Macbeth

She stroked his lips with her forefinger. She had told him the first night they spent together that she loved his lips. They were so soft and thin-skinned she could taste his blood with no more than a little nibble.

‘Make them finally keep their promises to implement initiatives that would save this town,’ he whispered.

‘Exactly.’

‘Get Bertha running again.’

‘Yes.’ She nibbled his lower lip, and he could feel the trembling, hers and his, their hearts racing.

He held her.

‘I love you,’ he whispered.

Macbeth and Lady. Lady and Macbeth. They were breathing in rhythm with each other now.

7

Lady looked at Macbeth. He was so handsome in a dinner jacket. She turned, checked that the waiter had put on white gloves as she had asked. And that the champagne flutes on the silver tray were the ones with the narrow bowls. She had, mostly for fun, put a small but elegant silver whisk on the tray, even though very few customers had seen one before and even fewer knew what it was for. Macbeth rocked back on his shoes as they sank into the deep carpet in the Inverness, and stared stiffly at the front door. He had seemed nervous all day. Only when they went through the practical details of the plan did he regain concentration and become the professional policeman of a rapid-response unit and forget the target had a name. Duncan.

The guards outside opened the door, and a gust of rain swept in.

The first guests. Lady switched on her happiest, most excited smile and placed her hand under Macbeth’s arm. She felt him instinctively straighten up.

‘Banquo, old friend!’ she exclaimed. ‘And you’ve brought Fleance. He’s become such a good-looking young man — I’m jolly glad I don’t have any daughters!’ Hugs and clinking glasses. ‘Lennox! You and I should have a little chat, but first some champagne. And there’s Caithness! You look ravishing, my dear! Why can’t I find dresses like that? Deputy Chief Commissioner Malcolm! But your title’s simply too long. Is it all right if I just call you Chief? Don’t tell anyone, but sometimes I tell Macbeth to call me Director General just to hear how it sounds.’

She had barely said a word to most of them before, yet she still managed to make them feel they had known each other for years. Because she could see inside them, see how they wanted to be seen — it was the blessing of super-sensitivity among all its curses. It meant she could skip the preliminary skirmishes and get straight to the point. Perhaps it was her unpretentious manner that made them trust her. She broke the ice by telling them apparently intimate details of her life, which made them daring, and when they noticed their little secrets were rewarded with an ‘Ah’ and conspiratorial laughter, they ventured on to slightly bigger secrets. It was unlikely any other person in the town knew more about its inhabitants than this evening’s hostess.

‘Chief Commissioner Duncan!’

‘Lady. Apologies for my late arrival.’

‘Not at all. It is indeed your privilege. We don’t want a chief commissioner who arrives first. I always ensure I arrive last, in case anyone should be in any doubt as to who is considered the queen.’

Duncan laughed quietly, and she laid a hand on his arm. ‘You’re laughing, so in my eyes the evening is already a success, but you should try our exquisite champagne, dear Chief Commissioner. I assume your bodyguards won’t...’

‘No, they’ll probably be working all night.’

‘All night?’

‘When you publicly threaten Hecate you have to sleep with at least one eye open. I sleep with two pairs open.’

‘Apropos sleeping. Your bodyguards have the adjacent room to your suite with an intervening door, as they requested. The keys are at reception. But I insist your guards at least taste my home-made lemonade, which I promise was not made using the town’s drinking water.’ She signalled to the waiter holding a tray bearing two glasses.

‘We—’ one bodyguard said, clearing his throat.

‘Refusals will be taken personally and as an insult,’ Lady interrupted.

The bodyguards exchanged glances with Duncan, then they each took a glass, drained the contents and put it back on the tray.

‘It’s very magnanimous of you to host this party, ma’am,’ Duncan said.

‘It’s the least I can do after you made my husband head of the Organised Crime Unit.’

‘Husband? I didn’t know you were married.’

She tilted her head. ‘Are you a man to stand on formality, Chief Commissioner?’

‘If by formality you mean rules, I probably am. It’s in the nature of my work. As it in yours, I assume.’

‘A casino stands or falls on everyone knowing that the rules apply in all cases, no exceptions.’

‘I have to confess I’ve never set foot in a casino before, ma’am. I know you have your hostess duties, but might I ask for a tiny guided tour when it suits you?’

‘With pleasure.’ Lady smiled and linked her arm with his. ‘Come on.’