‘You must. Thank you for coming. I am much reassured.’ He put his elbows on the table, palms upwards. ‘But there is something I must apologise for. Your expenses. I was in such a rush that I forgot to put them in an envelope. Do you mind if we shake hands across the table? I don’t think anyone will notice.’

Timber Wolf smiled as they shook hands and the notes were transferred from palm to palm, not quite invisibly. ‘It is like an old spy film.’

‘Very like.’ Charles smiled. ‘Next time I’ll remember the envelope, I promise.’ He took out his diary. ‘Now, when should that be? Soon, I hope.’ They agreed a date and Timber Wolf left. Charles called for the bill and a coffee, picked up the folded sheet of paper, still half concealed beneath his plates, and glanced again at the figures and cryptic notes, written as in haste:

EU secret bottom line = sum we offered + 80%.

Our secret upper limit = SWO + 20%.

Poss compromise – would we accept SWO + 50% if EU come down?

Vote – yes 8, no 0.

PM – if they won’t do we walk away or pay SWO + 80%?

For. Sec. – walk away. Home Sec. – accept. Chancellor – accept.

Vote – WA 4, accepts 4.

PM casting vote – WA.

He carefully re-folded the note and put it back in his diary.

Thirty minutes later he was back in his hotel. It was still raining and there were few tourists among the umbrellas hurrying back from lunch. He imagined Timber Wolf in his meeting, anxious for it to end so that he could report his lunchtime’s work. There was a soft knock at his door. He let Sonia in. ‘You’re wet,’ he said when the door was closed.

‘What a good spy you’d make. So observant.’ She stood her dripping umbrella in the bath and took off her coat. ‘Tea, since you offered. I’m dying for the loo. D’you mind?’ She closed the door.

Afterwards she sat in an armchair, he at the narrow desk. He waited for her to start. ‘Don’t say you have nothing to tell me.’

‘Question is, where to begin.’ She sipped her tea. ‘Well, he seems to have swallowed your bait, hook, line and sinker. As soon as you were safely out of sight in the loo he reached over, unfolded your piece of paper, read it, took out his phone, looked round to see if anyone was watching, then photographed it and put it carefully back just as you’d left it. He actually looked straight at the team who were filming him. Obviously didn’t realise.’

‘They got him in the act? Where were they sitting?’

‘I don’t know exactly because I wasn’t there, of course. They say they weren’t the nearest table to you but were diagonally across and farther in, away from the door, facing him rather than you. They got you paying him, too. The banknotes were just visible.’