Ugh, no! [Though she is still laughing, all good cheer for Alexandrie's fowl impersonations.] I have told him I refuse to have little to do with them save for the letting of the space. No, Mister Ellis is deeply afflicted by—

[Tragedy? No, that's far too grim.]

He guards his feelings very carefully, [she decides.] And though he is clearly predisposed to the notion, the mere mention of such gentle things makes me feel as if I've clobbered him with a great brick.