In which a young tutor, with modest means and a spirit somewhat touched by timidity, is introduced to the peculiar household of the Moreens, where a fragile boy of singular intelligence and reticent humour awaits his instruction amidst gentle insinuations of delicate health and genteel living. Amidst the subtle interplay of maternal affectations and boyish candour, the tutor finds himself both intrigued and unsettled by the promise of what his new charge might reveal, as he contemplates the nature of the engagement that lies silently between them.