Eli switched the coin to his left hand and watched the flash of gold as he flipped it from forefinger to little finger and back again. "Ah, but I'm not so posh, Miss Cardiff," he denied gently. "I'm a working man, same as any other. Were I indeed wealthy, I'd be sitting on a top-of-the-line cruiser, and be denied your delightful company."
He smiled at her. "I've lived a quiet life, managing numbers and accounts for a large medical company. There's not much excitement in that, honestly. I thought that I should take myself off for a bit of exploring before my backside became rooted to my office chair."
He flipped the coin, noted how her blue eyes followed the flash, childlike, before her sophistication smoothed it away. "Londinium was a wonder, Osiris was sophisticated and fine, but Sihnon was my favorite. Like a ruby jewel in space. And the capitol city was beautiful, like an ocean of light. I loved Sihnon the best. It was opulent, like the seraglio of a sultan from ancient times in Earth-that-was."
And that was the truth. He'd spent time wallowing in the utter decadent luxury of it, in cool silks and warm flesh, in crisp wines and fine foods. It had been a place for dalliances with courtesans and Companions, for making profitable deals with the unscrupulous. Eventually, he'd make his way back there; not for a while, as friends of Alemao's lived on Sihnon, and Eli would very much like to remain as intact as possible. With the ease of years of compartmentalizing, he tucked away how he'd found Linnea, and how he'd left Alemao. Those were thoughts for another time.