Soon caviar arrived—Beluga, the real thing, half a kilo of it. Roger hadn’t had any for many years, and he washed it down with iced vodka. Chateaubriand, the best part of the beef tenderloin, was the main course, served with Béarnaise sauce and haricots verts. Dessert was a delicious cake served with a dessert wine.

They took their cognac in the library, a large room with many bound books, mostly in French.

“What do you think of our little cottage?” Alex asked when they were settled.

“It’s bloody marvelous,” Roger replied, replete with food and drink.

“You will have access to it in the future,” Alex said, “from time to time, if all goes well. And I’ve no reason to think it won’t go well.” He waited for Roger to respond but got only a contented groan. He pointed across the room. “There are the books in English. They were chosen by Kim Philby.”

If Roger had been slow on the uptake that would have brought him up short. “Ah, yes,” he said.

“Did you know Philby, Roger?”

“Oh, no. He was before my time. Everyone who knew him spoke of his charm and wit.”

“He spent a number of holidays here. Once we had his friend Guy Burgess for a visit, but he was so drunk all the time I doubt if he remembered it later. He wasn’t invited back.”

Alex got to his feet. “Well, I’m going to turn in. It has been a long day. You two finish your brandy.” He gave a little bow, then left the room.

Jennifer leaned over and whispered in Roger’s ear, “Don’t say anything in this house or on the terraces, unless you want it recorded,” she said.

40

Jennifer shook him gently awake at eight AM. He shaved and showered, then was called to breakfast on the terrace—lots of smoked fish, eggs, and salads.

“It’s time to go downstairs,” Jennifer said. “Alex is expecting you.”

Roger took a seat across from Alex at a small table in the library, in a nook overlooking the sea. It was a windy day, and there were whitecaps to be seen.

“Now,” Alex said. “You are being recorded, of course.”

“Of course,” Roger replied.

“I am going to ask you many questions,” Alex said. “If you answer truthfully and give me your best recollections, we will not have to accomplish this interview by other means.”

“All right,” Roger said.

“What is your first memory of being at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth?”

“Being in a fight,” Roger replied without hesitation. “An older boy tried to bugger me in my bed, and I gave him a bloody nose. I wasn’t bothered again.”

“Describe the first meal you ate there.”