I don't watch Doctor Who, so this might veer from whatever canon's been established.

Jenny steps into the entrance of the den and looks to where Madame Vastra is sitting near the hearth, in exactly the same position as she had found her an hour ago when she delivered her dinner. Madame hadn't looked up to acknowledge her presence then as she was deeply engrossed in a book, although that was fairly common behaviour, especially when she was busy working on a mystery for the Yard or reading some of her ancient Silurian texts.

She notices that Madame's dishes are where she left them, off to the side of the desk - both the blood and heart (today it's cow) remain untouched. Jenny frowns a bit.

"Ma'am, are you not hungry? Is the food not to your likin'?" The other woman doesn't respond, and Jenny steps closer to repeat her words when she hears Madame muttering to herself softly in Silurian.

The language sounds very intricate and exotic to Jenny, although she doesn't hear Madame speak in her own tongue very often. The only times she really does is when she is angry, or in deep contemplation while solving a case. Jenny hopes she isn't cross with her about the food. She worked hard on dinner.

She lightly taps Madame on the shoulder, who pops out of her reverie with a small jolt and looks up at her maid. "Ma'am, are you feelin' alright? You haven't touched your meal." Vastra opens her mouth to speak, but no sound comes out. Jenny waits for a minute, and then gently prompts again, "Ma'am?"

The other woman is frozen for a few more moments, then seems to come to. "Miss Flint," she says haltingly, "I am...having trouble with..." She stops and huffs with frustration, and taps her ear.

Jenny pauses in confusion, and then gives a soft 'oh!' in understanding. "Your translator, is it broken? Can you hear me alright? Can you understand me?" she asks quickly.

(Jenny had been working for Madame Vastra for a few weeks before she realized that the Silurian had a remarkable grasp of English for someone who had only been among humans a few months. She asked Madame about it one evening while the woman tinkered away on one of her contraptions.

"I am afraid I must confess my grasp of your language is not quite what I would like it to be, Miss Flint, but I am slowly learning. The Doctor gave me a great tool which he adapted for Silurian physiology. It aids with the translation of English, as well as helps me to respond in your tongue with the correct sentence structure and sounds, as they are completely foreign to me. It is taking me some time to grasp. At this point, I know very little on my own.")

Vastra looks like she understood very little of what Jenny said except for the word 'translator.' She pulls the device out of her ear and puts it down on the table, motioning to it. "It is not working." She makes the universal signal for slow down with her hands, and then follows it with "Slow. Please," she adds with a sheepish expression.

Jenny gives a nod and a sympathetic smile to indicate understanding, and then pulls up a chair in front of Madame and sits down. She makes sure to speak slowly and coherently. "Ma'am, are you well?" She points to the uneaten dinner. "You did not eat."

Vastra looks over at the food slightly wide-eyed, as if she is surprised to see it, and then back at Jenny. "I am well," she says. "I did not see." She gives an apologetic smile. "I am sorry. I was –" she stops and pauses again, trying to find the right words to express herself. When they do not come, she gives another irritated sigh and hands the book that she had been muttering over to Jenny.

It is a children's book, though there are no pictures. Even with her limited education, Jenny doesn't have a hard time reading what's on the page. She looks back at Vastra. "You were reading this?"

"Trying. I do not understand words," and then taps the lines in the book Jenny holds a few times, hoping to impart her meaning.

"You don't understand the written word, do you? You know spoken English well enough, but you can't read it on the page."

Madame nods in agreement. Her face is a blend of frustration, disappointment and embarrassment. At least, Jenny is pretty sure. The other woman might be a different species, but she has a lot in common with humans, including most of their facial expressions.

"I know...the alphabet. I tried to say the words. Translator stopped working. I cannot speak words for translation."

"You were trying to sound out the words so the machine could tell you what they meant?"

She nods again. "Yes. Sound out the words," she repeats, committing the phrase to memory.

"Well, I can read it to you, Ma'am. If you'd like that."

"Yes, please."

Jenny reads the story out loud, holding up the book and pointing to the words as she says them. She pauses after every paragraph and looks to see if Madame understands, who gives a short "Yes," or "No," depending. Toward the end of the book, she starts mouthing some of the words alongside her maid, at which Jenny looks at her and gives a small nod in approval.

After she has finished the book, Jenny stands to take her leave as Madame starts in on her dinner. Vastra stops her by lightly grasping her wrist and smiling brightly up at her. "Thank you, Miss Flint."

Jenny squeezes the hand around her wrist and smiles back. "You can call me Jenny, Ma'am."

"Thank you, Jenny."