Work? Even with a mask covering half his face, Gideon doubted his surprise could be missed.

Women in the workplace were not unicorns in his eyes, likely because his own profession lent itself so well to the feminine touch. Still, this young lady was elegant, entrancing, far moreso than he would have expected of a woman who was willing to (metaphorically, or perhaps even literally) get her hands dirty.

If he hadn't needed to know her before—needed in the way that a tree needed soil—Gideon surely did now.

He took a step towards her, though still the space between them was wholly appropriate. "That, I fear, we do have in common. It must be why I have not had the pleasure of your acquaintance before now—we have been as ships in the night, as far as society is concerned."