Finally, Robert closed the last folder and, looking across at Adrian on the sofa, he said, ‘There’s enough evidence here for me to divorce her.’ He shook his head. ‘I can’t imagine what she sees in this man. He looks like a non-entity, a nobody, Adrian.’

‘You said it yourself earlier, Robert. It’s the power.’ He grinned mischievously. ‘He probably has hidden charms, as they say of men or women without good looks. Perhaps he’s great in bed.’

‘Perhaps,’ Robert said, and opened a drawer in his desk, locked the folders in it, and stood up. ‘I think lunch must be ready. We’re having our schoolboy favourite today.’

‘I hope it’s haddock and chips and not sausage and mash,’ Adrian replied with that cheeky grin of his.

‘Fish and chips,’ Robert answered and, taking his arm, he led his best friend out of the library. ‘Thank you for all the effort you’ve put into this matter, Addy. I appreciate it. And I can’t wait to get my freedom. I can tell you that. Please ask your source to let you know if she rents that villa on the lake in Zürich.’

Adrian nodded. ‘Will you mention all this to Vanessa?’ he asked in a low tone.

‘No, I won’t. She has no need to know any details, just that you’re helping me to get my divorce.’

‘Smart of you, old chap. Best to keep it to ourselves. We don’t need any leaks. We must take Lucinda by surprise.’

‘Do you mean adultery would get more attention? In the newspapers?’ Robert asked, sounding suddenly alarmed.

‘I do. There are court reporters present in the courts of law, and you are a very visible, well-known member of the nobility, and well liked also. However, the press will cover the case, no doubt in my mind about that. I do know a couple of newspaper proprietors; still, I might not be able to influence them. Your divorce case will make news, especially since a well-known French politician is the co-respondent.’ Adrian grimaced. ‘Big headlines here. Gargantuan headlines in Paris, you bet!’

‘It would ruin him, of that I’m certain,’ Robert said, looking reflective. ‘Perhaps my solicitor could point that out to her solicitor, and make a bargain, threaten or persuade her to go the quieter way.’

Adrian chuckled. ‘That sounds like blackmail to me.’

‘I know it does, but we need to be in control of this situation.’ Robert sounded grim.

‘Do you think she wouldn’t care about a terrible scandal here?’ Adrian asked, raising a brow.

‘She doesn’t care about the world, what people think about her, and what she does. Not at all,’ Robert replied. ‘On the other hand, if she really loves her Frenchman then she won’t want his political career in tatters because of her.’

‘So she would be compliant,’ Adrian suggested.