"Oh, I like that. Something with flashing lights and loud klaxons." She imagines her burglar caught mid-act and his--or her--resulting panic. "I suppose I could go for a silent alarm," she adds and gets up to see to the kettle. "But," she comes back with the tea service and sets it down between them. "That would ruin all the fun, wouldn't it?"

"I do hope for Annie's sake that he won't be as...focused on his own offspring as he is on yours. The boy needs to wed, and soon."