They shook hands, and Hamish guided her into an adjoining dining room, where a single table had been set for two. “Please,” he said, pulling out the table so that she could get behind it and sit on the banquette. He set his own drink on the table and waved at a waitress. “May I have a large Lagavulin with a single ice cube, please?” He had dark, almost black eyes and perfect teeth.
“Lagavulin?” Holly asked.
“It’s a single-malt scotch from the island of Islay,” he replied.
“It’s hard to keep up with single malts.”
“Don’t even try,” he said, smiling. “Kate didn’t make it clear that you were beautiful, as well as smart. I particularly like the red hair. Tell me, is it from a bottle?” His English was entirely upper class, reflecting his Eton and Oxford education.
“It’s from a salon,” Holly replied. What would he want to know next, her bra size?
He moved a hand up and down. “It’s all a very pleasing combination. You chose exactly the right things to wear to a fashionable pub.”
Holly had chosen tweed slacks and a jacket and a cashmere sweater, all covered by a trench coat, which she now struggled out of. “Thank you, Hamish.”
A young woman brought them menus and a wine list. “The food here is very good, for a pub, and they have some decent wines. What did Kate do with Greg Barton?” he asked, as his eyes roamed the wine list. “Take him out and shoot him?”
“On the contrary,” Holly said, “Greg was rewarded with a very nice job in Rome. He’s already there.”
“I heard Stewart Graves will be coming to London.”
“We were all on the same aircraft coming over.”
“Did Greg fill your ears with descriptions of my exploits?”
“Neither of them had anything to say, so I got some sleep.”
“Ah, yes, the woman thing. I don’t think either of them liked working for Kate, then to have yet another woman inserted between them and Kate must have been a blow.”
“As I said, they didn’t share. What I know of you came from Kate.”
Hamish nodded. “I’m sure she was objective and fair.”
“Always, in my experience.”
“What job were you in before?”
“Assistant DDO.”
“And now you are assistant director! A great leap. I’m sure Kate was very deliberate in leaving out the ‘to’ between ‘assistant’ and ‘director.’”
Holly smiled. “She’s always deliberate.”
“Yes! Not a hothead, our Kate.”
“Not in my experience.”
“I expect her cool confidence comes from the proximity of the man who appointed her.”
“I think it comes from her core, and I think being married to Will Lee has as many pitfalls as advantages.”
“I can’t keep up with American politics.”
“Don’t even try.”
He laughed. “And soon she will be gone, with her husband. What then for the ambitious at Langley?”
“Anxiety, I should think.”