Dual, part 6

In my haste, I was a little early. I waited in the alley next to the Doctor's, sheltering from the rain.
She looked like she had seen a ghost when she saw me. She almost screamed.
'Don't be scared,' I said. 'It is I, Lloyd Stone.'
'Oh, you,' she said. 'What are you doing here?'
I was less than flattered.
'I wished to see you,' I replied.
'I see.'
'Would you like to join me for coffee?'
'I don't know... Alright... Where shall we go/'

We went to Miss Molly's Tea Shop, which happened to be just around the corner. It is a smug little place. a couple of comfortable rooms on the ground floor of a house that was built last century. Coal fires always burn in the heaths. The ceiling is a bit too low, and supported by stout beams. The homely furniture is all of well polished oak or pine.
Miss Molly herself is a short, buxom wench, who is almost always cheerful.
'I am curious,' Annabel asked after we had sat down and ordered coco. 'How did you get those terrible wounds?'
'Dueling.'
'Dueling?! In this day and age? It's the 19th century, don't you know?'
'Men will always need to fight, in every century.'
'