Mateo frowned at the bluntness of his words. ‘Do you think she trusts you?’ he asked her.

‘I don’t think she’s a woman who trusts many people, but we’re establishing something of a rapport. But Dan’s right – if she thinks I’m her only link to the money, that’s a powerful incentive to her to come clean with me.’

Milton looked at Mateo, the somewhat obsequious expression he’d worn for greeting Lord Finch on his face again now. ‘How is your father? Any further progress to report?’

‘I’m pleased to say he is responding well to treatment and gaining strength; he’s even trying to talk. The doctors have told us they hope to have him sitting up in bed within the week.’

Milton’s expression changed. ‘Well I’m glad to hear it, of course. But if your father can sit and talk, then he can also sit and dictate. In theory, he could have that donation drawn up by the end of the weekend.’

‘I see, yes,’ Mateo said hesitantly.

‘Marina doesn’t know he’s recovering, does she?’ Milton looked over at Charlotte who could only shrug.

‘She’s not admitting to knowing anything right now. I mentioned he was in poor health.’

He was quiet for a moment. ‘In which case, let her continue to think he is ailing. She might be more inclined to accept an offer, on the grounds that something is better than nothing.’ Milton held his hands out as if it was all so simple. ‘I reckon we’ve been going about this the wrong way, tiring ourselves out trying to move money, find loopholes and second-guess what she knows or is expecting. There’s a much simpler, more direct way. Rather than you trying to block your father’s actions, Mateo, you need to take decisive action yourself – approach her directly with your own offer but one with conditions attached: if she accepts it, she waives the right to receive any further gifts, donations or bequests from the Mendoza estate. You could get the lawyers to draw up the exact wording so that even if your father recovers and proceeds with his gift, even if you can’t stop that, she won’t be allowed to accept it.’

‘You mean, we ambush from the other direction?’ Mateo asked, looking both impressed and appalled at once.

‘Exactly. There’s so many other unknowns – with her playing hard to get and your father not yet able to communicate, we have no way of knowing whether he told her of his intentions before his stroke; and if he did, what he told her to expect. All we do know is that right now, she can’t contact him and vice versa and that’s our strength. Let’s run interference between them.’

‘But my priority with making contact was to try to understand who this woman is – what she means to my father and why he feels the need to do this for her. I’m not sure I want to . . . cheat her.’

‘It’s not cheating her,’ Milton shrugged mildly, clasping his hands together. ‘She’s free to sign or not sign. No one’s holding a gun to her head.’