Ruth doesn't notice Ellie's shock--it registers only vaguely through speech, and the senses that would pick it up are dulled.

"In a room. Yes." Standing up, she takes a few steps closer to the voice. If the girl's in the same room, she's doing an astonishingly good job of being undetectable. If she isn't...then Ruth's not sure where the voice is coming from. "We talked pardon. Didn't we?"