Predictably, Rod was furious.
“What do you mean you’re not coming? It’s your pal arranged this dinner.”
“He’s your pal too. You’ve known Gus even longer than I have. And you know the ambassador, Sir Francis Whatsisname. I’ve never even met the man.”
“It’s bad form, Freddie.”
“It’s fucking awful form, but it’s what I have to do.”
“What’s so important you have to skip dinner at the embassy?”
“Something more important, obviously.”
“Oh my God … it’s not spook stuff, is it?”
Troy had no idea what it was, but “spook stuff” was a useful concept. It was a forbidden country and if Troy told Rod it was “spook stuff,” he wouldn’t go there.
“Might be,” he said.
“You know, that’s the sort of answer you gave to questions when you were ten!”