"But what if I like this? Do you not know that I longed for purpose other than the expectation to choose a beau for his class and not for love? And this... It makes me feel better to do something besides pick new gowns and stabbing my finger whilst plying a needle and thread to embroidery. This..." She paused and swept her hand toward the nearly immaculate kitchen if it had not been for Nel's departure.

"This is where I am happiest even with little else to feel grateful for. I don't want to be an ornament or a bird in a gilded cage. I want to be Pippa.."

"Happiest?" This strange confession and the lack of response to the revelation that Pippa's pursuer had been caught, made him wonder whether she had fully recovered from her temporary lapse into insanity. "But you'll still be free to lead an active life, a simple life even, should you choose to do so. Only you can work for yourself, rather than working for a grouchy old bastard."

"You might be grouchy but you have cause to be... You and I are... Alike in some ways." It did not register for her that he spoke of the arrest. Not at first.

When it did register, she still said nothing of it. It needed time for her to think on it. She bit her lip for a moment, "If I have all of my family's money and property... That means I can possibly arrange for my factory to import more to England. I... I don't think I can go back for now. Things have been so hard to figure out."

Were they alike? Tristan had never looked at it that way, but now that he did, it did explain a lot. Like why he was feeling like his father when talking to Pippa - except his father had never lost his temper. When Tristan was Pippa's age, he had thought he knew what was right for him and had hated his father for steering him away from what he now understood to be a road to destitution and misery. In the same way, he had labored to keep Pippa from decisions that would ruin her life, but the girl was headstrong and would get angry. They could both feel passionately about matters. But her wellbeing had been his object throughout it all, and now that he was about to lose her... it really did feel like he was losing his daughter.

There was little comfort in her idea of staying in England. How could the association continue? "There is time to figure those things out," he comforted. "You have enough information to process as it is. Though we shall have to think of a narrative soon. For now, let's make sure you get all the facts. Miss Zimmermann should be able to tell you how it stands with your family fortune and who of your old circle can be trusted with the truth."