Best Kept Secret

arm in his and led him along the platform like a guide dog until they reached a first-class carriage. Once they had taken their seats opposite each other,
Giles wasn’t altogether sure what he was meant to do next. As it was a Friday evening, every other seat was taken long before the train pulled out of the station. Miss Holt didn’t say a
word on the entire journey.
    When the train pulled into Brighton, she was among the first to get off. Giles handed two tickets to the collector at the barrier and followed her towards the taxi rank. It was clear to Giles
that Miss Holt had done this several times before. It was only when they were seated in the back of the taxi that she spoke again, and not to him.
    ‘Grand Hotel.’
    On their arrival at the hotel, Giles checked in, registering as Mr and Mrs Brown.
    ‘Room thirty-one, sir,’ said the receptionist. He looked as if he was about to wink, but only smiled and said, ‘Have a good night, sir.’
    A porter carried their cases up to the third floor. It wasn’t until after he’d collected his tip and left that she spoke again.
    ‘My name is Angela Holt,’ she said, sitting upright on the end of the bed.
    Giles remained standing, and looked at a woman he couldn’t have been less likely to spend a dirty weekend in Brighton with. ‘Can you guide me through the procedure?’ he
asked.
    ‘Certainly, Sir Giles,’ said Miss Holt, as if he’d asked her to take dictation. ‘At eight o’clock, we’ll go downstairs and have dinner. I’ve booked a
table in the centre of the room, in the hope that someone might recognize you. After dinner, we’ll return to the bedroom. I will remain fully dressed at all times, but you can get undressed
in the bathroom, where you will put on your pyjamas and dressing gown. At ten o’clock, I will go and sleep on the bed and you will sleep on the couch. At two a.m., you will phone down to the
front desk and order a bottle of vintage champagne, half a pint of Guinness and a round of ham sandwiches. When the night porter delivers your order, you will say that you asked for Marmite and
tomato sandwiches, and tell him to bring the correct order immediately. When he returns, you will thank him and give him a five-pound note.’
    ‘Why such a large tip?’ asked Giles.
    ‘Because if this should come to court, the night porter will undoubtedly be called to give evidence, and we need to be sure he won’t have forgotten you.’
    ‘I understand.’
    ‘In the morning, we will have breakfast together, and when you check out you must pay the bill by cheque, so it can be easily traced. As we leave the hotel, you will embrace me and kiss me
several times. You will then get into a taxi and wave goodbye.’
    ‘Why several times?’
    ‘Because we need to be sure that your wife’s private detective gets an easily identifiable photograph of us together. Do you have any further questions, Sir Giles, before we go down
to dinner?’
    ‘Yes, Miss Holt. May I ask how often you do this?’
    ‘You are my third gentleman this week, and the agency has already booked me for a couple of jobs for next week.’
    ‘This is madness. Our divorce laws are frankly barbaric. The government ought to draft new legislation as soon as possible.’
    ‘I hope not,’ said Miss Holt, ‘because if you were to do that, Sir Giles, I’d be out of a job.’

ALEX FISHER

1954–1955

17
    ‘I QUITE SIMPLY want to destroy him,’ she said. ‘Nothing less will satisfy me.’
    ‘I can assure you, Lady Virginia, I’ll do anything I can to assist.’
    ‘That’s good to know, major, because if we’re going to work together, we’ll need to trust each other. No secrets. However, I still have to be convinced you’re the
right man for the job. Tell me why you think you’re so well qualified?’
    ‘I think you’ll find I’m over-qualified, my lady,’ said Fisher. ‘Barrington and I go back a long way.’
    ‘Then start at the beginning and take me through every detail, however insignificant it might seem.’
    ‘It all began when the three of us were at St Bede’s prep school, and Barrington made friends with the docker’s son.’
    ‘Harry Clifton,’ said Virginia, spitting out the words.
    ‘Barrington should have been expelled from St Bede’s.’
    ‘Why?’ asked Virginia.
    ‘He was caught stealing from the tuck shop, but he got away with it.’
    ‘How did he manage that?’
    ‘His father, Sir Hugo, another criminal, wrote out a cheque for a