Martha seems be enjoying herself. After chatting widely for a few more minutes she has fallen quiet while she sipped at her ginger ale; rubbed at her stiff knee. Smiling meekly at Dillon all the while. She also makes time to adjust her straw boater and fiddles with one of the ribbons tying her twin tails, before talking eagerly again; "I am glad to hear, sir, that you wish to make your residence more permanent in this Domain. I hope you have found a suitable Haven to your liking!"

Dillon had been studying the beautiful print of the woman in the boat, sipping his own glass with a free hand slung loosely in his pocket. He knew nothing technical about art, but recognized the effect it could have on him. He turns and smiles, jovial but not excessive. "Well, there's a few places I'm looking at, but I didn't want to make a decision until I had acquired legal tenancy. Speaking of which, can you offer any words of wisdom on the Regents?"

Martha saw Dillon's study of the print and smiled. She made no comment about it for the moment but nodded. Struggled to her feet with the help of her cane and hobbled, her leg dragging badly, over to her desk. A brief rummage amongst some papers and she hobbles back over to Dillon with an annotated printout of a map of the mortal municipal boundaries of Sacramento. She sits down with a smile, but it was clearly an uncomfortable action. Resting the map on the couch between herself and Dillon she has pre-marked the limits of each zone of control of the remaining Regents. "Here you are, sir..." she points to the area near Freeport, Arcadia, Laguna and Elk Grove with a delicate finger. "Here is the zone of control of Regent Roxy Hart. She has a reputation for being formidable and slightly grumpy, sir. She is also...well, I have rarely seen her. The Regents tend to have to have a lot to do. One way to help a Regent, sir, is to offer to help with their patrols or some aspect of administering their zone." a smile as she rubs hard at her thigh, her free hand moves gently to show the limit of Erika Brady's territory to the north of Sacramento, "...here, sir, is the Territorial zone of Dr Erika Brady!" she smiles as she says the name, "Dr Brady has a bright intellect, is a fine scholar and very beautiful! She acts as Regent for Citrus Heights, Fair Oaks...as you see." and again, a delicate finger traces around the annotated limit of the territory. Martha does a lot of smiling. "And we come to the territory of Regent Nagaraj! If he is, as I suspect, a Ghurka, sir...he will instantly command the respect and admiration of any right minded English person. Our two nations have a mutual regard that is of long standing and paid for in blood. The Ghurka warrior had found their equal only in the British soldier. It was this mutual regard as warriors that has led them to be our most stalwart allies in times of peace and military crisis." a humble smile before she returns to the map. Her slender finger outling the highlights of the Ghurka's territory, "...here, sir, is the airport...Natomas and down here, we have Willow Creek...an interesting set of features. The other territories..." she points to the other mosiac patches on the map, "...are now back under the direct control of Alder Prince Clarke." she sits back a moment. Smiles meekly as she rubs hard at her stiff knee and lets Dillon study the map or ask any questions.

Nodding thoughtfully here and there, Dillon follows Martha's helpful description with interest. Doctor Brady certainly sounded impressive, but if Mr. Nagaraj was a warrior, maybe Dillon could find a common ground with him. "Assistance in protecting the territory sounds right up my alley, so to speak. With multiple areas under his direct responsibility, do you suppose the Prince would be accepting to such an offer?"

Martha nods. "As Herald I am empowered to speak with the Authority of the Alder Prince..." she carefully, gently and with a happy smile, emphasises the Alder, as if to encourage Dillon to get used to saying it. "...if I were to witness an example of your prowess and assess your skills, sir...depending upon a positive showing on your part, sir; I should see no immediate trouble in accepting your generous offer to contribute to the safety, security and protection of the Domain!" a smile. "I would recommend you give the matter thought, sir. Each Regent may take a different view upon their local needs and if they feel you can contribute to filling a local need. If you do wish to contact a Regent, I would be most interested to hear the result of the encounter and any negotiations you engage in. I have some ideas about patrols too, sir. Think upon the matter. Feel free to return to me, sir, and discuss the matter later...perhaps within the fortnight? Or, if you feel you wish to work directly to the Alder Prince and his Herald, sir...then perhaps we would be well served in devising a series of suitable tests! I mean no disrespect, sir...only, if I am to exercise Authority of the Alder Prince, I would wish to see some evidence of skill. I have confidence in you, sir. But I wish to be able to express such confidence as a reliable witness, rather than as an act of faith. To do otherwise may seem negligent...given our security could well rest upon your vigilance!" another happy smile as she rubs hard at her thigh, watching Dillon closely for his reaction to this. Her free hand twirls at one of her twin tails.

Dillon's expression turns a bit more serious, a bit more intense, but not unpleasant as he considers Martha's words. "Of course, of course. I understand from Elysia Posting that there are a few investigations underway at the moment. I'll offer my assistance there where I can, and perhaps I can provide an example of my ability to serve." Here his smile slips back in at the corner of his mouth, friendly if still serious, "I would not wish to undermine Alder Prince Clarke's faith in your judgement. I still feel that my service in one of His Majesty's Regencies may be a better tactic; we can ensure that those parts of the city receive adequate attention."

"And speaking of investigations," Dillon begins with his voice on a lighter note, "is there anything important I should know about the enforcers of Sacramento? How approachable and accepting of assistance are the Reeve, Deputies, and Hound? Or Hounds, if the case may be..." He offers a little shrug. "Things are structured at least a little differently in every domain."

Martha nods. Her own mood seeming to be momentarily serious to match Dillon's. "Ah, quite so, sir...it is not a trivial thing to win the Right of Tenancy. The Regents will be a good first port of call, I dare say." her mood remains serious as she thinks about how to reply to his question about the security detachment of the Domain. "Hmmm..." she makes a show of thinking, rubbing at her lame thigh as she ponders. "Well, sir, the Royal Archon, Alder Judex Twist, is a fine lady! Beautiful, intelligent and formidable, sir! A fine example of the Daeva, sir. She has won a reputation as being able to perform deeds of valour and battle that few other Kindred in the Domain can hope to match." she smiles, her mood seeming to match that shown by Dillon. "The Reeve, Herr Max Heinz, is a fine gentleman...I have faith in his abilities and overall wisdom. Herr Heinz does not shy away from taking the lead when the need arises and can be trusted to play his part when...well...when things require resorting to physical skills. His Deputies...Mr Greyson and Mr Flores...well, they are both Laconic gentlemen and share the Laconic traits of the Spartans: they fight well and they talk little. They can, nevertheless, be relied upon to perform their Duties without pomp or ceremony and perform these Duties with skill and care. The Reeve is, I would suggest, the more sociable of the trio...but this in no way reflects poorly upon the regard in which I hold the Deputies. As to how accepting of aid they might be...well, sir, it is hard to predict: being so dependent upon circumstance and operational expediancies." she adds a smile and fiddles with a twin tail again and brushing at her long gymslip to smooth out creases that have crept in following her fidgeting. "It is important, sir, that I take this opportunity to impress upon you that I seek to encourage Kindred in the Domain to report anything odd, novel or strange to the Reeve, his Deputies...the Harpy or myself, sir. Establishing a routine of early warning and swift reporting of activity, I feel, is essential in creating a strong foundation for communications in the Domain! Thereby we may act with greater depth of understanding if and when faced with a crisis, for we will have made effort to compile a personal knowledge of events and personalities within the Domain. To try to avert surprise attack by an opponent, you see." she smiles, clearly pleased she is sharing this with Dillon.

Dillon offers a nod and smile of acknowledgement at the valuable information Martha offers about the various officers. Oh yeah, acknowledgement, I gotta remember to bring that up. 'Royal Archon, Alder Judex Twist' sounded fairly impressive, and not just from the length of her title. Formidable in combat, formidable in formality... he bet she stayed busy.

Inventing the terms 'Sociable Sheriff' and 'Dour Deputies' as a quick matter of association to keep things straight in his head, Dillon addresses Martha's friendly admonition of awareness with a look of approval. "Sound advice and a solid tactic, ma'am - Herald Villiers. You'll get no complaints from me. I will keep you and the Administration as informed as I can."

"I think there is only the matter of Acknowledgement left, Miss, and I will stop pestering you so." He throws in a good-natured wink for a 'just kidding' effect. She seemed to be enjoying his company, and he was certainly enjoying hers, but Dillon always preferred to err on the side of over-polite.

Martha rubbed at her leg, bashfully watching Dillon as he spoke. She giggles playfully at the wink. Toying one of her twin tails as smiled. "Acknowledgement, sir? What did you wish to discuss about that?"

"Oh, well..." Dillon crosses a leg toward Martha and rests his arm along the back of the couch, careful not to invade her space. He seems to be thinking of how to ask without sounding presumptuous. "I haven't been, formally. I just hoped you would be willing to take care of it in the stead of Alder Prince Clarke, for now. I fully intend to present myself to him personally, at the first given opportunity, so that he may know my face and name." Not that the domain's Prince needed such a gentleman's courtesy, but Dillon was in his house now. When in someone else's house, you thanked them for their hospitality in person. The look on his face is as sincere as he can be; Dillon isn't doing this merely because it's convenient. He wants it to be Martha, first. She is fast on her way to being his first actual friend in nearly a decade. "But your words are his law. If you can be the one to settle the matter, I would be honored, and I can get to work immediately. If it is only temporary until it can be done publicly at Court, of course I understand." Again, he was at the mercy of a new domain's rules that he did not yet know the ins and outs, but he was trying to get all of his bases covered. As long as he'd been around, as many cities as he'd served, he'd not likely get away with the 'I didn't know' excuse.

Martha smiled and listened and smiled again. She watched carefully as Dillon rested his arm along the back of the couch. She rubbed hard at her leg a moment. Nodding eagerly she chirped away; "Ah! Quite so!, Quite so! We did agree to discuss the matter this evening...and we find ourselves in conversation on a variety of topics!" she giggles happily, her attention on Dillon as she talks, "You have explained your background quite carefully and shown great willingness to contribute and co-operate, sir! This is too our mutual advantage! It rests, formally, upon you conceding to agree to Acknowledging the Praxis of Alder Prince Clarke, that of his appointed Courtiers and Officers and the Rules that apply to his Domain. Do you so agree, sir?" she asks. Her tone serious, but her smile friendly. She sits on her hands a moment, no doubt to prevent further fidgeting.

Dillon sees Martha tuck her hands, and smiles. He hadn't really noticed her fidgeting until she stopped; it had just seemed a natural part of her energy. Now he imagined that if he dallied too long in response, she might burst. We can't have that. He throws in a solemn nod with his smile, passing it off as part of his general mirth at her interest. He didn't want to accidentally embarrass her or give her the wrong impression.

Raising his right hand, Dillon proclaims clearly, but with quiet respect: "I, Dillon Connery, swear to uphold the Praxis of Alder Prince Asa Clarke, and the rules he appoints, in service to the realm of Sacramento. I acknowledge the Laws of the domain; that to break them is to fall under penalty of banishment, sentence to Torpor, or most grievously, the Final Death." It's obvious he's done this a few times, though he has been genuine at every instance. Smiling fully again, he waits for Martha's reaction before carrying on the conversation.

Martha smiles, seeming impressed by the oath offered by Dillon. She nods a firm nod. "Splendid, sir! A comprehensive and impressive oath! Congratulations on your Acknowledgement! This entitles you to all the usual advantages and, of course, Feeding Rights within these areas..." and she releases a delicate hand from under her lame thigh to point out areas of Common Feeding on the map print out. Adding a smile as she leans back on the couch a moment, taking a second or two to bashfully rub at her lower spine. "Hmm...I have a notion, sir...a scheme, if you will. I wonder: would you mind indulging my explanation and exploration of the idea with you? I should welcome your aid with it. I detect in you a man, sir, of many travels and a familiarity with the manner of hard journey a Kindred may undertake. It is this experience I should welcome to explore as we test my enterprise. Would you be kind enough to do so, sir?" she asks, all wide eyed, rubbing at her stiff knee now with her freed hand.

Laying his hand to rest, Dillon's eyebrows raise in curiosity at Martha's proposal. "Of course." He leans his head in a bit, loading the following statement with jovial implications, "you may consider me completely at your disposal."

Smiling, she launches enthusiastically into her plan, her hands become busy to happily punctuate her talk. "It is a simple notion, sir. To open and maintain a small lodging house. To open it with a view to allowing Kindred, newly arrived to the Domain...or those with emergency requirements...to lodge there for several evenings: until such time as they found a more suitable residence or moved on, as they see fit. The dwelling refuge need not be anything grand...it only needs to be safe, secure and sun-proof. I should need to capitalise the project, of course, but...as a well travelled gentleman and a man with military experience, sir, I would welcome your views on scouting a suitable location within the Communal Feeding Zone." and she traces the boundary again on the map with a slender finger, "There is no haste to my project, but I believe it is one that could be of value to the Domain and those newly arrived to it." she looks to Dillon, smiling. "I shall look forward to hearing any flaws obvious in the scheme, sir...and any advice you can provide on the location."

Dillon nods as Martha goes through it all, considering it carefully as he watches her explain the idea with pleasant gusto. The look on his face is thoughtful and serious without being grim. "That seems a wise and generous gesture. It would only enhance Sacramento's already impressive hospitality."

After a few moments of thought, he offers "The first thing that comes to my mind for consideration is multiple discrete access points. Not just for the preservation of Masquerade, but as a safeguard against those who would set themselves against the domain. A gathering place of newcomers to victimize might provide too tempting a target to pass up. This place may require the Rule of Elysia and a Keeper." He seems to be thinking aloud at the end, interest getting the better of his manners as he wonders what sort of place could fit the bill. Of course defense against attack and adversary are a soldier's first concern. "Sacramento doesn't employ a subterranean railway system, does it? An abandoned or closed station could have been perfect..." His voice trails off, thinking he's getting close to rambling. He got excited when talking tactics, and it could frequently get the better of him. He's all smiles again. "But it's a big city."

Martha nods. Pleased at the reply she has heard. She watched with glee and nodded often, twirling one of her twin tails with a free hand. "Well, sir! Thank you! I will explore the idea and, if you wish to help me with the project, sir, I would look forward to hearing of any additional notions, comments or recommended locations that occur to you in the coming weeks!" she enthuses. Smiling again at Dillon, wide eyed.

Dillon bounces a rhythmic nod, as though to music, while wearing a look of satisfied approval. "I would love to help. Anything you can think of, Miss Villliers, don't hesitate to get me a message." Here he takes a card out of his blazer and offers it to her, having phrased the last part of his sentence as such because he didn't know if she bothered with a phone herself or not. The card is good quality, with a simple printed border, but the two numbers on the front have been written neatly by hand with a calligrapher's pen. There's a symbol on the back, also penned, that resembles three fiendish dog's heads. Shades of Cerberus.

Martha looks a bit sadder, the handing of the card and his words seemed to mark the end of the meeting. She accepts the card with a respectful nod. Inspects it, makes a mental note to ask about the symbol another day, and tucks the card carefully away inside her own blazer and struggles to stand. "Ah...I thank you, sir. I shall indeed be making use of the information...for perhaps our next expedition to a bookstore!" she smiles bashfully as she gets to her feet, rubbing hard at her lower back and hip. "Thank you for your time, sir! I very much enjoyed our meeting this evening! Please do not hesitate to contact me, sir!" another smile.

Dillon stands as Martha does, as per rules of custom more than his imminent departure. "I look forward to it, ma'am." He says, the prospect taking away some of his own regret that the meeting was approaching its culmination. A million things jump into his mind that he'd meant to mention and hadn't, a subconscious way to prolong the encounter, but he bats them down, as none were immediately pressing, save one. "I enjoyed myself as well. More than I have in another's company in a long time. I forgot to mention: the number on that card that isn't a Sacramento area code is a number for Chicago's Court. They can provide references without breaching Masquerade, should you wish to validate my stories." He adds a chuckle to his smile. "But that's no reason not to ask me to tell them anyway."