Seoraj is many things, but 'a dull observer' is not among them; he's the object lesson that the man who calls himself simple with that sort of open-handed ease never is. He favours her with a bit of friendliness, turning to speak to her and not in the vague direction of her, assessing her with more subtlety than he's generally credited with at a glance. “Can be,” he says, because he's worth the price and knows it, “'tisn't always. Did you have a thing in mind?”

Maybe he can give her a quote, and she'll come back another time. Work isn't hard to find in this city. (Something he's had occasion to wonder at, lately. Maybe it's nothing- maybe it isn't.)