‘It will make life better for the people of Alp de Montez?’

‘I think so,’ he said reluctantly. ‘My law firm is heavily geared to international disputes. We have people on the ground all over the world. The consensus is that we really can make a difference.’

‘We don’t have a choice then,’ she said heavily.

‘There is a choice, Rose,’ he said. He’d pulled up at traffic lights. They’d turned green, but he wasn’t shifting. There were horns blaring behind him but he thought, no, he had to concentrate. ‘You can walk away.’

‘I can’t walk away,’ she said. ‘Unless I have an alternative.’

‘You can stay where you are.’

‘That’s what I meant,’ she whispered. ‘Alp de Montez is my alternative.’

He didn’t understand. ‘Look, we can call the whole thing off.’

‘Do you want to?’

‘Hold on a minute,’ he told her, and moved forward before the motorists banked up behind him got out of their cars and thumped him. He steered into a bus stop and stopped. ‘Rose, this is up to you,’ he said gently. ‘You’re the one first in line. I’m the supporting role here.’

‘I guess.’ She took a ragged breath. ‘But you will support me?’

Five minutes ago he’d been thinking he couldn’t. But now…It was only for a month or so, and it would make a difference. Rose was taking this on for much, much longer.

If she was prepared to do it, how could he say no?

‘Of course I’ll support you,’ he said gently. ‘We’re in this together.’

‘For a month.’

‘And then I’ll be on the end of the phone. I won’t leave you isolated. We’ll set up supports.’

‘But you’ll stay involved?’

He took a deep breath. ‘Yes.’ Where had that come from? The Nikolai de Montez mantra was ‘never get involved’. But this was different. This was for a country.

This was for Rose.

‘Yes,’ he said again. ‘I’ll stay as involved as you want.’

‘Then I guess I can cope with the press,’ she said, still sounding shaky. ‘The plane’s due to pick me up in Newcastle at two. You swear you’ll be on it?’