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[belongtonobody]

In truth, Inara preferred to spend more of her time at her home by the waterfall or wandering the beach than cooped up in the Compound. The comforts of air conditioning and the like aside, it seemed like a waste to pass so many hours indoors when the weather and the island itself were hěn měi lì. If she were to be stuck in this place, she meant to

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[dodgy_decarabas]

'Excuse me, my lady,' said the Marquis from over her shoulder, 'but might I inquire as to what, exactly, 'Compansionship' is?'

He'd watched the woman put up the notice with some interest and, after reading it, had followed her inside. He liked to keep an eye on the island's goings-on, even if he had nothing to do with them. Information could be gleaned in many ways, and standing back and observing was one of them. De Carabas far preferred it to getting directly involved; he usually ended up in serious trouble when he did.

[belongtonobody]

Inara surreptitiously looked the man over, taking in his measure. It was more difficult to assess from mere exteriors here where a man's wardrobe might have been chosen at the mercy of a merciless box, but the choices made, the bearing and expression, all served her still. "You might," she said with a smile, "and I'll even answer. What time and what world are you from?"

[dodgy_decarabas]

The clothes box seemed to supply the Marquis with attire similar to that he usually wore - bright waistcoats, tailored trousers - and they went quite well with his long leather trenchcoat. One dark hand absently brushed an imaginary speck of lint from his shoulder, and he returned the woman's smile with a mysterious one of his own.

'Nowhere and nowhen you'd know, my good lady,' he said. She reminded him of a Velvet, but not as cold, and he doubted she was from or knew anything about London Below.

[belongtonobody]

The smile, his manner of holding himself and of speaking, were enough to prove at least mildly intriguing, if only because so few things on this island were now. "Then I'll explain in simplest terms," she replied, though not unkindly. "Companions exist in some form or another in most cultures, I've found." They'd had their roots in the work done by women on Earth-That-Was, centuries before; it was a profession which had always existed in some way. "I suppose you might call it a kind of elite prostitution, though my goal with any pupils I take on would be to pass on the traditions and education I received." It was hard to be sure any of them, pupils or teacher, would be around long enough to learn or teach the full trade.

[dodgy_decarabas]

"Ah," said the Marquis, intrigued. In one fluid movement, in a whirl of leather and a flash of colour, he had seated himself across from the woman, an elbow on the table with his chin propped on his hand. He stared intently at the woman, his gaze almost unsettling in its intensity.

"Tell me more."