ask for her company
"Must you wear those glasses?"
"Well, yes. The glare."
"The wearing of dark glasses," she said, "is a modern psychological phenomenon. It signifies the trend towards impersonalization, the weapon of the modern Inquisitor, it--"
"There's a lot in what you say." But I did not remove my glasses, for I had not asked for her company in the first place, and there is a limit to what one can listen to with the naked eye.
Muriel SparkのThe Dark Glassesからの英文です。
（二人の女性が湖に歩いて来たところです）
I had not asked for her company in the first placeの部分なのですが、
ここは、
私は第一に彼女に同伴することを求めなかった、でしょうか？（companyは動詞）
それとも
私は第一に彼女の仲間（になること）を（自分自身に）求めなかった、でしょうか？（companyは名詞）
どちらにもとれるのでしょうか？
その場合は文脈から判断するのでしょうか？
前文は
Coming to the edge of the lake we paused to look at our reflections in the water. It was then I recognized her from the past, her face looking up from the lake. She had not stopped talking.
I put on my dark glasses to shield my eyes from the sun and conceal my recognition from her eyes.
"Am I boring you?" she said.
"No, not a bit, Dr Gray."
"Sure?"
It is discouraging to put on sun-glasses in the middle of someone's intimate story. But they were necessary, now that I had recognized her, and was excited, and could only honourably hear what she had to say from a point of concealment.
となっています。（前文の冒頭が物語の出だしになっています）
教えてください。お願い致します。
お礼
いつもありがとうございます。 よくわかりました。