She didn't seem to be put at ease by the idea that it was only the Sanditon, and not Peru, or anything. Alfred reached up and tugged at the back of his hair, pulling one strand taut and then letting it back bounce towards the nape of his neck.

"Yeah, it's, uhm —" he said, not sure why he was feeling awkward about this except that she was clearly so inexplicably awkward about it and he hadn't figured out why yet. "— contingent on the job." He didn't explain what he meant, not because he was trying to be evasive but because it honestly didn't occur to him, focused as he was on trying to figure out what was going on with her. Something had brought her to his flat unannounced, and it wasn't his summer plans.

"Do you want a drink?" he offered, with a vague gesture towards the kitchen.