"I was just on my way to lunch," said Sutton, hesitantly, trying to make it sound as if he were in a hurry, trying to put some irritation into his voice while still staying within the bounds of civility.
The woman kept on beaming.
"I'm Mrs. Jellicoe," she said, acting as if he must be glad to get the information. "And this gentleman, the one who spoke to you, is Mr. Hamilton. The other one of us is Captain Stevens."
Captain Stevens, Sutton noted, was a beefy individual, better dressed than the other two. His blue eyes twinkled at Sutton, as if he might be saying: I don't approve of these people any more than you do, Sutton, but I'm along with them and I'll do the best I can.
"Captain?" said Sutton. "One of the star ships, I presume."
Stevens nodded. "Retired," he said.
He cleared his throat. "We hate to bother you, Sutton, but we tried to get through to your rooms and couldn't. We've waited several hours. I hope you'll not disappoint us."
"It'll be just a little while," pleaded Mrs. Jellicoe.
"We could sit over here," said Hamilton, twirling the cap in his dirty fingers. "We saved a chair for you."
"As you wish," said Sutton.