Grace thought about it for a moment. If she stayed, she'd be doing so for the sole purpose of not looking silly, because she had little money and nothing specific she needed, but if she told him she was leaving it might seem like she was only here because he was. Did men think like that? She couldn't imagine Noble or Ford reading into a woman's actions like that, but Mr. Echelon-Arnost was older and presumably wiser.

In the end she chose truth, or at least a modified version of it. She glanced down at her feet and then back up at him, struggling to keep eye contact for longer than a few seconds. Her nerves always did have a way of betraying her.

"Probably not, no," she admitted, "If you've been here and see no reason to stick around, I can't imagine I'll have better luck."

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