"Forgive you for assuming? No," he replied in that same tone, the eyebrow going back down as his eyes stayed on her. "I don't think I will. And I don't think you really expect to be either. False pleasantries do nothing but confuse and muddle the social ties we humans are so bent on creating."
Nathaniel's head tilted to one side as he continued to study her. There was something about her... as if she was testing him. And not in the way most waifs tested the adults around them in an effort to get pity and welfare. He lifted his coffee and took another drink, blinking just long enough to let his eyes be moistened and no more. He didn't want to miss a tell-tale clue in her mannerisms that might give him more data.
Perhaps something to provoke her?
"I also expect you don't usually get bought just to leave a place."