Tristan rolled down his sleeve and cleaned up. Then he put on his jacket and sat down in a chair near the fire. The chairs here were hardly as comfortable as in the drawing room upstairs. This was his consultation room after all. But he was happy to just sit and he could already feel the familiar drowsy warmth spread through his system.

"Bit of a handful, eh?" he said, more relaxed now. "Well, you turned out well enough, learning skills and earning medals and all. I should apologize. I judged you rather unfairly when we first met."