The answer is a petit four, and he opens his mouth to say so--only to be interrupted by his own, sharp bark of laughter, the cup rattling alarmingly on the saucer, some tea spilling out onto it--

"I--oh--a cookie would be fine," he says, voice trembling with laughter, even as he sets the cup in its flooded saucer onto the table. "A-and another cup of tea, I think."

What kind of an affair is this?