"How lovely," Mycroft said upon receiving the flowers. "I ought to get them into some water, right away. Won't you follow me into the kitchen?"
They crossed the living room area and went through a doorway into the kitchen where Mycroft went into a cupboard to select a vase, one of several in various sizes and styles stored there. Mycroft filled the vase with water from the tap, and then cut the ends of the stems with a large knife before putting them into the vase.
As he worked, he spoke, "Yes..." he began, with a little hesitation, "It's been terribly busy these past few days, moving everything into the warehouse and arranging everything with Murphy, but being active was perhaps what I needed to finally break out of the Dementor's influence." As opposed to sitting alone, succumbing to depression and anxiety.
"Thank you," he said, in reply to her complement. "You might've noticed I possess a number of Art Deco pieces. I find the aesthetic very appealing." Everything he owned was original antiques, which were from Mary's era, and not modern reproductions. Even the German Expressionistic art hanging on his walls were originals by Kirchner and Marc.
The click click click of paws on tile heralded the appearance of Mycroft's Eevee, who went straight to Mary and looked up at her with a wide smile. "Vee vee veeeee!" he said. Mycroft did his best to hide a smirk. "Reynard's pleased you've come. He hasn't seen you since we were both on the ship." And in truth, Mycroft felt the exact same way.