[CW: Sexism]

When Pippa didn't seem interested in drinking anything, Tristan sat down in a chair and gestured for Douglas to do the same. He glanced at his friend when the article about an heiress was mentioned. Tristan had wondered how a girl born in wealth could suddenly become penniless just because her family had died. But Pippa had been vague about it - purposely so it seemed. Was that mystery about to be solved at last?

When the girl suddenly sat up, Tristan held up his hand to urge her to slow down. The last thing they needed was for her to faint all over. "Tiredness can be caused by all sorts of things. In your case, it might be an expression of delayed grief. Not to mention the fact that you are still adapting to a life far more physically demanding than what you are used to. As for your reactions today, it seems you got a shock..." So many women tended to faint under an excess of emotion. Tristan's own theory was that it was an innate defense mechanism in the female body, of shutting down in order to protect a woman's more delicate constitution from more stress than it could handle.