When Thomas declared that he used to have many dealings with Madame Besoir, Rena's eyebrows shot up in surprise. He quickly qualified that remark but it still surprised her all the same. Having grown up as she had, it was difficult for Rena to look upon the brothel with anything other than disdain. After all, once upon a time, she had been a Lady, even if she chose not to lay claim to that birthright any longer and rarely identified with that class any longer.
Still, she withheld judgment at least until she heard the story; she had a hard time imagining that Thomas had done anything that could be all that horrible. So Rena reached out to grab a piece of toast to nibble on while she listened to the story. And what a story it was, certainly as fantastic and outrageous as her own, outrageous enough that it had to be true because who could make that sort of thing up?
"Well, now I understand your reaction a bit better," she began, recognizing that in a way, it was as though Thomas had seen a ghost. Despite the years that had passed, he had held this woman up as the standard and to find the possibility to see her alive again was enough to send him into an uncharacteristic frenzy. It also explained why she had never seen Abby before; the brothel was hardly a place where Rena would find herself. "So you're saying that the Madame has kept her hidden in that brothel for ten years?" Rena asked, realizing again just how much time that was.