‘I had not understood that you sought to speak with the assistant under-secretary, Mr Mallon. What was it that you wished to discuss with him, please?’

Swallow felt a surge of elation. The conversation was playing right into Mallon’s hands.

‘Thank you, sir,’ Mallon nodded to the chief secretary. ‘I would have briefed Mr Smith Berry, as I always do, on the progress of criminal investigations and on matters pertaining to security. I would also have wished to register my dismay and concern at sending armed men under Major Kelly’s command to raid the dwelling accommodation occupied by Detective Inspector Swallow and his wife.’

‘It was perfectly legal, and made necessary by your failure and his to produce official records under your control,’ Smith Berry shot back.

‘Legal, perhaps,’ Mallon said. ‘Necessary or appropriate, not at all. Inspector Swallow and his men have done all in their power to locate these documents. He and I have co-operated in every way possible with your officers. But you, sir, might equally well have consulted me before undertaking any such action against a senior member of G-Division who is also one of your most loyal and diligent servants in the struggle against subversion and crime.’

This time Swallow was sure he saw a flicker in Balfour’s eyes.

‘May I speak, sir?’ he asked.

Balfour nodded.

‘Sir, you are with us here in Ireland, I know, something less than two years. But you will know that Mr Mallon and the men he leads, of whom I have the honour to be one, are untiring in the discharge of their duties. It was nothing less than a betrayal of my loyalty, when I was absent on duty, out of the country, that Major Kelly and a group of his men should violate the sanctity of my home and manhandle my wife, causing her injuries that have led to the loss of the child she was carrying in her womb. Every man in G-Division is appalled and angered at this action.’

Balfour leaned forward.

‘I am aware of what happened, Swallow. And I regret it. But as I understand it your wife sought to obstruct Major Kelly in his search. What happened was an accident. Unintended and regrettable, but an accident nonetheless. Major Kelly was seeking to locate certain files which, I understand, you had been requested to produce.’

Swallow started to answer, but Mallon raised a silencing hand.

‘Sir, if I may,’ he addressed the chief secretary. ‘I am sure that Detective Inspector Swallow appreciates your expression of regret. And I am sure that you can understand his distress. His wife is yet in hospital and will require ongoing medical care and rest. I would prefer to return to the matter of Major Kelly’s detention, if I may.’

‘You may, Mr Mallon,’ Balfour’s tone hardened. ‘But nothing I have said should be construed as dissenting from Mr Smith Berry’s sense of outrage at the major’s arrest.’