"I should think not," he says, picking up on the joke and going with it. The humour, the relaxed body language, Irene's more gentle approach, elicits a calmer state from Charles. He fidgets with the edge of his glass for a moment, before looking up from under the falls of his hair, a smile that quirks up in one corner as if this is as flippant a conversation as any.

"It made me curious." That seems to be their key word. "I think... I'd like to learn more. Although I'm not sure how, exactly."