Felicity went into the second bathroom with a small bag she had brought. Stone dimmed the lights and waited for her to emerge, naked, and get into bed with him.
She snuggled close. “One of these days I’m going to retire from the service, and when I do you are going to be in big, big trouble,” she said.
“I could use some of that kind of trouble,” Stone replied, turning to her and slipping a leg between hers, where he found her to be already wet. He kissed her eyes and her face, then bit her softly on a nipple. “I believe this is the start button?”
“Yes, and it’s in perfect working order,” she breathed. She pulled him on top of her and brought him inside her. “There,” she said, “that’s where you belong.”
And he remained there for some time.
—
Before dawn, Felicity dressed and slipped out onto the patio, then let herself out of the garden and strolled down the pathway to her nearby cottage, passing a Secret Service agent on the way. He gave her a little salute, but they did not speak.
It was eight hours later in London, so she called her office on her encoded cell phone.
“Aren’t you up very early?” her secretary asked.
“I couldn’t sleep—jet lag,” she lied, “so I thought I’d check in.”
“Do you want your messages?”
“Just e-mail them to me. I’d be interested to know, though, if there’s anything from GCHQ?”
“Nothing,” the woman replied.
“If they should call, get in touch with me without delay,” Felicity said. “And now, I’m going to try to get a couple of hours’ sleep.” She hung up, undressed, and was out as soon as her head hit the pillow.
—
Stone slept soundly until he heard voices from the living room. He showered and joined them for breakfast. “Everybody sleep well?” Stone asked.
“I was too excited to sleep well,” Hattie said. “I get to play on a movie sound track today.”
“That’s wonderful, Hattie. By the way, I’ve arranged for a hotel car to take the four of you to Centurion and wait to drive you back. The great bulk of the guests won’t arrive until the day after tomorrow, so they won’t need the car, and it will be faster to clear security on your return if you’re in the vehicle you left in.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Peter said. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?”
“No, thank you, Peter, I’ve had that tour, and I need to speak with my office about some things. I might even get some actual work done.”
After breakfast he called Joan. “Good morning from fantasy land,” he said to her.
“Is it absolutely wonderful?” she asked.
“Absolutely wonderful. Tomorrow the guests start arriving.”
“And the Immi Gotham concert?”
“That’s the day after tomorrow.”
“I would kill to be there.”
“Don’t worry, it’ll be televised later. Any messages?”
“Bill Eggers and his wife will be with you tomorrow, and Herbie Fisher wants to talk to you. That’s it.”
“Okay, can you transfer me to Herbie?”
“Hang