He had been waiting for her?

Why?

"Uncle, you didn’t skip dinner, did you?" Nora’s first thought went to whether he had eaten.

In fact, he hadn’t. Ever since receiving her message, he’d felt restless all evening, too distracted to even think about food.

"You didn’t eat? I’ll make you something," Nora assumed his silence was confirmation.

"There’s no need," Samuel replied, his tone calm but firm. ...