Page 48 of Fire Must Burn

‘Look, I was already called in for an official upbraiding. I don’t need another one.’

‘You were? By the Brigadier?’

‘Yes.’

‘When was this?’

‘Later that night. He paid me a call at theCecilia.’

‘How did he find out so quickly?’

‘He had a man tailing Tony. That dock worker who wasn’t a dock worker. He saw us together.’

‘Including the kiss?’

‘Yes.’

‘All of this on only one Friday night,’ said Gwen in wonder. ‘I leave you alone for less than two hours, and this is the trouble you get into. Anything happen on Saturday or Sunday I should be privy to?’

‘Laundry on Saturday, narrowboat lesson with Casper on Sunday. Do you need details?’

‘No, I do not,’ said Gwen. ‘Dear Lord, Tony proposed to you on Tuesday, then kissed you on Friday. Everything the two of you do is in the wrong order.’

‘That has been the hallmark of our relationship,’ said Iris.

Tony called in the afternoon.

‘Any last-second tips?’ he asked when he heard her voice.

‘You’re thinking too much,’ she said. ‘Just let things happen and enjoy the evening. She called us earlier – she sounded quite excited about the prospect of meeting you.’

‘I thought you didn’t tell the prospects anything about each other.’

‘I didn’t,’ said Sparks. ‘She just sounded generally enthused about having a date.’

‘You’re not fobbing me off on one of your rejects, are you, Sparks?’ he asked suspiciously. ‘Putting me through the romantic wringer for the pure sadistic joy of it?’

‘Given what we do for a living, that would be a terrible business plan,’ she said. ‘I only torment the men in my personal relationships, Tony, not our clients.’

‘Your mercenary motives have convinced me,’ he said. ‘I go forth to do battle on the Fields of Love, and will return either with my shield or on it.’

‘Any man who goes into a date quoting Plutarch deserves a sound beating,’ said Sparks. ‘Do try and have some fun, Tony.’

‘I’ll give it my best, Sparks,’ he said. ‘I’ll ring you up on Wednesday and give you a full report on the carnage.’

He hung up, and her smile faded immediately.

‘I have to report to the Brigadier,’ she said, rising and going to fetch her hat. ‘I should be back in fifteen minutes.’

‘I will be coming to rescue you in twenty if not,’ said Gwen.

Sparks forced herself to slow down to a walk down the stairs. She went outside, found the phone box, and went through her calling protocol. It rang three minutes later.

‘Report,’ said the Brigadier the second she answered.

‘He called just now to let me know he’s having his first date tomorrow,’ she said. ‘Nothing of import otherwise.’

‘Nothing?’