The soft voice snapped Nate's attention away from the newspaper he had only half-heartedly been reading.

To be honest, he was preoccupied by the impending meeting with his brother. Nate had stayed in Leeds as long as he could to delay the whole thing, but his unexpected dismissal had brought his career to an abrupt halt. The insular legal community of that city had rallied and hopes of quick re-employment were repeatedly dashed in frosty professional meetings or via letter. Nate suspected the law clerk's gossip line had reached the ears of barristers. So here he sat bouncing on a train back home, cap in hand, much like the poor girl here asking for a seat.

"Oh. No, you go right ahead."