Alfie did not lie. Never, not in her entire rise up the ladder from servant's daughter, did she lie. She turned phrases, managed to not answer, diverted, but she did not lie. She wasn't going to start this late in the game.
"More than one reason, if you must know the truth. The most simple, is that I am investigating Thomas Brandon's connections, and your name came up in the books. I wanted to to have a look at you. You can tell quite a lot by looking in a woman's eyes. These things you can't see on paper or in records. On a more personal level, I am, as I said, one hundred and ten years old. I run a billion dollar corporation. I left Musings three and a half years ago, and I am more tired every day. I knew I was signing a rather short-order death order in moving over, given my physical age, but it was important, and so I made that choice. A physician I can trust, one who won't declare me mentally incapacitated, would be appreciated."
She reached for her glass again, to watch her more than out of any need to drink. Whatever she saw there passed muster, and so she continued. "Additionally, I have no heir for my vast fortune. And while I am charitable, I do not intend to leave my life's work in the hands of the leader of a non-profit, who will simply use it to line his own pockets."