"Yes, that was more what I meant, really..." With a start, he realizes, "I've somehow forgotten to offer you tea. Or something else?"
"Luke's pride and glory," he explains, rolling his own. "I eventually found a use for the feathers, of course, but... birds are most unsanitary animals."
"Ah," he nods, hearing the unspoken. "I believe there was some overt rationalization about not wishing to distinguish--well, certain rooms--from the rest with boarding them up, but it always seemed a rather flimsy pretext for keeping them open year-round."