The young woman nodded eagerly, as if what he’d said were somehow noteworthy. Her bright face, now that she was smiling, struck Keegan as a few cuts above merely pretty; she might well be an actress—and a famous one for all Keegan knew. He didn’t own a television and seldom went to the movies anymore—there was something too dismal about going to a movie alone—but he remembered his mother’s stories about Ormsby’s bevy of young starlets, and the thought that this lovely young woman might be the old man’s latest conquest pained him in a way he wasn’t expecting. He felt a flush of something like righteous anger. “You must be one of the nieces I keep hearing about,” he said.

The young woman’s brow furrowed. “I’m the niece,” she said. “The only one there is, as far as I know.”

“Not from what I hear,” Keegan said. He had no idea why he wanted, suddenly, to be unpleasant, but he did. He allowed himself a sly smile.

The woman regarded him seriously for a few seconds, her head tilted to one side, and then her mouth dropped open. She blushed. “Oh,” she said. “You think I’m one of Uncle Nigel’s girls. I’m not, you know. I’m his actual niece.”

Keegan felt his face grow hot. In his line of work, he was supposed to be tight-lipped, careful with words, slow to leap to conclusions. “I’m sorry,” he managed to say. “I spoke out of turn.”

The young woman shook her head. “Nothing to worry about,” she told him, her voice going softer. “Really. I’ve heard all the gossip, too. My uncle is not very good at keeping secrets.”

Keegan felt scolded. It was gossip. He thought of Mr. Soto peeking out from behind his blinds and dialing the landlord. “You live here with your uncle?” he offered lamely, trying to push the conversation on, away from this awkward moment he’d thrust them into.

“I got sent here to recuperate,” the young woman said with a precision that made her words sound rehearsed. “Like you, I’m only a temporary resident.” She shaded her eyes with one hand and looked up at him. “I’m Eve Ormsby-Cutler. Uncle Nigel is my mother’s elder brother.”

“My name’s Jim Keegan. I hope I didn’t ruin your picture.”

She looked down at her work, and then smiled up at him again. “It’s more of a sketch, really. And you’ve managed to give it its only daring feature.”