Stone went to his own bath and dressing room. He didn’t see Rose again until she walked into the library. It was the first time he had seen her dressed for an occasion that didn’t involve taking a hike, a motor trip, or bandaging his ankle, and he was more than impressed. “You do a great deal for a little black dress,” he said, kissing her.

“Thank you, kind sir.”

“Can I get you a libation?”

“You can get me a good single malt,” she said. “I’ll watch you drink the bourbon.”

He handed her the drink, and they sat down just in time to rise again when Dame Felicity and her companion arrived. Stone introduced the two women; introductions to Felicity’s companion were unnecessary, since he was Colonel Fife-Simpson, of Station Two.

10

Fife-Simpson looked slightly less military in a well-cut pin-striped suit. “Well, Colonel, I didn’t expect to see you again so soon,” Stone said.

“Please, it’s Roger,” he said.

“And we’re Stone and Rose.”

“Roger is down here at my request,” Dame Felicity said. “He’s joined us at the Circus.” Stone knew that was an old nickname for MI-6, since they had been previously quartered in Cambridge Circus. “He is, as of today, my deputy.”

“Congratulations, Roger,” Stone said. “Or does a Royal Marine regard that as less than a promotion?”

“It’s a promotion any way you slice it,” Roger said. “And as if to underline it, I’ve been promoted to brigadier.”

“Twice congratulations, then,” Stone said. “The previous owner of this house was a Royal Marine, as were some of his neighbors and one of the house’s staff.”

“I knew them all,” Fife-Simpson replied, “though as a junior officer. I did not know that you had bought Sir Charles’s property.”

“I was press-ganged into that decision by Felicity,” Stone said, raising his glass to her. “To my delight.”

“Stone,” the brigadier said with a change of tone. “I’m very much afraid that I owe you and Rose an apology.”

“Why so?” Stone asked, mystified.

“The people following you from Station Two to Glasgow and, later, in London were mine. I was concerned for the safety of both of you, I assure you. I’m sorry that resulted in you taking on private security.”

“Well,” Stone said. “You’ve solved a mystery for me, and I know that it’s as much a relief for Rose as for me.”

“It certainly is,” Rose said.

“May I ask, Roger: Why were you concerned for our safety?”

“I’m afraid that the black-parachute operation we rooted out was made up of more than the one or two we at first thought.”