Altair was aware of the rumors a situation like this could create, and he didn't care. There had been rumors about him for his entire life, and he knew by now that some rumors were lies and others were the truth and all of them were created by those who lacked excitement in their own lives and therefore had to imagine scandal in the lives of others. If confronted, which he hardly ever was; gossips seemed to prefer speculation to the truth, even if truth was a mere question away he would do what he always did. He would lie (or, in this case, tell a partial truth) and the other person would believe him.
He acknowledged Ari's compliment with a slight nod of his head. It was true; his manners were impeccable. In fact, he stopped short of pulling out her chair. Common women didn't expect these things the way noble women always did, and some found it overbearing. Altair would have preferred the company of common women, if so many of them didn't consider him "eligible".
Instead, he caught the eye of the proprietor who recognized him immediately, and requested two coffees. The coffee was at the table almost before they were seated, and Altair made sure to take a sip while the proprietor was still standing there. "Excellent as always," he told the man. "Thank you. We'll let you know if there's anything else."
The man bowed, and then went off to serve other customers.