From the way the tubes ran, Nell guessed that Miss Matheson was plugged 
into the Feed in two or three different ways, though everything had been 
discreetly hidden under many afghans, piled up on top of her body like the airy 
layers of a French pastry. Only her face and hands were visible, and looking at 
them Nell remembered for the first time since their introduction just how old 
Miss Matheson was. The force of her personality had blinded Nell and all the 
girls to the blunt evidence of her true age.