She said: “Oh no, because where we are going you have to have lots of money or else they get very fierce and throw you into the street.”
Jason smiled. “Now that sounds exciting. Let’s go.”
In the taxi he said: “You play the piano awfully well. What else do you do?”
She looked out of the window at the bright lights as they flashed past. “Oh, things, you know. I don’t do anything so well as the piano. I’m lucky there, I suppose.”
“I wouldn’t say that. You must have worked hard at the piano to be able to play like that.” He twisted round in his seat so that he could look at her properly. “I think I’m going to like you quite a lot,” he said.
She leant her head back against the side of the cab. “I suppose you’re now laying the foundation?” she said.
Jason considered that. “Isn’t that frightfully cynical and elderly?” he asked.
“I don’t think so. You see, I often go for rides in taxis with men I don’t know very well. It interests me to see the first initial moves.”
Jason felt in his pocket for his cigarette-case. “Strictly, from your angle, it must be interesting,” he said, offering her his case. “Do you go to bed with any of them?”
She took a cigarette and leant forward as he thumbed his lighter. “No,” she said, “it’s ethically wrong, I think.”