Him being polite didn't help. Her mother was impeccably polite; it was part of how she manipulated people. No one expected the devil to wear dapper shoes and inquire about your mother's health.

"I really shouldn't be troubling you about this," she said, trying not to fidget as she took a seat. "It's nothing, really. And you're ... I'm not even your student, properly. At the school, I mean."