"Questionable?" Solomon's other eyebrow joined the first. "I think I may have to object to that. There are many things which are more questionable about Ravel than there are about me. For one, I was never the subject of any rumours about sleeping with a pile of men."

Whereas the Dead Men at large were a never-ending run of gossip about their conduct with each other. Solomon had always dismissed most of it. Most.

"Again?" Solomon smiled in spite of himself. China Sorrows wasn't predisposed to being, in any way, endearing, and yet the idea that she might have started talking to herself was oddly charming. She did have her weak points. "Have you started on the Repository wards, yet? I may have to ensure someone catalogues everything so you don't get away with slipping something into your pocket while you're there."

Come to think of it, he had the authority to make exchanges of those exact items. The irony of that was that China had less desire for them. Oh, of course she would still delight in adding any of them to her collection--but she had more perspective as to what was important now. "I would offer to listen, but I'm afraid it may shatter your self-esteem to have me fall asleep while you're still talking."