there's food in this part and it made me hungry

"I do not care. This is not a playroom." She is still pointing to the door. She is not Luisa and James does not in general feel obliged to obey her, but there is enough of Mrs Godwin and Luisa in her tone that he sheepishly slides over to the doorway to put his shoes back on.

Mrs O'Donnell herds the boys downstairs and into the kitchen, so Mrs Malcolm can feed them.

Mrs Malcolm promptly shoos them out of the kitchen and into the smaller dining room, where the table has already been set for lunch. She tells them to sit and wait for William and Aimee and Luisa, and then brings out a pitcher of milk and starts pouring it into their glasses.

"Thank you," Liam says politely, while Sean just stares around the dining room.

"Do you eat here every day?" he asks James. James nods.

( If all of my brothers are here, we eat in the bigger dining room, upstairs )

words: 1771
total words: 12,322
quickie research: school lunches, working-class lunches, floor plans for gilded age mansions

some make-believe in this bit

Fortunately, Mrs Godwin and Julia return home in time for James to introduce his sister to Sean and Liam, explain their game, and draw her into it. She is much more fun than William, if no more interested in being a damsel in distress. She takes over the role of Indian from Liam, fetches one of her hats for him, and ties him up with the belt from her dressing-gown so that Sean, as the cowboy, will have someone to rescue from James as the Mexican bandit.

Liam is very involved in his role at first, crying "Oh! Oh! Won't someone rescue me from this terrible Mexican bandit!" in a reasonable facsimile of a melodramatic actress voice, but soon he is yawning, and Julia suggests he take a nap in James' room.

"Julia's bed is perhaps bigger and more comfortable," James says, "but she sleeps in" - and here he lowers his voice - "a girl's room."

( He was playing the girl, Sean observes. )

words: 1742
total words: 13,978
quickie research: none for this bit