Piers, I observed, greeted us both with the same smile, an incongruous glance of friendship from those deep, withdrawn eyes of his. He said to Britton:

‘Lend Lulu a hand with the table, Joe, will you? I’ve got a small business matter to tackle with Tenn first.’

I noticed how willingly Britton obeyed him. Piers drew me over to his desk, and sat on the corner of it, swinging his small legs. There seemed to be more table lamps than ever on the desk. I saw that he had already fixed the black-out boards in place across the windows.

Piers said: ‘I hear you’ve been checking up on that Eire business at the Board of Trade. Very wise of you.’

I said: ‘Your spies are everywhere.’

He laughed. ‘No. Only in strategic places. I’m glad you took the trouble to make sure, though. I don’t want a partner who takes anything on trust.’