Nellie sat quite contentedly in her parlour, curled up on the settee with her favourite book when she thought she heard the shop's door open and close. 'No, couldn't be,' she thought as an almost automatic response. Business had been gradually slowing down until it was like before- times were hard. She sighed and put her book down, knowing that with such thoughts in mind she wouldn't actually absorb anything.

That was something that always made her stop and think; Why had business been slowing down? For a while they were doing so well, her and Mr. T. They'd had a fabulous, booming business going on, but now... Nellie was pulled from her reverie when she heard somebody call out. So indeed there was somebody in her shop! Overjoyed, Nellie quickly bustled into the shop, a large smile on her face.

"Hello, love! You're here for a pie, then, are you?" Nellie asked before skittering off to fetch the girl a pie- it was a good thing she'd not stopped baking them completely, though she imagined poor Mr. Todd was finding it hard to only kill select few customers, given that they really didn't need much of a supply the way things were going.

"You're absolutely soaked! Would you like to come sit by the fire?" she asked as she pulled plates and cups out of the cupboard.

"And you'll want some tea, yes?" Nellie moved quickly about, fetching this and setting that there until she had a nice little tray complete with pie, tea and some biscuits that she'd baked that morning.

"Come on, now, love," she said with a smile as she gestured for the girl to go into the parlour.

Nellie returned her gaze to the window when the girl spoke of the rain. She watched it hit the windows for a moment, then got up and drew the curtains to. She couldn't tolerate any more rain that day. Her thoughts briefly drifted to Mr. Todd, all alone up in his shop with no curtains to block out the gloom of the rain... though she supposed that he liked the rain. It seemed to suit his personality.

She blinked and looked at the girl with a smile when she heard her speak again. "Oh, thank you, love. I'm afraid nobody wants 'em anymore. I just don't understand- one day you have to turn away people, and the next you've got to beg them to come in..." she sighed and bit her tongue, certain that the girl didn't want to hear more about her boring days.

"Well it's nice to meet you, Miss O'Malley. I'm Nellie Lovett, but... well, you already knew that," she said with a small laugh. "Yes, I have heard of it. I always end up buying my books at the market, purely out of convenience because I'm already there, but perhaps I'll pop by sometime. You can recommend some books for me." Nellie smiled, pleased that the awkward silence was gone, even if only for a moment.

Nellie had hardly been listening, merely nodding vaguely until she heard 'Judge Turpin'. At that, she perked up considerably and tuned in to what Noreen was saying. So she and dear Mr. Todd weren't the only ones that had problems with the Judge? She was a little relieved at first, having perceived most people to have some sort of affinity for him, though when she really thought about it, such a thing sounded ridiculous. After a moment, however, Nellie was starting to wonder about the rumor of which the girl spoke, though she knew it wasn't any of her business, and she didn't want to be like those prying, meddling little ladies, so she kept her mouth shut.

"I'll be certain to pop by your shop, when I'm not... busy, of course," she finished lamely. By the way she'd stated it, it sounded like she'd be there every hour of every day. "Well... I mean... you know what I mean." Nellie gave a small laugh, then looked at her lap, feeling awkward and uncomfortable as she mentally reprimanded herself for speaking without first thinking.

However, she didn't have long to contemplate how that 'think-then-speak' process would go, for she was asked what her secret was, and that happened to catch her off guard.

"My... my secret?" she asked stupidly, then hoped that Noreen didn't think she was faltering because 'her secret is dreadfully awful', more 'she's just contemplating whether or not she should tell me what her secret is'. "Well, you know, it's a family recipe, but there's a bit more coriander than is found in most other pies," she offered with a smile before giving herself a mental pat on the back for quick thinking.

"Ah, trust me, dearie- there's no better baking than your mum's," Nellie said in hopes that it would be a good save for just moments ago.