"I mean, with the aid of one of your men I will do what your Department could never accomplish. May I have him?"
"The whole of the Secret Service is at your disposal!"—magnanimously.
She gestured impatiently. "Woodenheads, all of them!"
Sir Francis almost gasped. "Even Euan Kerth?" he managed to ask calmly.
"I do not know Euan Kerth, but he is reputed to be the lion of your Department. He would more than likely prove unmanageable. No, Euan Kerth does not qualify."
He chewed his lip. "Really, won't you throw a little more light on the subject?"
"No," she replied in mellifluous tones, with her most distracting smile. "You recall what happened in the affair of Amar Singh, when your men investigated? I shall handle this after my own manner—or wash my hands of it."
Sir Francis' forehead wrinkled in an official frown.
"This is most extraordinary! Is that a—er—threat?"
"Dare one threaten the Intelligence Department?" she purred.