"Do you here?" Sophie asked dryly. "No," he said, plopping down into the chair next to her, "although my mother is constantly telling me to make myself right at home." She could think of no witty rejoinder, so she merely "hmmphed" and stuck her nose back in her book. He plunked his feet on the small table in front. "And what are we reading today?" "That question," she said, snapping the book shut but leaving her finger in to mark her place, "implies that I am actually reading, which I assure you I am unable to do while you are sitting here." "My presence is that compelling, eh?" "It's that ."