A ghost is a ghost. At the end of the day, these things are just projections of what's in everyone's head - like dreams come to life. So Kitty certainly can keep talking to the rather-too-pretty man, Petrana's husband, but - it seems rude, like continuing to read a book when someone is speaking to you directly.

So Kitty turns her back on the man and faces Petrana directly. "So - was that the reason for everything back then?" she asks. "Protecting mages and all that?" It's a relatively neutral question, one that hopefully can be answered without too much resistance. Kitty supposes that - well, if Petrana does freeze up, the little manifestation of her subconscious there will fill Kitty in.