Knock Before You Enter

The upstairs room smells of candle wax, soap, rain-damp wool, and the faintly sour odor of a chamber pot. A blue-eyed, blonde-haired young woman is caught in an intensely private moment, with her travel clothes set aside on the bed and a washstand nearby. Her face is bright with embarrassment, but her voice remains composed enough to ask what the intruder wants. The open door, exposed belongings, and lack of privacy make one fact clear: the first challenge is not persuasion, but basic courtesy.