Merlin, she really was new here. Alone and all lost at sea. Nick tried his best to be sympathetic – to take her under his wing, at least until he found someone whose job that actually was.

“Never mind, you can meet them through. Just make a beeline for the wall,” he said, in the same low, confidential tone. “Quite straightforward – a dimwit could manage it,” Nick added, to be encouraging. (And, honestly, because he was not convinced she was much better off than one.)

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