diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 5bbadea..65a6bd5 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ until the first tagged release.
 
 ### Added
 
+- After a request, the butler immediately says "Let me check on that for you,
+  sir" and keeps a spinner up while it works, so the long wait isn't dead air.
 - Spoken volume commands ("volume up/down", "mute/unmute", "set volume to N",
   "this one goes to eleven") are handled instantly on the gateway, bypassing the
   assistant — no waiting on a reply just to change the volume.
diff --git a/firmware/main/desklock_main.c b/firmware/main/desklock_main.c
index 65eedcf..2d4fd04 100644
--- a/firmware/main/desklock_main.c
+++ b/firmware/main/desklock_main.c
@@ -122,7 +122,12 @@ static void app_task(void *arg)
 
 void app_on_playback_done(void)
 {
-    face_set(FACE_IDLE);
+    /* Only fall back to idle if we're still the speaker. After the butler filler
+     * line, the gateway re-asserts "thinking" (FACE_EFFORT) while Tatlock works —
+     * don't clobber that spinner when the filler audio finishes. */
+    if (face_get() == FACE_SPEAKING) {
+        face_set(FACE_IDLE);
+    }
 }
 
 #if FACE_LOADTEST
diff --git a/gateway/src/desklock_gateway/config.py b/gateway/src/desklock_gateway/config.py
index 166a2d5..17709d3 100644
--- a/gateway/src/desklock_gateway/config.py
+++ b/gateway/src/desklock_gateway/config.py
@@ -19,6 +19,9 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     tts_model: str = "speaches-ai/Kokoro-82M-v1.0-ONNX"
     tts_voice: str = "bm_george"
 
+    # Spoken immediately after a query is accepted, to fill the long Tatlock wait.
+    filler_text: str = "Let me check on that for you, sir."
+
     # embedded fallback only (requires the [speech] extra)
     embedded_stt_model: str = "small"
     embedded_stt_device: str = "cuda"
diff --git a/gateway/src/desklock_gateway/main.py b/gateway/src/desklock_gateway/main.py
index c919f7f..66bbf0c 100644
--- a/gateway/src/desklock_gateway/main.py
+++ b/gateway/src/desklock_gateway/main.py
@@ -24,6 +24,21 @@ PCM_CHUNK_BYTES = 4096
 # device registry: every endpoint that ever connected, keyed by client IP
 DEVICES: dict[str, dict] = {}
 
+# Butler filler audio (the "let me check…" line) is synthesized once, then replayed.
+_filler_pcm: bytes | None = None
+_filler_tried = False
+
+
+async def _ensure_filler() -> bytes | None:
+    global _filler_pcm, _filler_tried
+    if not _filler_tried:
+        _filler_tried = True
+        try:
+            _filler_pcm = await asyncio.to_thread(tts.synthesize, settings.filler_text)
+        except Exception:
+            logger.exception("filler synth failed; continuing without it")
+    return _filler_pcm
+
 
 def _now() -> str:
     return datetime.now(timezone.utc).astimezone().isoformat(timespec="seconds")
@@ -111,6 +126,17 @@ async def _handle_utterance(ws: WebSocket, tatlock: TatlockClient, pcm: bytes) -
         await ws.send_json({"type": "state", "value": "idle"})
         return
 
+    # Acknowledge immediately with a canned line so the long Tatlock wait isn't dead
+    # air, then re-assert "thinking" to keep the spinner up while it works.
+    filler = await _ensure_filler()
+    if filler:
+        await ws.send_json({"type": "reply_text", "text": settings.filler_text})
+        await ws.send_json({"type": "audio_start", "sample_rate": settings.sample_rate})
+        for offset in range(0, len(filler), PCM_CHUNK_BYTES):
+            await ws.send_bytes(filler[offset : offset + PCM_CHUNK_BYTES])
+        await ws.send_json({"type": "audio_end"})
+        await ws.send_json({"type": "state", "value": "thinking"})
+
     reply = await tatlock.ask(transcript)
     await ws.send_json({"type": "reply_text", "text": reply})