'When will she go?' asked Aileen.
'She stays till Christmas, as we promised the kids. In January, she leaves for Manhattan.'
'And until then how do you co-exist?'
He laughed. 'Do you mean will we sleep together? Are you getting jealous already?'
'You haven't slept with me yet,' she pointed out, 'so I suppose I don't really have grounds for jealousy.'
'If you did, you wouldn't, if you get my drift. Sarah's chosen the spare room, and none of the kids is old enough to notice the difference. Anyway, I'm going to be away for a couple of weeks.'
'Where are you going?'
'London. I've been asked to head an independent investigation into some stuff that's been going on down there. I'm taking Neil McIlhenney with me as co-pilot.'
'Can I come and visit you while you're there?'
'That would be nice, but it's not a good idea. You have to stay visible up here. If you went down to London, the press might follow, and that would be bad news, for a whole lot of reasons.'
'Spooky.'
'Very. Anyway, you'll be too busy being elected First Minister.'
'If I run.'
'Which you will.'
'You know me that well already?'
'Well? Don't I?'
She laughed. 'Yes, I think you do. Too bad about London, though.'
'That's a hell of a place to go anyway. On the other hand… what do you have on your plate for the rest of the day?'
'Nothing. Why do you ask?'
'Because my car's outside, and I could make Glasgow in an hour.'