He waited until he had been in the air for over an hour before asking a steward for a couple of sheets of BOAC writing paper. But when they arrived, he changed his mind. Two men seated across the aisle from him had glanced in his direction once too often.

He adjusted his seatback, closed his eyes, and went over the list in his mind again and again. By the time the plane touched down at Heathrow, he was mentally and physically exhausted. He was only glad being a spy wasn’t his full-time job.

Harry was the first to disembark from the aircraft, and he wasn’t surprised to see Sir Alan waiting on the tarmac at the bottom of the steps. He joined him in the back of a car that made its way quickly out of the airport without being bothered by a customs officer.

Other than, “Good morning, Clifton,” the cabinet secretary didn’t say a word before he passed over the inevitable pad and pen.

Harry wrote out the twelve names, nine addresses, and twenty-one telephone numbers that had been lodged in his mind for several hours. He double-checked the list before handing it to Sir Alan.

“I am most grateful,” he said. “And I thought you’d be pleased to hear that I’ve added a couple of paragraphs to the speech the foreign secretary will be making at the UN next week, which I hope will assist Mr. Babakov’s cause. By the way, did you spot my two minders sitting across the aisle from you in first class? I put them there to protect you, just in case you had any trouble.”

* * *

“There’s no deal for one point six million in the offing that I’m aware of,” said Cedric, “and it’s hardly likely to be something I’d forget. I’m bound to wonder what Sloane’s up to.”

“I’ve no idea,” said Sebastian, “but I’m sure there’s a simple explanation.”

“And you say he won’t be back until Friday?”

“That’s right. He’s at a conference in York.”

“So that gives us a couple of days to look into it. You’re probably right, and there’s a simple explanation. But one point six million,” he repeated. “And Mr. Collingwood has accepted his offer?”

“That’s what Mr. Vaughan of Savills said.”

“Ralph Vaughan is old school and doesn’t make that kind of mistake.” Cedric remained silent for a few moments before adding, “You’d better go up to Shifnal first thing in the morning and start digging around. Begin at the local pub. The publican always knows everything that’s going on in his village, and one point six million would have all the gossips chattering. After you’ve spoken to him, check the local estate agents, but make sure you don’t go anywhere near Collingwood. If you do, Sloane is certain to hear about it and will assume you’re trying to undermine him. I think we’d better keep this between ourselves in case it turns out to be totally innocent. When you get back to London, come straight round to Cadogan Place and you can brief me over dinner.”