She looked pitiable and Tristan was not immune to it. She was not at all used to this life, he remembered, and he was currently her only contact in this city. Pippa had a tendency to come across as strong and act as if everything was alright, and so he tended to forget that she was actually quite vulnerable. He had to tread more carefully around her.

He gently touched her shoulder. "Yes. Go and take some time to calm down, and make sure you eat well."

He walked back to the dining room. Perhaps sending her downstairs was slightly self-serving, keeping Pippa away from a man she clearly thought more than a little handsome.

"Sorry about that," he said when he returned to the dining room. "The maid was unwell." He picked up a napkin an cleared away the rest of the spilt food, and so he had no chance to see Douglas's drawing.