Be Careful What You Wish For (The Clifton Chronicles 4)

“Don’t ever let her know that,” said Emma.

“Everyone knows it,” replied Miss Fielding, “and we’re all looking forward to greater things in the future. No one will be surprised when she’s offered a place at the Royal Academy Schools, a first for Red Maids’.”

Jessica appeared blissfully unaware of her rare talent, as she was of so many other things, thought Emma. She had repeatedly warned Harry that it could only be a matter of time before their adopted daughter stumbled upon the truth about who her father was, and suggested that it would be better if she heard it from a member of the family first, rather than a stranger. Harry seemed strangely reluctant to burden her with the real reason they had plucked her out of the Dr. Barnardo’s home all those years ago, ignoring several more obvious candidates. Giles and Grace had both volunteered to explain to Jessica how they all came to share the same father, Sir Hugo Barrington, and why her mother had been responsible for his untimely death.

The moment Emma parked her Austin A30 in the hospital car park Jessica would jump out, her latest picture under one arm, a bar of Cadbury’s milk chocolate in her other hand, and run all the way to Sebastian’s bedside. Emma didn’t believe that anyone could love her son more than she did, but if anyone did, it was Jessica.

When Emma entered the ward a few minutes later, she was surprised and delighted to find Sebastian out of bed for the first time, and sitting in an armchair. The moment he saw his mother, he pushed himself up, steadied himself and kissed her on both cheeks; another first. When does that moment come, Emma wondered, when mothers stop kissing their children, and young men start kissing their mothers?

Jessica was telling her brother in great detail what she’d been up to during the week, so Emma perched herself on the end of the bed and happily listened to her exploits for a second time. Once she’d stopped talking long enough for Sebastian to get a word in, he turned to his mother and said, “I reread the minutes of the latest board meeting this morning. You do realize that the chairman will call for a vote at the next meeting, and this time you won’t be able to avoid making a decision on whether to go ahead with building the Buckingham.”

Emma didn’t comment as Jessica turned around and began to draw the old man who was sleeping in the next bed.

“I would do the same if I were in his position,” continued Sebastian. “So who do you think will win?”

“No one will win,” said Emma, “because whatever the outcome, the board will remain divided until it can be shown who was right.”

“Let’s hope not, because I think you’ve got a far bigger problem staring you right in the face, and one that will need you and the chairman to be working in harmony.”

“Fisher?”

Sebastian nodded. “And God knows how he’ll vote when it comes to whether or not you should build the Buckingham.”

“Fisher will vote whichever way Don Pedro Martinez instructs him to.”

“How can you be sure that it was Martinez, and not Lady Virginia, who bought those shares?” asked Sebastian.

“According to William Hickey in the Daily Express, Virginia is going through another messy divorce at the moment, so you can be sure she’ll be concentrating on how much maintenance she can extract from the Count of Milan before she decides how to spend it. In any case, I have my own reasons for believing that Martinez is behind the latest round of share buying.”

“I’d already come to that conclusion myself,” said Sebastian, “because one of the last things Bruno told me, when we were in the car on the way to Cambridge, was that his father had had a meeting with a major, and he overheard the name ‘Barrington’ come up during their conversation.”

“If that’s true,” said Emma, “Fisher will support the chairman, if for no other reason than to get back at Giles for preventing him becoming a Member of Parliament.”

“Even if he does, don’t assume he’ll want the building of the Buckingham to progress smoothly. Far from it. He’ll switch sides whenever he thinks he has an opportunity to harm the company’s short-term finances or long-term reputation. Forgive the cliché, but leopards don’t change their spots. Just remember that his overall aim is exactly the opposite of yours. You want the company to succeed, he wants it to fail.”

“Why would he want that?”

“I suspect you know the answer to that question only too well, Mama.” Sebastian waited to see how she would respond, but Emma simply changed the subject. “How come you’re suddenly so full of wisdom?”

“I have daily lessons at the foot of an expert. And what’s more, I’m his only pupil,” Sebastian added without explanation.

“And what does your expert advise that I should do, if I want the board to back me and vote against building the Buckingham?”

“He’s come up with a plan that would ensure you win the vote at the next board meeting.”

“That’s not possible while the board is so evenly divided.”

“Oh, it’s possible,” said Sebastian, “but only if you’re willing to play Martinez at his own game.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“As long as the family are in possession of twenty-two percent of the company’s stock,” continued Sebastian, “you have the right to appoint two more directors to the board. So all you have to do is co-opt Uncle Giles and Aunt Grace, and they can support you when it comes to the crucial vote. That way you can’t lose.”

“I could never do that,” said Emma.

“Why not, when so much is at stake?”

“Because it would undermine Ross Buchanan’s position as chairman. If he lost such an important vote because the family had ganged up against him, he would be left with no choice but to resign. And I suspect other directors would follow him.”