“No, but to be fair we were never likely to become bosom pals.”
“Why do you say that, Mrs. Clifton?”
“We didn’t share the same interests. I’ve never been part of the hunting, shooting, and fishing set. Frankly, we come from different backgrounds, and Lady Virginia mixed in a circle I would never normally have come across.”
“Were you jealous of her?”
“Only of her good looks,” said Emma with a broad grin. This was rewarded with several smiles from the jury box.
“But sadly, your brother and Lady Virginia’s marriage ended in divorce.”
“Which didn’t come as a surprise, at least not to anyone on our side of the family,” said Emma.
“And why was that, Mrs. Clifton?”
“I never felt she was the right person for Giles.”
“So you and Lady Virginia didn’t part as friends?”
“We’d never been friends in the first place, Mr. Trelford.”
“Nevertheless, she came back into your life a few years later?”
“Yes, but that wasn’t by my choice. Virginia started buying a large number of Barrington’s shares, which came as a surprise to me, as she’d never previously shown any interest in the company. I didn’t give it a great deal of thought until the company secretary informed me that she owned seven and a half percent of the stock.”
“Why was seven and a half percent so important?”
“Because it entitled her to a place on the board.”
“And did she take up that responsibility?”
“No, she appointed Major Alex Fisher to represent her.”
“Did you welcome this appointment?”
“No, I did not. From the first day, Major Fisher made it abundantly clear that he was only there to carry out Lady Virginia’s wishes.”
“Can you be more specific?”
“Certainly. Major Fisher would vote against almost any proposal I recommended to the board, and often came up with his own ideas, which he must have known could only damage the company.”
“But in the end, Major Fisher resigned.”
“If he hadn’t, I would have sacked him.”
Mr. Trelford frowned, not pleased that his client had come off-piste. Sir Edward smiled and made a note on the pad in front of him.
“I would now like to move on to the AGM held at the Colston Hall in Bristol, on the morning of August twenty-fourth, 1964. You were in the chair at the time, and—”
“Perhaps Mrs. Clifton can tell us in her own words, Mr. Trelford,” suggested the judge. “And not be continually prompted by you.”
“As you wish, my lady.”
“I had just presented the annual report,” said Emma, “which I felt had gone rather well, not least because I had been able to announce the date for the launch of our first luxury liner, the MV Buckingham.”
“And if I recall,” said Trelford, “the naming ceremony was to be performed by Her Majesty the Queen Mother—”
“Clever, Mr. Trelford, but don’t try my patience.”