‘And then they followed him back to his office? The team outside, I mean.’

‘No.’

‘No?’

‘He didn’t go to his office. He went to a block of flats in the suburbs. The block where it just so happens that Christine, Gareth’s mistress, lives. They couldn’t confirm he actually went to her flat – we know which it is, thanks to Cheltenham – but he took the lift to the same floor.’

‘Thank them from me. Thank them.’ Charles put down his cup. ‘So maybe Gareth’s holing up there and Timber Wolf was telling him before reporting to his own masters. Interesting priority.’

‘Letting him know what you said about him, most likely. Threat of arrest or harassment investigations and all that. So he’s not going to be tempted to sneak back to the UK in a hurry. He was only there about twenty minutes – Timber Wolf – then he returned to his office.’

Charles stood and walked over to the window, hands in pockets. ‘So the trap is sprung. The other side have secretly discovered our secret top line through what they think is their own operation and are convinced – we hope – that we’ll leave without a deal rather than go above it. Both of which happen to be true. It’s what we want them to believe and we want them to know we mean it. Espionage is once again the midwife of truth. Very gratifying, don’t you think?’

‘But what next? What do we do about Gareth?’

‘Nothing. Leave him to stew in his own juice. No need for me to see him now.’

‘And let him spill the beans about all our Brexit thinking?’

‘Of course. So long as they’ve swallowed the big one, the rest doesn’t matter. Most of it will become apparent in horse-trading across the negotiating table, anyway. In fact, it’s better he stays here than comes back. If he returns it’s trouble for us and trouble for him.’

‘And for Suzanne?’

‘Tough on Suzanne but that’s his problem. He created it. Nothing we can do about it. We can’t save his marriage for him.’

‘But it’s not just Brexit he could spill the beans on. It’s all our other ops, worldwide.’

‘He wouldn’t do that.’

‘Wouldn’t he? What’s to stop him? He might not have begun with that intention but minds may be changed by circumstance.’