Banks

The staircases on her side of the canals are steep enough to arrive out of breath, and Banks never does. Her forearms do the work so her hands can stay soft, and on the mat she uses her whole length rather than her fingers, so nothing ever has a chance to cool. In French she is quicker and funnier; in English she slows down and listens more than she speaks, which some people prefer and others take a while to notice. An hour is enough to understand what she does, and the bookings that run past midnight are where that understanding stops being the point.

Banks decides which bookings she takes and may decline any of them; she sets the limits for what a session includes, says what they are, and may end a visit at any point, as the terms set out.