Rebecca looked up when he entered, and her green eyes flicked over his attire without comment. She wore a long dark wool skirt and a long-sleeved white blouse, like one of Jemson’s strictest schoolteachers.

“You’re late, Alister,” she said without preamble. She looked cranky.

“Sorry,” he said. “I got caught up in a—”

“Some of the most important rules of etiquette relate to punctuality,” Rebecca said, bulling right over his excuses. “For business appointments, you are to be on time or a few minutes early. For social engagements, you should never arrive early. You should err on the side of being a few minutes late. The more important you are, the later you arrive.” She paused. “This is a business appointment.”

Han blinked at her. To be honest, being on time had never been a priority before. He’d set his own schedule in Ragmarket. Being streetlord meant people and events waited on him. Rough judgment based on the angle of sun and shadow was good enough. Even Jemson wasn’t strict about class times. He was just happy when you showed up.

“I understand,” he said, picking his way carefully. “I apologize. I’ll try to be on time in the future.”

“You will be on time in the future,” Rebecca said, sticking her nose in the air and flinging her mop of hair back, “or this will be our last tutoring session.”

Where’s the girlie from the roof? Han wanted to ask. The one that laid on her back beside me to watch fireworks. The one I almost kissed.

Seeking to change the subject, he looked around. A small table was set for two, with plates, bowls, cups, napkins, and a fistful of forks, spoons, and knives at each place.

“Did you order supper?” he asked. “I thought we said we’d eat before we came.”

“We are not actually eating,” Rebecca said. “I thought about the best way to teach you, and decided we’d try some playacting. Today we’re going to talk about arriving and departing, and table manners.”

Arriving and departing? Han thought. How complicated could that be?

Very complicated, it turned out. Bluebloods seemed to give more thought to coming and going than whatever came in between. There were all kinds of rules for who arrived in what order, and who bowed and curtsied to whom, and when; who said what to whom; who got to leave the room first, and how you left the room. For instance, if you left before someone more important than you, you backed away, bowing, until you hit the door.

The only time Han backed out of a room was when the person he left behind was likely to stick him in the back.

There were also rules for figuring out who was more important than you, which was just about everybody.