. Quilting did a number on a woman's hands, and her fingertips were raw and sensitive, having lost most of her usual callouses.

Finding Jane puttering around the kitchen, she gave her a thin smile, a bit bleary from focusing on all those squares of fabric.

"Good morning, Jane."

[bennet_beauty]

Jane's look of great sympathy was quite evident the very moment that she saw Nicki and it was followed by mild concern. "Good morning," she greeted, already wishing to find a way to best express her worry over what had happened. "It seems a lovely breakfast. Did you forget something and need to leave in order to find it?"

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"Breakfast hardly needs a chaperon, Jane," she pointed out, keeping a reign on her defensiveness. Those types of questions from Barb had always put her on edge. "I've been working on a quilt and I wanted a little room to spread out, that's all."

[bennet_beauty]

"Of course not, but I was worried," she admitted as she did not take her eyes off of Nicki. "After all, you made such a lovely array of foods, so many things to be proud of. I did not wish for you to miss out on all the people enjoying it!" She set aside her plate momentarily, knowing the food could wait. "How completed are you with your quilt?"

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Nicki always reacted well to praise, but Jane's cheerful sweetness was always difficult for her to swallow, especially considering it seemed so sincere.

Still, she smiled through it all, a smiling snake in the grass the way her mother had taught her, and answered, "I've only just started. I can't seem to make up my mind about the piecing."

[bennet_beauty]

"I'm afraid I've never quilted before," Jane admitted thoughtfully as she regarded Nicki and envied her this skill. "This piecing, is it terribly difficult? Perhaps you might explain it to me. I do like to hear of new things."