[Rude, as usual. Ned fixes his hat again, following after Jacob and falling into step with him despite being so short. He's gifted in this art, too. And this is faintly silly; if they were going to go to Southwark all along, he could have brought the book along and taken Jacob back to his office to make stupid bookworm comments or whatever he'd do... Next time.

He's noticed the Rooks, by the way. But it sure doesn't hurt to keep a clean house, and extra muscle goes a long way.]

Because I'm working. You oughta try it sometime—maybe you'll be surprised and take a liking to it. [ha ha] One of these days I'll find you a real challenging job to keep you busy.

[Compliment? Implied.]