Was it his business why the man had not gone to see his brother? No. Was he intrigued? Absolutely.

Tristan got a pretty good idea of the disgusting stuff on Mr. Meijer from the smell of him, though his expression didn't show it. He had dealt with plenty disgusting situations where he had had to pretend nothing was wrong, so as not to further unsettle a patient.

"One moment, then," he said, and he went out and promised a boy in the street a tuppence if he brought back Mr. Uriel Meijer. Then he went to the kitchen and returned to Mr. Meijer with some light soup. He had instructed Pippa to make some when he had gotten the water earlier. "Here, try to eat something while we wait," he said, handing him the bowl. "It's light, but see how your stomach handles that first."