"Oh, Lord no, I'd never be quite that crass," the Lyctor responds promptly. "Quite aside from the microbiological implications, I prefer to avoid learning if the people with whom I converse have that particular taste."

Classy as hell, huh?

"No, I simply prefer to handle my business directly, I'm afraid — which doesn't mean I'm uninterested in you." Inasmuch as he's interested in anyone who hasn't made Lyctor grade, anyway. "You wouldn't happen to be one of the ones who ended up at Canaan House, then, would you?"

It wasn't as if Harrowhark had ever been particularly forthcoming about her life at the Ninth House, but — well, he was fairly certain he would have heard, at some point in the last fifty years or so, if the Ninth had started being chummy with the other Houses again. Wouldn't he have?

He hasn't really had time to inspect that relationship here, yet, to come up with any other conclusions, anyway.