[cw - talk of racism and sexism]

Penny was exhausted after the long ride from her school into the heart of Whitby. She was riding the back of a hay wagon, which happened to be delivering bales to the train station for the stable that housed horses temporarily. Her mouth was a thin line as she imagined the look on her brother's face. She hopped off the wagon and thanked the man driving it, he gave a terse nod and averted his eyes. At least he'd let her ride in the wagon.

The walk to Tristan's clinic from the edge of town was a long one, but she used the time to think of just what to say to her brother. She found the street number and approached the house in question, then moved up to the door and gave a nice rap.

A pretty young maid answered the door... someone too pretty for words, she thought with a little envy. The maid said, "May I help you?"

"Yes, please, I am looking for my brother, Dr. Tristan Wells. This -is- his abode, is it not?" She was surprised at the fact of the woman's skin tone... It was strange to see that a white woman was working for a black man.

"Oh! Uh, welcome! Come in, let me take you to the parlor and I will find him." Penny followed Pippa into the room in question, but did not sit down. She did set her carpet bag on the floor before moving to the window to look outside.

Meanwhile, Pippa found Tristan in the study and said, "Dr. Wells, you have a visitor... She said you were her brother but didn't give her name."