Normally, Lord Byron was Cressida's warning that someone was there. She would answer the door before knuckles would strike against wood. Today, however, Lord Byron was out on a walk, likely seeking out something to eat since Cressida didn't have anything immediately available. She sat behind her desk with her family's grimoire, her fingers touching over the aged pages of earlier entries. It had been bound and rebound repeatedly to accommodate for additions, and there were a number of pages empty toward the end that Cressida would fill in herself. She already added a couple of new spells, but she had every intention of adding many, many more.
The knock at the door drew her attention away from the calligraphy-ridden pages. She closed the heavy bound book and stood up from her desk, making her way over to the door and opening it to find Ripley there. "Please come in, Ms. Morstan," Cressida said opening the door further to allow Ripley into the office.
"Take a seat," she said and then made her way over to where some fresh Earl Grey was prepared, "tea?"