Chapter 7At breakfast, when making conversation at the table, it seemed to Matthew as though everything and nothing had changed. Occasionally, when he passed condiments to his fellow diners, he intercepted a glance from Crispin as if he couldn’t quite believe that Matthew’s fury at him had not returned with full daylight. He had to admit he was equally surprised and felt strangely unprotected without his familiar wrath.
When the company gathered to go through the rest of the play, there was a slight, lingering atmosphere from the night before. Rather than ignoring his wife and child, Mr. Bolton seemed content with his spouse’s company, even playing with their little boy who he had previously resented for displacing him as her priority.
Hermia was slightly put out at this change of attitu
