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Christina stifled a laugh

‘Yes, of course, sir’

‘Are you sure it isn’t Mike Harrison you should be having this lunch with?’ asked William once the waiter had left them

‘Quite sure If anything were to go wrong, I need to know the cavalry are on my side, not just a former foot soldier’

‘Then perhaps you should have asked Commander Hawksby to lunch’

‘If I had,’ said Christina, ‘Miles would have known about it before they’d served coffee, and then I would have had no chance of pulling off my little coup’

‘But why me?’

‘If Miles is told I was seen having lunch with a good-looking youngan affair, because that’s how hisas you can convince your boss I’et their Rembrandt back, and I don’t mean a copy’

William wanted to believe her, but Laered in his mind ‘And ould you expect in return?’ he asked

‘As I’m sure you know, my husband flew off to Monte Carlo last ith his latest tart, and I’ll be instructing Mr Harrison to gather enough evidence to initiate divorce proceedings’

So Jackie saw that coht William

‘I also need to knohere he is night and day during the next month’

‘Why is that so important?’ asked William, as a plate of wafer-thin smoked salmon was placed in front of her, while he was served with cod and chips, not in a newspaper

‘I’ll come to that in a lass with chane, and poured half a pint of bitter into a crystal tuuest

‘But first I have to let you knohat I have in mind for Miles, whom I assume you despise as much as I do’