“That was the old days, so to speak. With this poison we have entered a new era. In fact, if we were able to introduce it into the food or drink of these three people, it would be the first professional use of the poison—that we know of.”

“Ah, yes, ‘that we know of.’”

“In order to accomplish our mission as planned,” Wilfred said, “they would have to die at a meal or at tea, then be removed to a bedroom, undressed, and suitably posed and shot.”

Roger shook his head. “I fail to see how such a mission could be accomplished with my skills alone.”

“Perhaps we could have a complimentary dessert delivered to the house from someone they know and trust.”

“For instance?”

“Perhaps from the Duke of Kensington.”

“Your father?”

“My father once was an officer in MI-6, and his father served in Britain’s Special Operations Executive during World War II. The current duke has had Felicity and Barrington to dinner in his London house.”

“Rose, too?”

“No, but we have to convince only Felicity and Barrington of the genuineness of the gift.”

“But why would the duke, out of the blue, send them pastries?”

“A good point,” Wilfred said. “Let’s set aside the poisoning for the moment and discuss other methods.”

“Good,” Roger replied, relieved.

“There are also your skills with the pistol and, particularly, the knife.”

“A woman does not kill two lovers with a knife, then commit suicide by the same method.”

“I was bypassing the suicide and going straight to murder.”

“That would deprive us of besmirching the reputation of Dame Felicity,” Roger pointed out.

“Let’s call it a last resort,” Wilfred said.

“Right. How about wine?”

“How do we induce them to drink it?” Wilfred asked.

“We’d need something really special, like a Château Lafite Rothschild 1929, or 1945.”

“And how would we obtain that?”

“At auction,” Roger said, “but it would cost many thousands of pounds.”

Wilfred shook his head. “Our Russian friends, while generous, do not dispense hard currency with alacrity.”

“If we could obtain a bottle, we could fill it with a lesser, more affordable wine, then reseal it.”

“But where would one find an empty Lafite ’29 bottle?” Wilfred asked.

They both thought about it for a while.

“I’m stumped,” Roger said.

They thought some more.

“Let me present you with another alternative,” Wilfred said, rising from his seat and going to a bookcase filled with bound volumes. He took down two and put them on his desk.”

Roger opened one. The title page read: The Short Oxford English Dictionary.

“I bound these myself,” Wilfred said. “The two volumes are more manageable than the entire twenty-volume set.” He opened one nearer the center, to reveal its contents. “Plastique explosive, a detonator, and a cell phone,” he said, pointing to each item. “In both volumes. Perhaps under the bed for setting off at the appropriate moment.”

“How would you deliver the package?” Roger asked.