‘That’s better.’ He resumed his probing. ‘Rolt does seem to have taken control of the political agenda. The government must be reeling. He’s just come out and said what half of them think but are too scared to admit in public for fear of being labelled racist. How long have you worked for him?’

The question tacked on to the end of his speech seemed to take her by surprise. ‘Oh, not long. Only a few months.’

‘And before that?’

She rolled her eyes. ‘A stint for the MoD press office, then an attempt to be a freelance journalist, God help me.’

Her answer had slipped out too easily, Tom thought. He took another sip of his mojito while she made an attempt to deflect the conversation from her. ‘So what’s he offered you?’

‘Oh, a sort of envoy role.’

‘Gosh, wow.’

Her excitement seemed out of proportion.

‘I thought you would have known that.’

She shrugged. ‘He keeps his cards very close to his chest.’

‘He’s been very open with me.’

‘He makes up his mind about people very quickly. Everyone’s either friend or foe. Nothing in between. I’m sure you made the right impression. Besides, he’s been looking for someone like you for a while.’

‘What does “someone like me” mean exactly?’ Tom watched her closely; on the surface she appeared to be quite relaxed, in her stride.

‘You might have noticed on the campus that the men, they’re . . . well, a lot of them have had a bad time and they’re mostly . . . how do I put this? From less advantaged backgrounds. He doesn’t get many of your sort. That’s why he was so keen to meet you. Or meet you again, I should say.’

‘Clever of you to track me down. Was it hard?’

‘Part of my job is to be a talent scout for him. He needs what he calls a better class of ex-servicemen, not just victims but victors. People who can act for him on the ground. It’s my job to know everything about his background and who he knows or has known. When I discovered you were on your way back from Afghanistan, I thought he’d like to know. He’s always looking to recruit new blood.’

A very well-crafted answer, thought Tom.

‘And how did you do that?’

‘Do what?’

‘Track me down.’

She held his gaze. Tom decided she must have been well trained. ‘An old contact at the MoD, who’s also an Invicta supporter. He helps where he can with lists of returning soldiers.’

‘And you happened to recognize my name because you knew Rolt and I were contemporaries at school.’

She smiled a bit too eagerly. ‘Yes, that’s right.’

‘And you managed to get hold of my phone numbers.’

She gave a coquettish smile and took a sip of her drink. ‘Well, I was a journalist.’

‘He must have been very pleased with you.’