I pretend not to hear. ‘A source, someone I trust, tells me the Chancellor canned the tax raid after meeting Muller.’

She whistles down the phone. I can hear the cogs in her exquisitely engineered brain clicking into gear. ‘You think Muller pressurised Kendall to dump the pensions tax?’

‘My source is sure there is a connection.’

There’s a clicking noise: Jess neurotically pressing the end of her retractable ballpoint pen.

‘If Robin wanted to kill the pensions tax, what could be motivating him?’ I ask her.

‘There’s a Chinese Wall at Schon between M&A, where he’s a big wheel, and the fund managers who run money for pension funds. He’d have to be doing it on behalf of a client.’

‘Media Corp?’

‘Maybe. But he works for others too.’

‘Can you check out whether any of them have a pensions problem.’

‘I’ll do what I can.’

One of my team saunters in and sits in the chair nearest me. I instinctively lower my voice. ‘There’s something going on with Kendall, too. He’s covering up something.’ I think of what Marilyn told me, the notion that Kendall could cross the floor to Labour. She told me to keep it to myself, knowing full well I wouldn’t let it go.

‘Is he happy in the Conservative party?’

Jess puffs down her nose, a half-laugh. ‘I’m not sure what you mean. He’s a natural Tory. It’s in the blood, along with shooting, slagging off socialists and unthinking sexism.’

I stand up and walk into the corridor with my mobile. I don’t want to be overheard.

‘But the right of his party hate him. Wets like him are a dying breed.’

‘Sure. He despises the Eurosceptics and the Thatcherite zealots. But what are you suggesting? That he might leave the party?’

‘Maybe.’

‘Doesn’t feel right. For MPs like Kendall, the party is family. They live and die in it.’

It’s not so unusual to fall out with your family, I mutter to myself.

Jess ignores me. ‘Anyway, if he defects he’ll screw up his chance of going to the Lords. He wouldn’t take that risk.’

‘Maybe not.’

Perhaps Marilyn got the wrong end of the stick, wishful thinking. Though what if Todd bribed Kendall to defect with the offer of a peerage? ‘Kendall’s hiding something. Clare knew what it was. Maybe Muller knows, too.’

‘I’ll talk with a few of the backbenchers who are close to him. I’ll see what I can find out.’

‘One thing. Don’t be too explicit about the idea of him crossing the floor. I promised the person who told me I’d keep it to myself.’

‘You and your promises. All right!’