Dear Pearl,

I apologize for my tardiness in getting back to you, Pearl. The household has been in total disarray and Louise on the verge of leaving since Monday. A peculiar smell had permeated the entire ground floor, the clothes chute was clogged, and the occasional groan was heard coming from the general direction of the old cheese making wing of the cellar. By the time General Confusion arrived I was at my wits' end. The holidays are just around the corner, after all, and a hostess does so want things to be perfect. The General immediately declared a state of War Against Disorder and went over the grounds with a fine tooth comb. Imagine equal parts horror and relief when he reported his Mission Accomplished. Some poor creature, it seems, had found his way into the cheese cellar and stowed his meagre possessions in the laundry chute. He was half dead from hunger and had become an object of curiosity to the mice who live in the old Limburger molds. Naturally we are doing all we can to restore him to health. Louise is sure she will catch something if we let him upstairs. So his meals are lowered down to him through the clothes chute. Charity begins at home, I always say.

I Remain Your Devoted Miss Blue