I smiled back, pleased and a little flattered. "It is strange; on the one hand I am very good at pretending to be something I am not, but at the same time..." I paused while I thought of how to say this, moving my palm in circles along his thigh, my other hand resting just above his knee.

"It is a select part of myself I was accustomed to hiding; I was meant to be seen as merely a courtesan, with no more filling my head than the arts of the bedroom. And the reason for it was my own safety; mine and Alcuin's. But when I am free to own all the parts of myself, I cannot choose to do anything else. As you say; I am what I am. I cannot pretend it does not hurt, thinking there are those who would judge me for my calling, but... in the end it is those who choose to know me for everything I am that are worth the time spent." I smiled and added, "And those who willingly submit themselves to my rambling on and on..."