"Ah," Mycroft says after a pause. For a moment, he does have a touch of the amazed about him, and something in his expression says his mind has gone elsewhere, but he comes back and clamps down on it quickly enough thanks to (what is now purely instinctual) etiquette.

"I apologize," he offers, after a second hesitation. His eyes wander down to the book again, studying its texture and color intently. "I was lost in the past for a moment."

Mycroft then looks back at the young woman in front of him, mask upon mask firmly back in place as he turns to the introduction. "Shall we press on, then, Miss...?"