James nodded. "So the constable won't come after us now?"

"There's no reason for him to," Saoirse shrugged.

James seemed relieved. "Good."

"It is," she agreed. The kid was taking all this much better than she was expecting him to.

James looked at her and smiled. "Won't your husband mind that you're gone for so long?"

"I don't have a husband," Saoirse explained. "so, no."

"Oh... Are you a prostitute?" Logical question. Right?

Saoirse raised his eyebrows in pure exasperation. "No, I'm not a prostitute."

"What do you do for a living then?" the boy asked.

"I'm a writer," she said. To be fair, her writing earned her absolutely no money, and it was mainly from other work that she earned a living, but still. 'Writer' was more impressive than 'ordinary working woman'.