“Then you should have told me up front what you were doing,” said Sparks. “If you needed my help exposing a Leftist Greek spy network with tentacles inside the Palace, you should have asked me directly.”

“You refused to join this fight when I asked you before,” said the Brigadier.

“Yes, I did. Do you know why, sir?”

“Tell me, Sparks.”

Iris glanced back at Gwen, who was watching, enraptured, then turned back to the Brigadier. “Because what I’m doing now is more important,” she said. “Goodbye, sir. We’re done, you and I, until it’s time for flowers.”

Archie held open the door to his car, and Gwen and Iris climbed in.

As they drove away, Gwen glanced back to see the Brigadier staring after them, his mouth pressed into a grim, angry line.

“He’s going to ask again,” said Gwen. “Not soon, maybe. But he will ask.”

“I know,” said Iris.

“What will you do?”

“Spit in his face. Or maybe say yes. We’ll see. In the meantime, let’s go have that drink.”

CODA

Gwen stared glumly down at their bank statement.

“We should have charged Patience extra,” she grumbled. “Hid it under some line item in the inventory. ‘Miscellaneous nefarious activities,’ or the like.”

“Moral compass bothering you this morning?” asked Iris, her nose buried in a letter she was proofreading. “What does that feel like? Does it itch?”

“We are so close to getting that office,” said Gwen. “So many clients getting attached, Iris, but no one wants to get married in July. Or August. We may not see another bounty until the autumn.”

“We’ll just have to keep recruiting new clients and try for that loan,” said Iris. “Did you talk to the woman who typed up Sally’s play?”

“We can’t afford her,” said Gwen. “She’s too experienced.”

“Any luck with the advert?”

“Someone’s coming in to interview for the position. The trouble is where to put a secretary if we hire one when we don’t have the space? If a client came in, we’d have to send her to the lavatory to type.”

“She could sit in the stairwell.”

“She might get vacuumed up by Mr. MacPherson.”

“Does he vacuum? Do you know, I’ve never seen him do any actual work the entire time we’ve been here.”

“Excuse me, is this a good time?” said a young woman at the door.

“Be right with you,” said Iris, who had just caught an error. “If it’s about the secretarial position, you’re hired immediately. If it’s for our regular business—”

“Iris, stand up,” said Gwen softly while rising to her feet.

“What?”

“Stand up. Immediately.”

Iris glanced over the top of her letter, then jumped to her feet, knocking her chair back into the wall.

She was just like her magazine covers, thought Iris distractedly. Lovely, fresh-faced. She must have the best Millie in the country working for her. A team of the best Millies, standing ever at the ready—if one faints, then another steps in immediately, powder puff in hand …