"Oh, um," she grinned a little and nodded as she led him through the hallway. "Yeah. I never really had a house - my family moved into one when I was about twelve?" She seemed to question her memory a little as she said that. "Maybe thirteen, but we rented it and were not allowed to paint. And my husband's home was too old and large to do much to - not to mention he would have thrown a fit if I even bought a vase for the dining room. So I suppose I got a little carried away when I finally moved out on my own. But I like it."
She opened the door to her bedroom when they passed it, and the little white dog immediately came out, tail wagging as if it had been deprived of her attention for hours. "This is Willoughby," she told him as she bent down to scratch behind its ears. "And that was my bedroom - the bathroom is through there," she pointed before heading into the small living room; the kitchen and dining nook could be seen through an arch. "Living room - kitchen, dining room. It is really not much. My cat is hiding around here somewhere, but she gets frightened by strangers."
After a moment she returned to his comment, something about it clicking. "Oxford? Like - the famous one?" She had only heard it a few times, but the school was in plenty of books. "You must be smart then, yes?"