Her arm was healing well, she was managing the discomfort and meanwhile Morgana was unrepentant.

'Wretched little beast' Hecate said to her after a particularly painful evening. The feline looked unconcerned and washed her whiskers.

Dimity had returned and was currently being insufferable. Her team had won and she was euphoric. When it had been time to wash her hair again, Hecate hesitated over asking her friend. She wanted to see Ada again. She picked up the phone and booked an appointment. She threaded her way through the crowd to the town centre and wondered why she was feeling a little nervous. Ada wasn't an intimidating type of person. Unless she was on a billboard.

What?

Hecate stopped and looked properly. There she was. On a billboard. Looking glamorous with a fluffy orange cat in her arms. Hecate thought that odd even though it was silly to think that she would pose with her own cat. The photo was for a popular hosiery company, Hecate understanding it as the cat being the contrast to the sheer nylons. It was difficult not to stare at her legs. Hecate felt like a bit of a perv. Her own were hardly inferior, not even keeping them hidden in a swathe of long skirt had prevented people from exclaiming about how she should be a model. But Hecate really liked what she was seeing. A dangerous thought, if she were to seek out Ada for the purpose of a wash and blow dry. She looked again. She couldn't have been mistaken, that was definitely her. Wondering about this, she stepped into the salon, took out her book and waited for her turn. She was getting adept at reading with one hand. A tap on the spine made her look up. Ada had retreated and was standing there with a smile.

'You were so absorbed; I hope I didn't startle you.'

'Not at all.'

'How's the arm?'

'Getting better.'

'It's nice to see you again' Ada remarked casually.

Hecate wondered if that meant something. No doubt she was overthinking it. She had a disastrous habit of doing so with people in certain situations. She pondered on a few things while her hair was being washed. Ada had left her hair long enough for her to pin up to her satisfaction.

'I thought you liked black cats best?' She blurted out when she was in front of the mirror.

Ada raised an eyebrow. Hecate felt herself blush.

'I do.'

'Oh.'

Hecate felt like a fool.

'I wouldn't have minded showing you a picture of Pendell' said Ada curiously. She wasn't sure what had brought that on. Was there part of the conversation she'd missed? She hadn't thought so.

'There's a billboard nearby' said Hecate. 'I just thought. Erm.'

'Ah.'

Just like that, the confusion was gone. Ada gave a crooked grin and explained that her twin sister Agatha was the model in the family. She owned an orange fluffy cat, the one in the photo.

That explained that.

'She models all over the world. Last month she was in Japan. They tend to prefer girlish models over there but she managed to charm them in the end. She always does.'

Agatha had a penthouse in the city, had designed a lingerie line, had posed for Playboy in 1999 and even had a vibrator named after her. Hecate choked painfully on her water when she heard that. Ada laughed delightedly. She liked this curious buttoned up woman. There was a glimmer of something rebellious within the gracious planes of her face and Ada was longing to tease it out.

'I suppose it's a lot of fun, to confuse people with the likeness.'

'To start off with. As we got older it's become a little inconvenient at times' Ada admitted. 'I've been accosted by a few people who are insistent on rekindling a few extra nights with her after she ditched them for someone else. I hear more about her exploits from other people than from her. What that last one said to me was…oh, too much. I'm not a prude by any means but I really didn't fancy a night of being tied to…well, never mind.'

Hecate looked like a deer in the headlights. Ada silently chastised herself for being too forward. She looked down and focused on her client's hair.

'Would you…have accepted any of their propositions?' Asked Hecate after an uncomfortable silence.

Ada hesitated.

'Well, I would be dishonest if I said I hadn't thought about one or two of them. How easy it could be to slip into the role for a night. But I wouldn't have done anyone any favours by messing with their heads, mine included. So I left them well alone. I don't need to use Agatha's hangers-on to boost my ego. I do quite well on my own merit.' She smiled cheekily.

'I see.'

Ada misinterpreted the expression on Hecate's face. She thought she could sense disapproval. Hecate was in fact, thinking something quite different. Ada didn't strike her as someone who engaged in wild sexual exploits but maybe Hecate had been fooled by first impressions. That modest floral frock may well be a useful camouflage for an uninhabited spirit. She found herself wondering about what exactly Agatha got up to with all those people and how Ada's legs looked.

Ada noticed the slight blush suffusing the face in the mirror and changed the subject, hoping that she'd not scared her client off. They chatted about their cats and other sundry topics and when Hecate's hair had been blow dried to perfection, Ada showed her pictures of her cat on her (cherry blossom patterned) phone. He was a handsome fellow, almost as sleek as her own cat. He did like his treats, especially stolen ones. Pendell sounded a lot naughtier than haughty graceful Morgana. Hecate took out her (black embossed with the crescent moon) phone and showed Ada her own spoiled house brat.

'This is the cause of my current situation.'

Ada both admired the cause of the situation and commiserated with her.

'I'll bet she's better behaved than mine. But then Pendell is quite the hedonist.'

They say pets have similar personalities to their humans. Hecate liked the thought of that. It made her wonder about Ada.