An Officer and a Spy

by Robert Harris

it has always been my temperament to prefer a tiny amount of the excellent to a plenitude of the mediocre;

Throughout all this Pauline and I carefully avoid each other, which is of course the surest sign of a couple who are having an affair.

My four golden principles are more important now than ever: take it one step at a time; approach the matter dispassionately; avoid a rush to judgement; confide in nobody until there is hard evidence.