In this short scene, the Governess and her family are out for a walk. The Governess complains that the house is so gloomy that she is afraid to go inside. She asks her brother if he is okay and he says that he is. He tells her that his eye is getting better and that he has taken a day off from work to recover. He asks her if she would like to be more friendly with him. She says that she cannot depend on him all the time and that she needs to open herself up to him. He says that they must rely on themselves now that their parents have come to live with them. He mentions that he does not know if he can prepare food for them tomorrow and wonders if there is another rat in the house. His brother asks him why he left them and he replies that he did not want to disturb them. When he hears a thud, he wonders if it is the sound of another rat getting into the house