Jordan noticed the flicker of doubt between the couple and went on, hastily. ‘Let me show you a feature that is very rare in modern houses.’ He strode over to one window, unlocked it and pulled it up. ‘Genuine sash windows, in every room! A true Georgian feature. You see, this house has been designed almost as a miniature model of Cold Hill House, which once stood here. Sash windows, I tell you – no expense was spared by the builders on this beautiful home.’ He smiled. ‘For your catering business, Mrs Danes, I don’t think you’ll find a more magnificent kitchen on the market anywhere in Sussex.’

‘Let’s take another look at it,’ she said.

‘Please follow me,’ Jordan said, checking his watch, mindful that the Danes had already overrun their allotted thirty minutes and another couple would be arriving for a viewing shortly. But hell, they could wait. He had a good feeling about Mr and Mrs Danes. He could get them over the line.

He rolled up the plan, tucked it under his arm, and led the way down the staircase to the first-floor landing. ‘Note how wonderfully light the house feels everywhere, from the clever use of mirrors.’

Jason and Emily looked around, and he was right. Mirrors along the landing walls, and down in the hall, created both light and the illusion of even greater space. Entering the expansive kitchen, Jordan said, ‘It’s almost as if the architect designed this house with you two in mind. The kitchen perfect for your catering business; the attic a truly divine artist’s studio!’

‘It is perfect,’ Emily said, regaining her former enthusiasm as she strode around. ‘So much storage, and how rare to have a walk-in pantry!’

‘Not to mention the technology,’ Paul Jordan added. ‘All the houses on this development have this feature.’ He pointed at a small cylindrical device with a glowing green light, sitting on the kitchen unit. ‘All the switches and controls and taps throughout the house are voice-activated from that one command box – and its satellite units around the house. You each have to get it to learn your voices. Then anything you want – heating turning up or down, appliances switched on or off, curtains and blinds opened or closed – can be done by simply saying, for instance, “Command! Kitchen blinds down!”’

There was a whirr. The kitchen darkened as blinds lowered over each window.

Again, unnoticed by the couple, Jordan shot another wary glance around, before saying, ‘Command! Kitchen blinds up!’

Immediately they rose, and light returned.

‘You can even open the fridge and freezer doors by voice command! So hygienic, never needing germ-infected hands to touch any switch or control.’

‘Presumably there’s a manual override?’ Emily asked.

‘Absolutely.’ He walked over and pressed a button. The command box light turned red. ‘Now everything is operated manually, or by remote controls.’

‘No one realizes quite how many germs are spread by hands,’ Jason Danes said, solemnly. ‘The average bowl of peanuts sitting on a pub bar counter contains twelve different traces of urine and five of human faeces.’