Rose didn't know what to say to that. Her family had suffered public humiliation and scorn - twice now, though there had also always been a lot of people who had supported them though it, luckily - but in this regard, the lives of the rich seemed awfully more complicated. Rose put her arm around Pearl's shoulder. "I know it can't compare to yer own people, but for what it's worth, I would still want to associate with you. I think you shouldn't let your dignity depend on other people's opinions."

"It's not just my dignity. My father will surely take my home from me and make me move back to the manse. I don't want to go back there, there is too much chaos." There was just too much going on for her to want to be back there. Especially when she had her suspicions growing about her brother's involvement in the disappearance of her sister's betrothed and some other suspicious activities. The private investigator had informed her of Magnus' involvement in something nefarious that she didn't even want to share with her family.

Rose rubbed her back. Fathers could be a pain. "But it wasn't your fault," she said. Although she did think that a lady from a good family living all by herself was rather weird, it still seemed horribly unfair that something out of Pearl's control was the reason she would be forced to move back in.

"No, it wasn't my fault," she said with a hiccup, and then Tilly came back in with the tea. Pearl pulled away and moved to pour tea for the two of them, sniffling indignantly. "I don't want to talk about it anymore, it is so upsetting." She was clearly not mad at Rose, it was just the situation at hand. Pearl gestured for her friend to sit down, offering tea in a pretty, china cup. "I have been embarassed enough by this foolishness in the paper." She huffed and sat down herself, setting her tea on the side table next to her chair. "Tell me about what has been going on with you. It has been some time since we last spoke."

Rose nodded, rather upset that she seemed unable to comfort her friend. She followed Pearl to the table and her eyes fell on the cups for a moment. The only moments she had ever handled such cups was in service. She had never actually drank from something so pretty.

She sat down. "Well... It's been.... busy and rather stressful..." She had intended not to tell the other girl about Alice. It was all scandalous enough for people of her station, and Pearl was so much more refined and well-bred. But now that she was reminded of the other girl's 'scandal', Rose wondered if she might not be more understanding. "Turned out me sister was pregnant," she blurted out. She had been rather desperate for a friend to talk to.

"Oh," she said with a little bit of surprise. It was no wonder the one girl had been so hungry... if that was the girl in question. "That is not good. Was? Is she not well?" She reached out to touch her friend's hand and tilted her head. Indeed, she had not heard the scandal. Tilly never talked about the troubles of the servants and such of her class and Pearl never prodded, hating gossip for a good reason.

"I am sorry you are going through a rough patch."

"It's alright. She's married now. But as you can imagine... well... people talked about us a fair bit as well." And she was worried about her poor little sister in a place she didn't know with a man she didn't know. "I don't see why people need to be so condemning... and so selective too. Nobody's talking about the little waste of space twit who got her pregnant."

"It's always the woman who gets more condemned," she muttered in annoyance. "Men can be so dumb." She took an otcake out of the basket and took a healthy bite. After chewing and swallowing, she gestured with the partial pastry and said, "It doesn't matter how it comes to be either, if the woman does something wrong, everyone knows."

"Ugh. Tell me about it." She sipped her tea, holding the cup with both hands. "Its always women who have to be chaste and all that. Its even worse among your..." sort, she wanted to say, but she stopped herself in time: "people. I could tell you a thing or two about the faithfulness of married gentlemen," she said bitterly.

"Why do you think I wanted to be in a place of my own? Ugh, the scandals I can tell you about that I had no wish in hearing." Men, she thought. "It's as if all mankind has gone mad. So and so having a torrid affair behind so and so's back. Why, it's disgusting." She sniffed and took a sip of her tea, then another, hungry bite of oatcake.