"Are you happy here?" I asked bluntly.
He sat up and did something new. He answered my question with a question. "Are you happy with my services?"
I said, "Yes, of course."
"Then all is well," he replied simply, and lay down again.
It seemed like a satisfactory answer. He radiated a feeling of peace, and the expression of repose on his heavy features was assuring.
It rained hard and cold during the night. I hadn't shown Soth how to start the automatic heating unit. When I left the house next morning, he was bringing Vicki her breakfast in bed, a tray on one arm and a handful of kindling under the other. Only once had he watched me build a fire in the fireplace, but he proceeded with confidence.
We flew blind through filthy weather all the way to Detroit. I dismissed Jack with orders to return at eleven with Soth.
"Don't be late," I warned him.
Jack looked a little uneasy, but he showed up on schedule and delivered Soth to us with rain droplets on his massive bald pate, just ten minutes after the conference convened.