‘Not with me, no. He’s always been very – well, nice. Straightforward, friendly.’

Charles recalled the mildly flirtatious attentiveness Gareth usually deployed with Pauline. ‘What would you like me to do?’

‘Well, it’s awkward, of course. We can’t speak to Gareth ourselves without possibly blowing our source, as it were, but you know him quite well and I wondered if you could perhaps have a word with him about it, informally?’

‘About his tone with all women or this one in particular, the un-named one?’

‘That’s difficult because we can’t do anything to single her out. Perhaps you could just say there’s been a complaint and you don’t want to name names?’

‘But there hasn’t been a complaint.’

‘Not directly, no.’

‘And it’s just his tone?’

‘Tone can be important.’

‘But we can’t say with whom.’ Charles could imagine how the conversation would go. With luck, existing concerns about Gareth would swamp this before action was required. ‘I’m away on a visit in the early part of next week. I’ll speak to him when I get back.’

The Rosticceria Fiorentino was not far from the Berlaymont, the headquarters of the EU Commission where Timber Wolf worked. It had cheerful plastic tablecloths and plaques on the walls commemorating the founding fathers of the EU who had patronised it when planning their project. Plaques apart, the interior appeared not to have changed greatly since those days; the menu looked like good basic Italian pasta and meat. Table separation was not ideal but just about adequate. It was unlikely that Timber Wolf would run into colleagues, who were said to favour the Barbanera with its fish and private garden, but it would not have seemed an odd place for him to use if he had. A good choice, no less than Charles would have expected from Gareth. When booking the table in Gareth’s name, Sonia said she had been asked whether he wanted his usual one, the corner one. He knew from Gareth’s notes that Timber Wolf was always punctual, so he deliberately arrived five minutes late. If he had been first Timber Wolf might have thought Gareth wasn’t there or he might have hesitated to join Charles, compelling Charles to explain while they were both on their feet, attracting attention.