Tristan knew he was being openly rude. But then again, Mr. Meijer had been rude in many ways, and as a doctor, Tristan had broken many social conventions to stop harm before. All the same, he was uncomfortable. The misunderstanding only made it worse. But he knew none of what he wanted to say could be openly said.

"I just meant that there's other options for you, should your position as a... cleaner... prove not what you had hoped for. You have my address if you need it," he explained. Then he nodded at the kid, nodded at Mr. Meijer for formality's sake and receded to an empty seat somewhere in a corner. Was he shivering?