In a message dated 11/18/2003 1:26:15 PM US Mountain Standard Time, philiph at SLAC.Stanford.EDU writes: Dumb question, but is Sethra technically a noble? I can certainly imagine she's been knighted or whatever, but maybe titles, uhh, expire upon death. Or she might not have bothered. I believe I recall Vlad saying she likes to be announced as just SL - maybe he doesn't realize there's nothing more to be announced... Perhaps in the spirit of one of the great rival courtesans of fin de siecle Paris. One of them once entered Maxim's one evening wearing all the jewelry she'd been given--lit up the room with the blaze. Next day her rival entered Maxim's wearing no jewelry at all--followed by her maid wearing all her mistress's jewelry. I can see Sethra doing that. If nothing else, she's captain of the Lavodes (whatever they are/were, exactly). tal