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will be coming.'
    ‘He means: under the Protectorate?’ said Seymour.
    ‘Yes. He fears that the French will flood in. As they have done in Algeria.'
    ‘And will they?'
    ‘The army first. First they have to secure the country. Which, of course, they are presently doing. And that is why I am taking you now to see Monsieur Lambert, the Resident-General Designate.'
    ‘Ah!’ said Monsieur Lambert. ‘ L ’ affaire Bossu . And you are Monsieur Seymour. From Scotland Yard. A long way to come, Monsieur Seymour, and I wonder if your visit is strictly necessary.'
    ‘The committee,’ said Macfarlane softly, ‘is an international one, and other powers beside France need to be satisfied.'
    ‘The committee!’ said the Resident-General, brushing it aside.
    ‘Nevertheless, it has to be worked with, Georges,’ said Macfarlane quietly.
    Monsieur Lambert seemed about to say something but then thought better.
    ‘Have the Mahzen been informed?’ he asked.
    ‘I have taken Mr Seymour to see Suleiman Fazi.'
    ‘Good.'
    He turned to Seymour.
    ‘The forms have to be preserved,’ he said. ‘We know they are just forms, that the Sultan and his Mahzen have no longer any real power. Nevertheless, we must keep to the forms. Pretend that he has. In the interests of –’
    He stopped.
    ‘International harmony,’ prompted Macfarlane. ‘The other powers wouldn’t like it if the French just said, “Right, we’re taking over Morocco.” It would look bad. But if they say, “Look, we’re just trying to help Morocco along, protect it from other nasty European powers, so we’re declaring it a French Protectorate,” well, that looks much better. It makes it more legitimate, and the international community likes legitimacy.'
    Monsieur Lambert shrugged.
    ‘Well, I don’t mind keeping up appearances,’ he said, ‘if that’s strictly necessary. It’s as well, though, if Monsieur Seymour understands the difference between appearances and reality. And the reality is that a Frenchman has been killed and I am the one who has to answer for that in Paris.'
    ‘Of course!’ said Macfarlane soothingly. ‘But it is also true that in the present delicate situation Monsieur Bossu was as well a servant of the international community and they too require satisfaction.'
    ‘They’re not going to make trouble, are they, Alan?’ said Monsieur Lambert.
    ‘Not if I can help it,’ said Macfarlane.
    ‘Bossu has caused enough trouble as it is,’ said Lambert.
    At the end of the corridor, as they came out, Seymour saw a small group of women about to enter the private quarters of the Residency. One of them was a middle-aged woman, the mother, perhaps, of the two younger women who were with her.
    But, hold on! That couldn’t be right, since one of the younger women, he was almost sure, was the receptionist at the hotel.
    They disappeared inside.
    ‘What trouble did Bossu cause?’ asked Seymour, as they walked away.
    ‘Oh, something in the past,’ said Macfarlane.
    ‘He’s meeting all the nobs,’ Seymour heard Idris say to Mustapha. ‘That can’t be good, can it?'
    ‘So where in all this,’ said Seymour, ‘do the police fit in? Do they come under the Mahzen or under the French?'
    ‘Both,’ said Macfarlane. ‘In principle, they report to the Vizier of the Interior. But in practice it’s more complicated. In much of the interior there aren’t any police at all. The only thing keeping order is the French army. In the more settled parts there will be a Pasha or a Caid – a sort of local governor. And in the big cities, Marrakesh, for instance, or Casablanca, there will be both a Pasha and a French commander.'
    ‘I see,’ said Seymour. Doubtfully.
    ‘Remember, though,’ said Macfarlane enthusiastically, ‘that this is a Muslim country and wherever you are, most things will be handled by the local mosque. Disputes about property, say. In fact, most disputes. In so far as there is law in most of the country, it’s Muslim