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to be extremely careful not to jump to conclusions about Mrs Fleming and her allegations.’
    â€˜Meaning you don’t believe them?’
    â€˜I don’t know,’ he said. ‘I just hope that Elizabeth Fleming is proved to be lying or mistaken. But we have to find out. You are the person who can do it, my dear. You’re the kind, sympathetic friend who grew up with her. If she’s genuine, she’ll clutch at you for support. If she’s lying, we’ll soon know.’
    â€˜No, I’m sorry, Brigadier, that won’t do. I don’t believe in leopards changing spots. She hasn’t the intelligence or the temperament to get mixed up in anything more subversive than a beauty secret!’
    â€˜You don’t have to be intelligent,’ he countered. ‘A lot of stupid people are spies. A lot of frightened people, too. She’s an alcoholic, she may have left herself open to blackmail. It wouldn’t be the first time Moscow Centre used a woman to ruin a man’s reputation. If I send you to Washington you’ve got to have an open mind.’
    â€˜If she’s right,’ Davina said after a pause, ‘then Tatischev is running Fleming. He must be, he’s at such a high level. She could be in real danger if she’s found him out and they know she’s talked.’
    â€˜And so could you when they see you together. But only if she’s telling the truth. You don’t object to being a decoy duck, I hope?’
    â€˜If I get flattened by a runaway truck, you’ll know Fleming’s working for the KGB, thanks very much.’
    He smiled at her. ‘Equally, if this is a hysterical fantasy, nobody will take the slightest notice of you.’ He waited, his thick white eyebrows raised a little, questioning her courage.
    â€˜When do I leave?’ Davina said.
    They faced each other across the table; the pretence was over and they were adversaries. James White accepted the challenge.
    â€˜You’re doing this for Sasanov,’ he stated.
    â€˜As long as you don’t think I’m doing it for you.’
    â€˜As you like,’ he said. He beckoned to the waiter for the bill. ‘Could you be ready to leave at the end of the week?’
    He ignored the bleakness in her face when she replied, ‘I can go tomorrow. I’ve nothing to keep me.’
    â€˜The end of the week will do,’ he said pleasantly. ‘Why don’t you go and do some shopping? Washington is quite hot at this time of year. The department will pay.’
    â€˜I don’t need any summer clothes,’ Davina said. ‘Australia was hotter than Washington. And if I did, I’d prefer to pay for them myself. Thank you for lunch.’
    â€˜Thank you for coming,’ he said. ‘We have someone else going out at the same time. A Major Lomax – he’ll come down to Marchwood and bring you the ticket and details and introduce himself … Ah, there’s a taxi – of course, you’ve got a car, haven’t you, so you don’t need a lift. Safe journey. Give Betty and Fergus my best.’
    â€˜You’re sure you’re not too tired?’ John Kidson held his wife’s hand and gazed anxiously at her. Charlie laughed. ‘Not a bit – stop fussing, darling. I’m not ill, I’ve just had a baby!’
    She didn’t look tired; he thought she was even more beautiful after giving birth, if that was possible. Her long red hair was tied back with a ribbon, her eyes and skin shone with health, and she radiated the smug contentment of the new mother. The child was a boy, born after an easy labour the day before. John Kidson was so happy he didn’t know how to cope with it. He had filled the hospital room with out-of-season roses, and rung everyone he could think of to tell them the news. He had spent more money than he could afford on a gold bracelet for Charlie, set with little sapphires. Blue for a boy.