"My father is doing well, well indeed," Elodie said, stiffening. Floods of memories were coming back to her, endless courtesies and commands and forms of proper conduct. She had dealt with men before, countless numbers of them. They littered the ranks of the Merchants Guild in the cities, as well as those of many trade companies. Very rarely did she deal with ladies, even rarer ladies of a higher station than herself, and the thought of slipping up made her more nervous than it ought. "And your uncle? Good as well, I should hope?" It was a lie, and one Elodie didn't want to have to tell. Her father was a businessman, at least for now. Feudalism had gone out the window, and was replaced quickly with trade. The Merchants Guild had a way of imposing unfavorable regulations on independent corporations, and this did not bode well for her estate. Lying was one of the things she had learned well in Madame Geraldine's.

"I should hope we are in good company tonight, my lady," Elodie said, letting a tired eye drag across the room, alighting on each person in it before flitting away again. Who knows which one of them was an enemy subversive? "It would not do well to suffer any embarrassments in such a public event, would you not agree?" Were that group of ladies in the middle of the room watching her? Elodie could swear that they were making glances her way, as she was doing to them. The intrigues of the city, they made her head spin like mad. "Like I said last week, you have come to the right people for help. My family owns a lovely estate out in the farms along Hourglass City, with crops and flowers growing as far as the eye can see from it. I'm sure we could have that garden of yours blooming within a month. If you would be so kind as to give me its dimensions, soil quality, and the like?" she whispered, hopefully quiet enough so that the prying eyes would not hear.