"Yes, madam," Nell said, turning toward her interlocutor with a little 
curtsy. Rather than trying to do Chinese etiquette and making a hash of it, she 
was taking the Victorian route, which worked just as well. For purposes of this 
interview, Henry (the young man who had offered her tea)
had advanced her a few hard ucus, which she had used to compile a reasonably 
decent full-length dress, hat, gloves, and reticule. She had gone in nervous 
and realized within a few minutes that the decision to hire her had already 
been made, somehow, and that this little get-together was actually more along 
the lines of an orientation session.