'You can't be serious!' 'I'm perfectly serious. It's a very charming house—or did you think only members of your own family had the taste to appreciate it?' 'Of course not.' She shook her head in bewilderment. 'But this isn't a very fashionable area—and a fair distance from London, and the kind of lifestyle you're accustomed to.' Nicholas Bristow's mouth curled. 'How do you know the kind of lifestyle I'm accustomed to?' he asked flatly. Alison flushed. 'You don't exactly keep your haunts—or your companions—a secret,' she said in a constricted tone. 'Ah.' He gave her a long look. 'I wouldn't have put you down as a devotee of the gutter press, Miss Mortimer, but let it pass. If you feel entitled to some explanation, then I'll give you one. I've a comfortable house in Town, but I've never regarded it as home particularly. Perhaps I've reached a stage in my life where the idea of putting down some roots has suddenly become appealing— I don't know. Anyway, people commute to City offices from far greater distances than this, and besides, there's room in the grounds for a helicopter pad if I thought it was necessary.
