Ask about the “other menu”

“What do you mean by the ‘other menu’?” asks Alex.

Kelly looks at him with a motherly smile. “Oh, you are a young one, aren’t you?”

Alex blushes at her words, but also grows defensive. Granted, he has only been a squire for less than a day, but he feels as if he should appear to be more worldly.

Kelly senses his thoughts and says, “Don’t take offense. I won’t tell anyone. But I’m correct in saying this is your first time in a brothel?”

“I have been by here many times,” he replies, “but only on my way to the sawmill. I have not come inside because my moth—“ He stops himself from completing the sentence, realizing that it would make him sound less like the dashing knight in training he wanted people to see.

Kelly flashes her knowing smile again and completes his sentence. “Because your mother warned you about this place? And maybe warned you about women like me?”

His mother had indeed warned him about certain types of women, but it seemed hard to believe that Kelly would be counted among that class. Granted, she dressed much more immodestly than his mother, but she was about the same age and seemed so friendly.

“I don’t think my mother has actually been here,” said Alex, avoiding a direct answer to her questions.

Kelly nods. “I’m sure of that.” She looks around the room and says, “Looks like all our customers are being cared for at the moment, so why don’t I show you an ‘appetizer’ from our other menu?”

She reaches out and touches Alex’s arm in a way that makes him suddenly forget about his empty stomach.