Rose didn't flinch away from the appraisal, she neither preened like one of her girls, nor shyed away from the gaze like a blushing debutante for she was neither.

'Sometimes lucky is better than talented' that was certainly true for most of her girls - they were lucky to have been born pretty, because they certainly lacked talent. Although was it really lucky to be so reduced in life that your best recourse was to sing for tips and patronage in somewhere like the True Hart. 'And only the very lucky get into my inner sanctum.'

'One never knows when one might need to entertain guests' she gestured to the room around him and then to him and poured a whiskey from the decanter that sat on her desk with proper crystal glasses, a contrast to the glassware in the rest of the bar. There were clearly of better quality than those served at either the bar or the boxes. 'Are you in need of entertaining Mister Dempsey?'

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