“That will be one of my first stops in New York,” Laurence said. They went into the study.

“Would you like a drink?”

“Yes, thank you, scotch, a single malt, if you have it.”

“I have a Macallan 12, a Talisker, and a Laphroaig.”

“I don’t know the Talisker.”

“Try it, you’ll find it spicy and smoky. Ice?”

“A little.”

Stone handed him the drink and poured himself a Knob Creek bourbon, and they sat down.

“This is superb whiskey,” Laurence said.

“I’m glad you like it.”

Laurence sighed. “You must think I’m crazy.”

“No crazier than any other thirty-year-old who has just come into more than half a billion dollars.”

“Has anything like this ever happened to you?”

“Yes, I inherited a large sum from my late wife—not as large as your sum, but enough.”

“And what did you do with it?”

“I invested it, just as you are planning to do.”

“You must have bought some nice things.”

“Real estate, mostly. I bought a house in Maine, one in Paris, and a country place in England. I also bought the house next door, where my staff live.”

“Where is the place in England?”

“On the Beaulieu River, in Hampshire.”

“Which side?”

“West.”

“I know the area. I’ve done quite a lot of sailing around there. Do you have a boat?”

“An American motor yacht, a Hinckley 43.”

“I’ve seen Hinckleys—very traditional-looking.”

“They are, but under the deck, they’re very modern. You said you had taken some flying lessons at Palm Beach Airport?”

“Yes, I got a multiengine rating and a 525, single-pilot jet type rating there. My father flew a Beech Baron, a rather old one. I sold it.”

“Where did you do your private and instrument ratings?”

“At Oxford airport, in England, and at Flight Safety, in Vero Beach.”

“Are you going to buy an airplane?”

“Yes, I think I am. I didn’t mention it because I thought you’d think I was really crazy.”

“No, I fly myself. I have a CitationJet 3 Plus.”

“I know the airplane. What’s the plus?”

“Garmin 3000 avionics, mostly. What kind of airplane do you want?”

“Something I can fly myself—maybe a Citation Mustang.”

“My first jet. My son is flying it now.”

“Would you recommend it?”

“Yes, but perhaps not to you. You can afford something more capable, and believe me, after a few months in the Mustang, you’d want something more capable, like an M2 or the CJ 3 Plus.”

“How much training is involved for the CJ 3?”

“You’ll need a 525 type rating, which takes sixteen days but applies to all the CJ line. There’s only one simulator, and that’s at Flight Safety in Wichita.”

“Then I could fly it myself?”

“You’d be legal to fly the airplane, but your insurance company would want you to build some time, before they’d insure you for single-pilot operations. But . . .”