He laughs at Eric's sudden enthusiasm over his title. "No, not quite so high as a duke. A baronet. I would be addressed as Sir Thomas Sharpe, the same as a knighted person. The only difference being my title is inherited." It sounds pretentious when he says it, and he looks a bit sheepish as he retrieves the steaming kettle.

"It's really not all that impressive as it sounds. Our family wasn't part of the peerage, the actual nobility, you see. We were aristocrats, certainly, but just on the outside of that circle."