(Lucy) To be Marie...

The boy realised his own mistake immediately, but the name still hung in the air above them both… As if he hoped Lucy might still turn around again and be the one he asked for.

"No… Of course you're not… But you look so much like her… How could they even know?…"

For a second, the young man's look turned accusingly suspicious… but it was clear such emotions were being heavily overwritten by other, much simpler ones… Lucy still eyed him in silence, maintaining her own handle on an urge to jam the broom between his legs and sprint off into the labyrinth. No. That was silly. That was the streetrat's habit. This was her place now, and he was just harmlessly visiting. It took her a second or two to realise he had begun talking again.

"But… Could I call you that… Marie? If we were to… I mean I don't really know how any of this works… Miss Nancy just told me to come here and knock, then some old lady in a veil pointed me off down this corridor and now I've found you… And you do look almost identical… It's…"

His shoulders slumped in obvious misery.

"I'm sorry if I'm doing this wrong… Do I have to pay you first… or something? Tell you what she's like? I mean I don't even know if I know anything about her… Really… I just…"

The pitiable state of him finally broke down any lingering anxiousness Lucy held. There wasn't anything she could fear in this slightly lost young fool. That strange pride for this new home of hers built up once more over something he'd said, however… A golden law of this place that she'd picked up from the passing hearsay of every dedicated acolyte:

"You don't pay for anything here! …Not in money at least. This is a house of God! And She trades only in Love and its Seed."

It was a good line. One she'd overheard Mother Renais give out once or twice, when chiding or encouraging the brothers and sisters about their far greater worth. Though, of course, Lucy wasn't immune to the consideration that all the food, furniture and props here had to have come from somewhere. She doubted many carpenter's accepted secondhand semen as ample payment for their time and supplies.

The boy had a funny look in his eye now though, that same hungry glint that the bagel seller had used to get, when offering her meals for free.

"Oh, but I'm not-" She began to say, only to be cut short by how suddenly he dropped three more levels of dejectedness, into effectively just a puddle of embarrassment on the floor.

"I knew I was doing something wrong! I knew it was too good to be true! I'm sorry, miss! It's all just been so awful since Father sent her away and I should never have come here and-"

Something inside Lucy just… broke… over how pathetic he was. Brought nearly to tears at the fact that he wasn't approaching this giant underground brothel right… She just couldn't help but burst out laughing at his silver-spooned misery. He'd clearly never faced anything actually worth getting upset over in his life! She laughed loudly and cleanly, in a way she hadn't done for years untold… Until tears started creeping out of the corners of her own eyes.

The boy didn't seem upset by this… In fact it seemed to cheer him up a little. As though being laughed at was a situation more within his comfort zone. He waited patiently for Lucy to finish. Then even politely handed over a handkerchief when she was done, to dab away the tears. Looking down at this; a square of silk delicately initialed 'T. P.' in fine embroidery, brought her round to a sudden and impulsive decision.

"I was going to say… " She offered him, pinning on a driving glance to make sure she was certain…

"I was going to say: Oh, but I'm not finished cleaning your bedroom yet… Mr…?"