A deepset frown contorted her smooth face. She shook her head as she learned of Jake's abuse. Her hand went out to caress the monkey as though to soothe it from the horrors of the boy's tale. Yet she would not speak of sympathy, as a respect to the boy. Who was she to say that she understood what he had gone through and to apologize for his ordeal for such a young age?
So instead she asked of the more pressing matter, his present, "Are you being treated well here? Do you have a home?"