Thirties and beyond, four companions who choose their words and their rooms with care

Margo, 166 cm with straight dark brown hair, follows the auction calendar seriously and plays the piano after dark. She gardens too, herbs and white flowers behind a wall, and has never photographed any of it. Nobody learns all of her in one evening. Hers begins in the King Street saleroom at Christie's during a viewing week, in St James's. Violetta, 178 cm with sleek black hair, is the tallest companion in the house. She swims long distances in cold water, adores stand-up comedy, and starts among the shelves of Waterstones on Piccadilly.

Nancy, 170 cm, golden blonde and blue eyed, swims outdoors through the winter, takes road trips without a plan, and would cross London for good sushi. Nobu on Berkeley Street in Mayfair is her table. Sonya, 162 cm, dark haired and hazel eyed, meditates each morning, takes ballet class twice a week and collects fragrance. She dines at Wiltons on Jermyn Street, where a sentence can be heard through to its end.

Receptions, launches, client dinners and anything with a dress code. The formal plus one is where Margo, Sonya and Violetta are proposed most, and Violetta is a natural for extended engagements too, from £6,000. Nancy's sunny temper makes her the natural choice for a relaxed dinner rather than a formal one.

Not polish, which every companion on every page already has, but range. Each of these four can hold a gala table and a quiet supper in the same week without becoming someone else for either, and each will tell you plainly which of the two she would prefer.

Say whether the evening is social or professional, and whether she will be introduced to anyone. Margo and Violetta are at their best when the room is formal and the conversation needs a steady hand. Nancy and Sonya shine at a table for two, Nancy with a crowded sushi counter and Sonya in a dining room so quiet that nobody raises a voice. Octavia will steer you, and the steer is usually correct.

Colour and figure run across this page as they run everywhere. Nancy brings golden hair and a curvaceous line; Violetta, black hair and the greatest height on the statuesque page. Margo and Sonya are brunettes, Sonya also petite. The decade before this one has its page under late twenties.

The hour is £600, the four hour dinner £1,800, the weekend from £6,000, and rates shows every step. Sonya's diary tends to fill early in the week, so a little notice helps with her. Send a name and a date through booking.