"I wish you wouldn't feel you must be in order to talk to me, Mister Blacke," she said gently. "I am not of noble birth. My father is a merchant." Why did men feel they had to live up to status to be with someone like her? She wondered this with a near shake of her head. Pearl saw his face fall and she reached out to touch his arm. "Please don't... You needn't be anything other than yourself around me."