“Good morning, Prime Minister,” she said, ignoring the other two. “May I present Mr. Stone Barrington, of the New York law firm of Woodman and Weld, who is present as my legal adviser. And as my witness.”

The three faces fell a bit as Stone pulled out a chair for Felicity, then took one for himself.

“Prime Minister,” Felicity said, “would you prefer the foreign minister and the home secretary to be arrested in the garden, away from cameras, or here in the Cabinet Room?”

“Arrested?” the man on the left asked.

“Those are the alternatives,” she replied.

“Prime Minister,” the man said, “the home secretary and I insist on being present for this . . . conference.”

“All right,” the prime minister said, “what is the purpose of this meeting?”

Felicity managed a tight smile. “The purpose is for you to accept the resignations of these two . . . gentlemen,” she said.

“On what charge?” the foreign minister demanded.

Felicity ignored him. “These two persons, having failed to press me into their service, have taken it upon themselves to directly order the assassination of an American citizen, Mr. James Hackett, formerly a British subject and a member of the Paratroop Regiment, in the belief that he was responsible, some years ago, for the deaths of, respectively, their daughter and son.”

“Can you substantiate that?” the prime minister asked.

“Mr. Barrington, here, was in the company of Mr. Hackett at the moment of his death from a sniper’s bullet, having heard the whole story from Mr. Hackett. I am advised by the police of the state of Maine that, late last night, they arrested the assassin aboard a boat in the environs of Penobscot Bay and that he is helping them with their inquiries.”

The prime minister went pale. “I knew nothing of this!” he stammered. “Palmer? Prior? What have you to say?”

Prior was speechless, but Palmer didn’t miss a beat. “Prime Minister, Mr. Prior and I will have nothing to say until we have had an opportunity to avail ourselves of counsel.”

“Very well,” the PM said. “I want both your resignations on this table within the hour, and your resignations from Parliament to the speaker of the House before the day is out. Get out, both of you, and through the garden.”

The two men rose and left.

“Well, now, Felicity,” the PM said, “was it absolutely necessary to deal with this matter in this manner?”

“I’m sorry, Prime Minister,” she replied, “but since those two had also ordered my death, I thought it best to go to the top before they were successful. Would you like my resignation now?”

The PM threw his hands up. “No, no, of course not,” the man replied. “You are invaluable to me.”

“Then, if you will excuse me, Prime Minister, I will return to my offices. I’ve clearly been absent for too long.” She stood, and the prime minister leapt to his feet.