A room made ready

An original fiction passage set in the nineteenth century.

Before the guest arrived, Agnes shook out the curtains, laid fresh linen on the bed and carried a jug of water upstairs. She placed a book beside the lamp because her cousin liked to read before sleeping. Then she noticed the loose window catch. She wedged a folded card beneath it so the frame would not rattle in the wind. At the sound of wheels, she hurried downstairs.

Give two preparations Agnes makes for her cousin’s visit.