"What? Oh no not at all," Tristan said, rather flustered. He really wanted his new friend to stay. He just wished they hadn't had this scene. This had gone so much more smoothly in his head. He had been so much more of a charming host, not some awkward doctor on edge who couldn't handle his own household. "She just needs some rest."

He sat down, took out a handkerchief from his breast pocket and mopped his brow. Thinking about what the lord might think about him now and how he was probably only embarrassing himself more by stressing about it, but being unable to stop thinking and stressing about it -, Right. You get it. It wasn't going very well.

"Well, at least there's food," he said, gesturing at the dishes of salmon on toast, roast beef, vegetables, pies, roast potatoes, and apple tarts. "I hope you don't mind dining à la france. The maid's new and I didn't want to put extra pressure on her serving à la russe." It hadn't seemed like a big deal before, but now, with everything else, not dining in the popular way seemed like yet another social embarrassment.