"Precisely," he said, smiling at her understanding. Thomas supposed he should have been prepared for Greta to ask about what he was before he came here. It wasn't something he could avoid forever.

He poured them each a cup of tea and made sure the cream, sugar, and honey were between them so they could fix their tea as they liked. It gave him a moment to consider how to answer.

"I was a baronet," he answered, like it was a confession. "Which is the lowest hereditary titled British order. Beneath a baron, just above hereditary knighthood. Not particularly impressive."