Suddenly it was the female attacking the male, and not without skill. The male, who had behaved as though he thought himself invincible, found himself being outfought. The female appeared swifter and fleeter of foot than her opponent, using her smaller stature to attack the lower half of his body. Blood was spraying from wounds inflicted on his thighs, his hips, his groin, the point of her sword getting perilously close to his most vulnerable spot.

The interest in the strategy room was sharpened by this. As for the virtual crowd, their howls of delight were now focused entirely on the female, screaming their pleasure at the fighting pair below.

The contest appeared to be evenly matched. Neither of the two participants looked as though they were there for the purpose of killing one another, although the intensity of the bloodletting was so blatantly sexual that Rhona suspected they were watching the foreplay, the culmination of which would be the sexual act itself.

At this point the scene was plunged into darkness before a single spotlight came on above them and the virtual crowd fell silent. The combatants stopped, obviously puzzled. This, it appeared, had not been in the script.

The male swore loudly, demanding that the game be continued. Consternation then apprehension registered on his face. The female became more watchful, certain, it seemed, that they must be on their guard.

Blinded by the spotlight, they did not at first see the masked swordsman emerge from the maze. Taller than the male, his upper body bare, he strode towards the surprised couple, his much longer sword raised.

The attack was over in seconds. As he swiftly sliced into necks and legs, the two fell heavily bleeding to the ground. Their assailant stood over them for a moment then, turning, walked out of sight.

The video stopped at this point, the final image being the scene Rhona and Chrissy had met on board the Orlova.

Bill came to the front again, allowed a few moments for the company to come to terms with what they’d just watched, then said, ‘According to the murdered investigative journalist Mark Sylvester, the male victim is Damian Charles Lloyd, son of Lord Alfred Lloyd, a cabinet minister. This has not been confirmed, despite repeated requests to the Met to do so, after they insisted that both bodies be sent south.

‘Mark also identified the female as Penny Addington, who apparently Damian was seeing. Both were keen fencers.’

He brought up a photograph of the two of them together, dressed in their fencing gear.

‘Our resident super recognizer,’ he gestured to Ollie, ‘assures me they are one and the same. However, without official confirmation from London we can’t be sure. Should it be Damian Lloyd, the implications are far-reaching.