Alright, now he looks reasonably impressed. Here he had assumed she was going to be nothing more than a stubborn meat head, like so many other women he knew, but nah. She had puns.

The thundering brings his attention to the dog, which he watches idly before wondering if he was going to be knocked over. He nearly gets ready to leap out of the way, but the dog stops in time, and he relaxes his posture to something a bit more dignified. His attention returns to Cousland a moment later.

"No, not quite. There is a cellar. No stairs. Merely—well, come take a look." He waves her on to follow, stepping around the muscle beast of a dog to lead them on into the kitchen.