“Now I will finally have to tell him,” murmured Becky under her breath.
“I feel that may well be the case, Lady Trumper. Indeed, the purpose of this meeting was to brief you fully. Sir Raymond was never quite sure if you had informed Daniel who his father was.”
“No, we never have.”
Baverstock removed his glasses and placed them on the desk. “Please take your time, dear lady, and just let me know when I have your permission to contact your son and acquaint him with his good fortune.”
“Thank you,” said Becky quietly, sensing the inadequacy of her words.
“Finally,” said Mr. Baverstock, “I must also let you know that Sir Raymond became a great admirer of your husband and his work, indeed of your partnership together. So much so that he left a recommendation with this office that, were Trumper’s ever to go public, which he anticipated they would, we were to invest a sizable stake in the new company. He was convinced that such an enterprise could only flourish and therefore prove to be a first-class investment.”
“So that’s why Hambros invested ten percent when we went public,” said Becky. “We always wondered.”
“Precisely,” Mr. Baverstock added with a smile, almost of satisfaction. “It was on my specific instructions that Hambros applied for the shares on behalf of the Trust, so that there could never be any reason for your husband to be apprehensive about such a large outside shareholder.
“The amount was in fact considerably less than the estate received from dividends during that year. However, more important, we were aware from the offer documents that it was Sir Charles’ intention to retain fifty-one percent of the company, and we therefore felt it might be some relief for him to know that he would have a further ten percent under his indirect control should any unforeseen problem arise at some time in the future. I can only hope that you feel we have acted in your best interests, as it was always Sir Raymond’s wish that you should be told the full facts at a time that I considered appropriate, the only stipulation as I have already explained was that such information was not to be revealed to your son before his thirtieth birthday.”
“You couldn’t have been more considerate, Mr. Baverstock,” said Becky. “I know Charlie will want to thank you personally.”
“That is most kind of you, Lady Trumper. May I also add that this meeting has been a genuine delight for me. Like Sir Raymond, I have had considerable pleasure over the years in following the careers of all three of you, and I am delighted to be playing a small part in the company’s future.”
Having completed his task, Mr. Baverstock rose from his side of the desk and accompanied Becky silently to the front door of the building. Becky began to wonder if the solicitor spoke only when he had a brief.
“I shall wait to hear from you, dear lady, as to when I may be permitted to contact your son.”
CHAPTER
38
The weekend after Becky’s visit to Mr. Baverstock she and Charlie drove to Cambridge to see Daniel. Charlie had insisted that they could procrastinate no longer and had telephoned Daniel that evening to warn him that they were coming up to Trinity as there was something of importance they needed to tell him. On hearing this piece of news Daniel had replied, “Good, because I’ve also got something rather important to tell you.”
On the journey to Cambridge, Becky and Charlie rehearsed what they would say and how they were going to say it, but still came to the conclusion that however carefully they tried to explain what had happened in the past, they could not anticipate how Daniel would react.
“I wonder if he’ll ever forgive us?” said Becky. “You know, we should have told him years ago.”
“But we didn’t.”
“And now we’re only letting him know at a time when it could be to our financial benefit.”
“And ultimately to his. After all, he’ll eventually inherit ten percent of the company, not to mention the entire Hardcastle estate. We’ll just have to see how he takes the news and react accordingly.” Charlie accelerated when he came to a stretch of dual carriageway the other side of Rickmansworth. For some time neither of them spoke until Charlie suggested, “Let’s go through the order once again. You’ll start by telling him how you first met Guy—”
“Perhaps he already knows,” said Becky.
“Then he surely would have asked—”
“Not necessarily. He’s always been so secretive in the past, especially when dealing with us.”
The rehearsal continued until they had reached the outskirts of the city.
Charlie drove slowly down the Backs past Queens College, avoiding a bunch of undergraduates who had strayed onto the road, and finally right into Trinity Lane. He brought his car to a halt in New Court and he and Becky walked across to entrance C and on up the worn stone staircase until they reached the door with “Dr. Daniel Trumper” painted above it. It always amused Becky that she hadn’t even discovered that her son had been awarded his Ph.D. until someone addressed him as Dr. Trumper in her presence.
Charlie gripped his wife’s hand. “Don’t worry, Becky,” he said. “Everything will be all right, you’ll see.” He gave her fingers a squeeze before knocking firmly on Daniel’s door.
“Come on in,” shouted a voice that could only have been Daniel’s. The next moment he pulled open the heavy oak door to greet them. He gave his mother a huge hug before ushering them both through to his untidy little study where tea was already laid out on a table in the center of the room.
Charlie and Becky sat down in two of the large and battered leather chairs the college had provided. They had probably been owned by the past six inhabitants of the room, and brought back memories for Becky of the chair that she had once removed from Charlie’s home in Whitechapel Road and sold for a shilling.
Daniel poured them both a cup of tea and began to toast a crumpet over the open fire. Nobody spoke for some time and Becky wondered where her son had come across such a modern cashmere sweater.