I looked away, murmuring, “I bet.”
When I didn’t turn back, Apollo’s hand at my jaw brought me back. “Is there something else on your mind?”
I peered into his eyes, trying to decide whether or not to bring it up.
Then I brought it up.
“There was this woman who visited the house the night after you left me in Fleuridia.”
His brows shot together and not in a confused way but in an annoyed one.
“Celise came to the house while you were there?”
“Well…yeah.”
“She was not invited,” he stated.
“She seemed to…” I hesitated, “well, it appeared she…”
“I have had her,” he shared straight up. “Repeatedly. She visits me when I’m in Fleuridia.”
Oh boy.
He kept going. “She has great beauty and she’s very expensive because of it, that as well as her talent with her mouth.”
Okay. There was my answer. Too late.
I shouldn’t have brought it up.
“Uh, maybe we should stop talking about this,” I suggested.
“You do not have whores in your world?” he asked.
“Well, yeah, but it isn’t exactly bragged about, going to one.”
“Why not?”
I stared at him.
“It’s an honorable profession,” he declared.
I kept staring at him.
“And only the best practice it. There are those who offer their services for a tumble, of course, but they cost little coin. However, they make much more than,” he paused for emphasis, “a barmaid.”
Eek!
He kept talking. “But there are those who cater to those of us who can afford the more skilled of their set, and they are quite talented. Some are even famous. Celise is one of them.”
“That’s crazy,” I whispered.
“How so?” he asked.
“How not?” I asked back.
“This is not an answer to my question, poppy. Are whores not celebrated in your world?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No.”