“Most certainly it is,” Combeferre agreed quickly. “The noblest of professions.” The waiter returned before he could say more, and they paused in their conversation to give their orders.

The intermission also gave Combeferre a moment to consider his next words. “I was quite political in Paris,” he said when the server had left again. “As you might have guessed.” His smile has a sheepish tinge to it; talking overtly of his extralegal activities was still something he found strange. And with a young lady he was taking to dinner? That was all the more strange. But Sybil was different, utterly unlike any woman he had met. Perhaps she would understand. “There was so much to change, and I was willing to go to great lengths to do so. I still would, were I there. So it feels strange not to have something like that in my life. Does that make any sense at all?"