Characters · 5 companions
Toned and athletic companions, through the London Season
Five companions carry an athletic build, the kind that shows in how a woman stands at a crowded bar rather than in anything she says about it. They share a certain readiness, straight backs and easy balance, and the energy to take a day of engagements and a late dinner in a single stride. The London Season, with its courts, rides, stalls and studios, is the natural place to meet them, so this page follows its calendar.
At 21:00
A character
Everyone listed shares this one published detail, and nothing more is assumed.
Toned and athletic, on the roster
Everyone listed here matches on her published facts alone. A portrait leads to her photographs, her figures and a short account of her evenings.
Wimbledon fortnight
Angelika, 172 cm, black hair worn long and very straight, is on a hard court most mornings and watches a match with a player's eye, which makes her the obvious guest for a day at the All England Club or a long lunch while the quarter-finals play somewhere nearby. Her evening instinct is art, and she will know which canvas in a Savile Row gallery deserves your attention before the champagne has been poured.
Hyde Park at first light, the Alps in January
Laura, 169 cm, green-eyed, her light brown hair lightened by summers outside, has ridden since childhood and skis every winter. For a guest in town during the summer she suits an early evening walk along the bridle path in Hyde Park, then oysters at a Mount Street counter. In January she will be talking about snow whether or not you ask, and her travel stories are brief, funny and entirely true.
The ballet season
Sonya, 162 cm, hazel-eyed and athletic, has danced for most of her life and now watches from the stalls, which makes a night at the Royal Opera House followed by a quiet supper her idea of perfection. She meditates each morning and is the calmest presence at any table, a welcome counterweight to a day that has run too fast. Of the five she is the likeliest to suggest tea rather than a cocktail.
Fashion week, from the sketchbook side
Nora, 166 cm, honey blonde, and Tina, 158 cm, espresso brown, are both athletic and both designers at heart. Nora alters nearly everything she wears and celebrates with champagne; Tina sketches on receipts and wears a belt she made herself. In a September week of shows and parties either would be excellent company, and both can critique a lapel with genuine authority.
Long days, well carried
Long bookings suit an athletic companion best: a race day, a weekend with walking in it, or a stretch of the summer that runs from the river at Henley to a dinner in town. The page on weekends and the Season explains how those are arranged, and the rates page holds the figures.
Planning around early mornings
An athletic companion keeps early hours on some days: a court booked for eight, a ride, a quiet hour of meditation. Cressida builds a booking around them, so a late night on Tuesday may mean a later start on Wednesday. Mention any early flight or morning meeting of your own as well, and the evening can be shaped to suit both diaries.
Their neighbours on the index
Angelika is also raven haired and statuesque; Sonya and Tina belong to the petite character; Nora is one of the four blondes. By stage of life the five spread widely: Sonya is in her thirties, Angelika in her early twenties, and the other three between twenty-five and twenty-nine.
Other characters
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Name the companion you prefer, or describe the evening and let Cressida choose from the roster.