"I hadn't been before," she returned, smiling wryly, "but now that you've put the notion into my head..."

It had never occurred to Persephone to label Unspeakables as liars. Her sole gripe with the profession was simply that she lay outside their ranks, that their secrets were kept from her. Perhaps tonight's endeavours, should they prove fruitful, would be enough to convince her parents that she deserved a life far more than the one they had allocated for her, would be enough to see her named Mr. Applegate's colleague, rather than a desperately curious acquaintance.

"Put your mind at ease, Mr. Applegate—I have little doubt that, even in your cups, I am no match for your shrewdness."