The Babingtons had their country house at Dethick and their town house in Derby; the Audreys owned a matter of fifteen hundred acres at least all about Matstead; and the FitzHerberts, it was said, scarcely knew themselves all that they owned, or rather all that had been theirs until the Queen's Grace had begun to strip them of it little by little on account of their faith.

The two Padleys, at least, were theirs, besides their principal house at Norbury; and now that Sir Thomas was in the Fleet Prison for his religion, young Mr.Thomas, his heir, was of more account than ever.
He was at his dinner when the two came in, and he rose and saluted them.
He was a smallish kind of man, with a little brown beard, and his short hair, when he lifted his flapped cap to them, showed upright on his head; he smiled pleasantly enough, and made space for them to sit down, one at each side.
"We shall do very well now, Mrs.Merton," he said, "if you will bring in that goose once more for these gentlemen." Then he made excuses for beginning his dinner before them: he was on his way home and must be off again presently.
It was a well-furnished table for a yeoman's house.

There was a linen napkin for each guest, one corner of which he tucked into his throat, while the other corner lay beneath his wooden plate.

The twelve silver spoons were laid out on the smooth elm-table, and a silver salt stood before Mr.Thomas.There was, of course, an abundance to eat and drink, even though no more than two had been expected; and John Merton himself stood hatless on the further side of the table and took the dishes from the bare-armed maids to place them before the gentlemen.

There was a jack of metheglin for each to drink, and a huge loaf of miscelin (or bread made of mingled corn) stood in the midst and beyond the salt.
They talked of this and of that and of the other, freely and easily--of Mr.Thomas' marriage with Mistress Westley that was to take place presently; of the new entailment of the estates made upon him by his uncle.