Irene simply smiled and nodded in acknowledgement of Helena's statement. She was right, they'd both do just fine here.
She laughed when she asked about her thesis. "No, not a doctor per se. I qualified in psychology, although I never practiced. Well, technically never practiced, but my work does involve a lot of....mind play, shall we say" She wasn't entirely sure if she should tell H.G. exactly what she did yet. She may have lived in the 20th century for some time, but that didn't necessarily mean that she was quite liberal enough to deal with it. Most people born in this time weren't, for goodness sake. "Well yes, I imagine so. I had clients from all walks of life, and they kept me filled in on all matters of interesting things."
"Ah, not so useful then, I admit. I would find it quite handy if it were more controllable, but if it kills those it ensnared it would a little pointless." She paused. It was becoming increasingly more hard to avoid discussing her profession, so she decided to just drop the pretense. "I am not exactly like my literary counterpart when it comes to working habits, hence my interest in the rope. Tell me, did they have dominatrixes in the 1800s?"
"Quick and painless is to be preferred, I suppose." She watched as the tea and cake was placed in front of them and smiled, picking up her fork. "I do hope it tastes as good as it looks!"