‘Ambitious,’ Markins added, after reflection. ‘The ambitious type. You see them everywhere. Very often they’re childless women. She was successful, too, but I wouldn’t say she was satisfied. Capable. Knew how to get her own way, but once she’d got it, liked everybody else to be comfortable when she remembered them. When women get to her age,’ said Markins, ‘they’re one of three kinds. They may be OK. They may go jealous of younger women and peculiar about men, particularly youngmen, or they may take it out in work. She took it out in work. She thrashed herself and everybody round her. She wanted to be the big boss and round here she certainly was. Now, you ask me, sir, would she be an enemy agent? Not for money, she wouldn’t. She’d got plenty of that. For an idea? Now, what idea in the Nazi book of words would appeal to Madam? The Herrenvolk spiel? I’d say, yes, if she was to be one of the Herrenvolk. But was she the type of lady who’d work against her own folk and her own country? Now, was she? She was great on talking Imperialism. You know. The brand that’s not taken for granted quite so much, these days. She talked a lot about patriotism. I don’t know how things are at Home, sir, having been away so long, but it seems to me we are getting round to thinking more about how we can improve our country and bragging about it less than we used to. From what I read and hear, it strikes me that the people who criticize are the ones that work and are most set on winning the war. Take some of the English people who got away to the States when the war began. Believe me, a lot of them talked that big and that optimistically you’d wonder how the others got on in the blitz without them. And when there was hints about muddle or hints that before the war we’d got slack and a bit too keen on easy money and a bit too pleased with ourselves—Lord, how they’d perform. Wouldn’t have it at any price! I’ve heard these people say that what was wanted at Home was concentration camps for the critics and that a bit of Gestapo technique wouldn’t do any harm. Now, Mrs Rubrick was a little in that line of business herself.’

‘Miss Harme says she wanted to stay in England and do a job of work.’

‘Yes? Is that so? But she’d have to be the boss or nothing, I’ll be bound. My point is this, Mr Alleyn. Suppose she was offered something pretty big in the way of a position, a Reichsomething-or-other-ship, when the enemy had beaten us, would she have fallen for the notion? That’s what I asked myself.’

‘And how did you answer yourself?’