The confession shocked him. Tristan's frown deepened as he watched the girl. Her resolution did not impress him, rather convinced him more of her youthful naivety. And as for the apology for the shame that she had brought, he wished he could tell her it didn't matter. But it did.

He no longer blamed her. He had only blamed her shortly. She had been taught nothing. Yes, she had disregarded the conditions of her employment, but he blamed it more on the fisherman than on her. He suspected that the man understood a great deal more of the world, and faced fewer consequences for his actions. No, he did not blame Pippa. And he did not care about the scandal inherently. There had been people who had taken offense at him all his life. He had grown a thick skin. What he did care about was losing patients. A thick skin wouldn't prevent him from going out of business.

He sighed, wondering how to approach the tricky subject. There was a lot to tell her, but little to comfort her. "What's done is done." But she couldn't stay. He couldn't say it...

"But Pippa, you underestimate what its like to have a newborn. You won't have a nurse like the women you knew probably did. You cannot work if you're feeding every two hours all through the night, while your body is still recovering. You will barely sleep in the beginning. And that is all assuming everything goes well. Some births are particularly rough, and some women are not well after giving birth, especially when they have had other hardships to deal with. Caring for your baby under those conditions will be even tougher. You couldn't work on the side. I'm glad that you did not try to remove it. It's very dangerous. And I agree that the child should be in a place where its cared for. But has it occurred to you..." He hesitated, but there was no nice way to say it. "Has it occurred to you that the child might be better cared for by somebody else?"