Sandy brown hair, balayage through it catching the light, hazel eyes, and 173 cm of slim frame carried with no effort at all. Vanessa dresses down rather than up for Paddington: good jeans and a blazer as often as a dress, a coat with a hood because she is realistic about the weather, and almost no jewellery. Mid twenties. She looks like somebody you would be pleased to run into, which is exactly the effect she wants.

English, spoken easily and with a lot of listening around it. She is unpretentious to the point of being slightly allergic to formality, and she will steer an evening away from anywhere that requires a jacket if you let her. She swims outdoors, has read more than she lets on, and collects small facts about London that she produces at useful moments.

A W2 evening with her is usually the corner table at The Cleveland Arms on Chilworth Street, a proper pub two streets from the station where the food is good, the room is quiet on a weeknight and nobody is dressed for anything. She likes the table by the window. Paddington is home ground for her, so afterwards the canal at Little Venice is a ten minute walk and almost always empty after dark.

Same day works with her more often than not, which suits anyone whose plans arrive late. The canal, the station and everyone else covering W2 sit on the Paddington page. A quick note to booking naming the evening and the hotel gets a straight answer the same day.

Nothing has been written up under Vanessa yet, which is usually what discretion looks like. A note goes on the board only when a client sends one in writing, she agrees to it, and the office has checked that it reads as a first name, a month and nothing private.