“He’s a bit bored, a bit reckless. His weakness for women should have its uses. I believe with a certain—flair—information can be drawn out of him. It was he, you see, who took me through the Center, and through the naval base at Le Havre.” She sipped again, lingering over it. Deboque would already know about her tête-à-tête with Bennett at the museum. So, she would use his knowledge and twist the truth.

“It was a simple matter to ask questions and express interest in how the museum guards its treasures. With that, I was shown the setup, alarms, monitors, sensors.” She paused again to let it sink in. “The more a woman pretends ignorance, the more she learns.”

Deboque warmed the brandy in his hands. “Hypothetically, you understand, can the security at the palace be broken?”

At last, she thought, they were homing in. “Hypothetically, any security can be broken. I will say that Reeve MacGee has designed an admirable system, but not an invincible one.”

“Interesting.” He picked up a small china figure of a hawk and began to study it. The room fell into silence long enough for her to be sure he was trying to unnerve her. “And do you have a theory on how this system can be undermined?”

“From inside.” She sipped her brandy again. “It’s always cleaner from the inside.”

“And the Center?”

“Much the same.”

“This play the princess wrote, it opens in a few days. It would be amusing to cause a small disturbance.”

“Of what nature?”

He only smiled. “Oh, I’m just speaking in theory, you understand. It seems to me that the Royal Family would be uncomfortable if something disrupted the evening. I should hate to miss it. You’ll be there?”

“I’m expected.” She needed to push him, push him into something definite. “I prefer knowing which door to walk into, monsieur.”

“Then you might be wise to remain in the audience. I wouldn’t want to lose you now that we’ve become close.”

She acknowledged this, but realizing he would demand the rest of the stats then dismiss her, Hannah changed gears. “As a matter of personal curiosity may I ask why you have such interest in the Royal Family? It intrigues me because I see you much as I see myself, as a person most interested in profit and personal gain.”

“Profit is always desirable.” He set the hawk down. He had hands that might have played a violin or written sonnets. They rarely killed, only gestured for others to do so. “Personal gain can have a multitude of variables, n’est-ce pas?”