Next day, 8th December, 12 pm

She pauses in the doorway to steady her nerves and observe the older woman for a moment. She looks remarkably beautiful and elegant despite her age, sitting on the bench with great poise, giving off an aura of being in control. Ruth wonders briefly if she's always been like that, or if being married to a spy and powerful man had led her to develop this trait. She'd been a ballet dancer in her youth, she remembers from her file, and with her beautiful face and lean, well toned body, it was no wonder that Harry's younger, testosterone and adrenaline fuelled self had fallen for her. No, Ruth, she scolds herself, don't think about that; focus.

Taking a deep breath, she walks forward and takes a seat on the same bench as Elena Gavrik and a couple of feet away from her. She senses the Russian's eyes on her for a moment as she keeps her gaze on the painting, The Execution of Lady Jane Grey, in front of her. She's never liked this painting much, and she wonders briefly whether it was Harry or Elena who'd decided on the precise location for this meet and if there was some subtle meaning behind their choice. Who is Lady Jane Grey? She or Elena, she wonders briefly before shaking herself free of the thought and focusing her mind on her task.

"Harry thought is was better not to risk another meet with you so soon," she says.

"And you are the one he sends?" Elena replies, her voice coloured slightly by emotion.

It's irritation with a hint of jealousy, Ruth realises and it pleases her no end, boosting her confidence considerably. "Do you have the communiques?" she asks simply.

Elena reaches over and pulls aside the guide book that's lying on the bench between them, revealing a small, white, gift bag that had been hidden underneath it. Ruth slides her hand over to it and picks it up, stowing it away in her coat pocket before turning to look at the painting once more. She's read Elena's file from back to front several times over the past few days, looking for clues as to who could be posing as Harry, but there's something about the Russian that doesn't quite fit with the profile her file depicts. She comes across as almost too innocent, too naïve for someone who's married to a former KGB officer and who was spying for MI-5. Her gut's telling her that Elena Gavrik's not to be trusted and there's more to her than she lets on, especially to Harry. She certainly isn't the innocent damsel in distress that she wishes him to think, and the fact that she presents herself as such to him makes Ruth very suspicious of her motives. She wants to use him for something, but what?

Realising that this is probably going to be her only opportunity to talk to Elena alone, Ruth fells the need to engage her in conversation and see if she can learn something more about her, see if she can find something to confirm her suspicions or disprove them.

"My name's Ruth," she says eventually, since the last time they'd met at the reception she'd been using an alias at Harry's insistence. It's a gesture of good faith as she's sure that the Russian has already looked her up and probably knows almost everything about her.

"I saw how you were together at the reception, Ruth," Elena replies. "Harry loves you, doesn't he?"

The question surprises her and she finds herself becoming even more suspicious of the Russian. She's up to something, probing to find her weakness, to see how sure she is of her husband's affection for her. Well, she'll play along and see where this leads. It'll probably work to her advantage to make the Russian think that she's in control anyway. "I have no idea how to answer that question... or why I ever would," she says hesitantly.

"But he trusts you though," Elena adds quietly, seemingly pleased by her response and the uncertainty it betrays.

"Not completely," she says this time.

"You can't expect complete trust from a man like Harry," Elena replies. "He can't even give that to himself."

She wonders what Elena means by that statement. Harry does trust her and rely on her judgement and yet Elena's trying to tell her otherwise. If she wasn't so sure of Harry's love and trust, she would be very rattled by her words. As things stand, it just serves to confirm her dislike and distrust of Elena. She's playing on Harry's greatest weakness, his loyalty to those he cares about or feels responsible for, and just like with John Bateman it's going to be very difficult to shake that loyalty before someone gets hurt. She needs unequivocal proof and help in obtaining it. She can't ask any of the team to do it; she needs outside help and immediately thinks of Malcolm. She hasn't seen him in ages, but they've stayed in touch through email and the phone, and she's sure that he'll be willing to help, especially as it concerns Harry. He'd moved out of London more than a year ago now and rarely ventures back to the capital, but she feels that he might make an exception under the circumstances.

Her thoughts are interrupted by Sasha Gavrik approaching, and after Elena reassures her that it's safe, that Sasha brought her to the meet, Sasha addresses her, saying, "Where is Pearce?"

"It wasn't safe for him to come," Ruth answers as she studies him quietly, looking with interest for any resemblance to Harry, but apart from a general similarity in their colouring and height, she finds none at all, and her suspicions are aroused once more.

"I want to know," Sasha continues. "When you find out who wrote the messages, Harry comes to me. He owes me that much." Then he turns to his mother and says, "We have to go."

She nods, and as she passes by Ruth, she smiles and squeezes her hand, saying, "Thank you, Ruth," and taking her by surprise. Elena Gavrik's a very good actress, Ruth concludes as she watches them leave, and a dangerous woman, and Harry's in deep trouble because he can't see it.

Same day, 8th December, 1:30 pm

"I'm still not entirely sure why I'd be necessary, Home Secretary," Ruth murmurs quietly before glancing up at him.

"I'm a hoarder of intellects," Towers smiles. "It's how I make myself look good. When the power map is being redrawn, I need to be ahead of the curve. But tell me about yourself, Ruth, if I may call you that."

"Well, there's not much to tell really," she replies. "I'm sure you already know all about me from Harry's report and my file. Until recently, my life outside my work had been... small. It's only in the last year really that I've managed to build something for myself outside of Thames House. My daughter has been a blessing and I am very much enjoying motherhood."

"Good, good," he smiles. "Parenthood is indeed very rewarding, and I can't help but point out that, were you to work for me, your hours would be much better suited to your family life, and as my security advisor, you would be liaising with the Security Services daily so you wouldn't have to sever all ties to your current colleagues. I know that you're a very close knit team."

Ruth nods and replies, "I'll think about it, Home Secretary, and of course, I do need to speak to Harry first."

"Of course," he smiles. "And if you do work for me, you'll call me William."