She accepted the name - more than obviously an alias - with some relief. So she wasn't the only one holding things back. That was fine - it meant that this man, at least, was more likely to respect her own privacy.

Yet when she held her hand out in return, it was with her palm facing downward and her wrist limp, ready to receive a kiss on the back of the hand, just as she had been trained. The gesture gave away much more about her background than she would have preferred, but it was far too late to withdraw or try to cover up the lapse in her careful disguise.