Oh, yes. The scientific equipment is superior, the climate is more to my taste, and my housemate is already eager to set off. It was barely a choice at all.

[She takes her drink, though her eyes are locked on him. The way he leans in leaves her smiling faintly, and she wonders at that. She isn't inclined to smiling as a rule, and certainly not at this time of year. And yet here she is, amused and a little charmed that he's acting like this. She shifts as he does, facing him properly, her fingers sliding against the condensation on her glass.

Perhaps it's because he always reminds her a little of Robert. That quietly impudent gentility, the clever mind . . . and of course, the attraction doesn't hurt things. Her eyes flit over him again, and her slight smile grows. He's got to be at least ten years older than her, but age has never much bothered her.

Rather the opposite, really.]

But I've time for a few more indulgences before I leave.