She soaked up the feeling of contentment for a few moments longer, then suddenly sat up. ‘I’m going to do it.’ The decisiveness in her voice surprised even Kate herself.

‘Kate—’

‘No, listen to me. I have to, for the children. There’s no way they could contemplate being unable to see you, and I think we can both agree that them coming to Moscow is not a good idea.’

‘But—’

‘I’m going to tell them the truth. I don’t want to go back any more than they want me to, and I think they get that. They’ll understand if they know what’s at stake.’ She paused, wondering at the wisdom of the headlong rush to an uncertain future she was about to embark upon. ‘But it’s not just for their sake. I was excited on the plane down here and not just for them. I can’t make any promises, but I’ve always loved you and that hasn’t changed. I want to give us the best shot at finding a way back, however rocky that might be.’

Stuart moved a few paces away from her and stared into the night. ‘I can’t tell you how much I’ve longed to hear those words …’

Kate waited, heart sinking. ‘But?’

‘There’s a … complication … from my side I have to own up to.’

3

KATE FELT HER cheeks redden and her heart hammer. She heard herself say, ‘You’ve got someone else?’

‘No! No! For God’s sake, I haven’t got anyone else!’

‘Then what?’

He came back to sit beside her. ‘I’m not expecting any sympathy from you or anyone else. I should have anticipated it.’

‘The Russians want you to sound me out about working for them?’

He turned to face her. ‘How did you know?’

‘If you weren’t expecting it, I certainly should have been. I guess they took you quietly aside and said that if I’d left the Service under a cloud I might be susceptible.’

‘More or less word for word.’

‘What did they offer you if you succeeded?’

‘That’s where it gets complicated.’

Kate met his gaze. ‘Oh, hold on a minute. How stupid of me. They won’t let you leave Moscow unless you play along? Or, more importantly, unless I do?’

She took his awkward silence as confirmation. She stared at her hands. ‘But they can’t be expecting me to come and work for them. What they really want is a week or two holed up in a secure location somewhere so that they can squeeze me for every last piece of information and insight on my life and work in MI6. Do that, and they’ll leave us both alone for the duration to do as we please – and probably throw in some cash to tide us over for a year or two.’

‘They suggested meeting in Spain or even here in France.’

‘What did you tell them?’

‘That I didn’t think there was any chance you’d agree to it.’

‘And how did they respond?’

‘They said I might be surprised, that in their view you were still in love with me, and this was your Achilles heel. With enough … persuasion I could get you over the line. They promised the payments could run into many hundreds of thousands of pounds.’