Be Careful What You Wish For: The Clifton Chronicles 4 (45 page)

Alex leapt out of his car and almost ran into Barrington House. He took the lift to the top floor and quickly made his way to the chairman’s office. A secretary, who had
clearly been waiting for him, took him straight through.

‘I’m so sorry to be late, chairman,’ said a slightly out-of-breath Alex.

‘Good morning, major,’ said Emma, not getting up from her chair. ‘All my secretary told me after you rang yesterday was that you wanted to see me to discuss a personal matter
of some importance. Naturally I wondered what it could possibly be.’

‘It’s nothing for you to worry about,’ said Alex. ‘I just felt I had to let you know that although we’ve had our differences in the past, the board couldn’t
have had a better chairman during these difficult times, and I am proud to have served under you.’

Emma didn’t reply immediately. She was trying to work out why he’d changed his mind.

‘Indeed, we have had our differences in the past, major,’ said Emma, still not offering him a seat, ‘so I fear in future the board will somehow have to rub along without
you.’

‘Perhaps not,’ said Alex, giving her a warm smile. ‘Clearly you haven’t heard the news.’

‘And what news might that be?’

‘Cedric Hardcastle has asked me to take his place on the board, so nothing has really changed.’

‘Then it’s you who clearly hasn’t heard the news.’ She picked up a letter from her desk. ‘Cedric recently sold all his shares in the company and has resigned as a
director, so he’s no longer entitled to a place on the board.’

Alex spluttered, ‘But he told me—’

‘I have sadly accepted his resignation, and will be writing to let him know how much I appreciate the loyal and unstinting service he has given the company, and how difficult it will be to
replace him on the board. I shall add a postscript, saying I hope he’ll be able to attend the naming ceremony of the
Buckingham,
as well as joining us for the maiden voyage to New
York.’

‘But—’ Alex tried again.

‘Whereas in your case, Major Fisher,’ said Emma, ‘as Mr Martinez has also sold all his shares in the company, you too have no choice but to resign as a director, and, unlike
Cedric’s, I am only too happy to accept your resignation. Your contribution to the company over the years has been vindictive, meddlesome and harmful, and I might add that I have no desire to
see you at the naming ceremony and you will certainly not be invited to join us on the maiden voyage. Frankly the company will be far better off without you.’

‘But I—’

‘And if your letter of resignation is not on my desk by five o’clock this afternoon, I will be left with no choice but to issue a statement making it only too clear why you are no
longer a member of the board.’

Don Pedro walked across the room to a safe that was no longer concealed behind a painting, entered a six-figure code, swivelled the dial and pulled the heavy door open. He took
out two passports that had never been stamped and a thick wad of pristine five-pound notes, which he divided equally between his two sons. Just after five o’clock, Diego and Luis left the
house separately and headed in different directions, knowing that the next time they met would either be behind bars or in Buenos Aires.

Don Pedro sat alone in his study, considering the options that had been left open to him. At six o’clock, he turned on the early evening news, expecting to suffer the humiliation of seeing
himself and his sons running out of the court surrounded by baying journalists. But the lead story didn’t come from Chelsea, but from Tel Aviv, and it didn’t feature Diego and Luis, but
SS Lieutenant Karl Lunsdorf, who was being paraded in front of the television cameras dressed in a prison uniform, a number hanging around his neck. Don Pedro shouted at the screen,
‘I’m not beaten yet, you bastards!’ His cries were interrupted by a loud banging on the front door. He checked his watch. The boys had been gone for less than an hour. Had one of
them already been arrested? If so, he knew which one it was more likely to be. He left his study, walked across the hall and tentatively opened the front door.

‘You should have taken my advice, Mr Martinez,’ said Colonel Scott-Hopkins. ‘But you didn’t, and now Lieutenant Lunsdorf will be facing trial as a war criminal. So Tel
Aviv is not a city I would recommend you visit, although you’d make an interesting defence witness. Your sons are on their way back to Buenos Aires, and for their own sake, I hope they never
set foot in this country again because, if they were foolish enough to do so, you can be sure that we will not turn a blind eye a second time. As for you, Mr Martinez, frankly you’ve
outstayed your welcome, and I suggest that it’s also time for you to go home. Let’s say twenty-eight days, shall we? Should you fail to take my advice a second time . . . well,
let’s just hope we don’t meet again,’ added the colonel, before he turned and disappeared into the dusk.

Don Pedro slammed the door and returned to his study. He sat at his desk for over an hour, before picking up the phone and dialling a number that he had not been allowed to write down, and had
been warned that he could call only once.

When the phone was picked up on the third ring, he was not surprised that no one spoke. All Don Pedro said was, ‘I need a chauffeur.’

‘L
AST NIGHT
I read the speech that Joshua Barrington delivered at the first AGM of his newly formed company in 1849. Queen Victoria was on the
throne, and the sun never set on the British Empire. He told the thirty-seven people present at the Temperance Hall in Bristol that the turnover of Barrington’s Shipping in its first year was
£420 10s 4d, and that he was able to declare a profit of £33 4s 2d. He promised the shareholders he would do better next year.

‘Today, I rise to address over a thousand Barrington’s shareholders at the one hundred and twenty-fifth AGM in Colston Hall. This year our turnover was £21,422,760 and we
declared a profit of £691,472. Queen Elizabeth II is on the throne, and although we may no longer rule half the world, Barrington’s is still sailing the high seas. But, like Sir Joshua,
I intend to do better next year.

‘The company still earns its living by carrying passengers and goods to all parts of the globe. We continue trading from the east to the west. We’ve weathered two world wars, and are
finding our place in the new world order. We should, of course, look back with pride on our colonial empire, but be willing at the same time to grasp the nettles of opportunity.’

Harry, seated in the front row, was amused to see Giles jotting down his sister’s words, and wondered how long it would be before they were repeated in the House of Commons.

‘One of those opportunities was grasped six years ago by my predecessor, Ross Buchanan, when, with the support of the board, he made the decision that Barrington’s should commission
the building of a new luxury liner, the MV
Buckingham
, that would be the first vessel of a fleet to be known as the Palace Line. Despite having had to surmount several obstacles along the
way, we are now only a few weeks from naming this magnificent vessel.’

She turned to face a large screen behind her and, seconds later, a picture of the
Buckingham
appeared, to be greeted first with a gasp, followed by prolonged applause. Emma relaxed for
the first time, and glanced back down at her speech as the applause died away.

‘I am delighted to announce that Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, has agreed to name the
Buckingham
when she visits Avonmouth on September twenty-first. Now, if you
look under your seats, you will find a brochure containing all the details about this remarkable vessel. Perhaps you will allow me to select a few highlights for you to consider.

‘The board chose Harland and Wolff to build the
Buckingham
under the direction of the distinguished naval architect Rupert Cameron, working alongside marine engineers Sir John
Biles and Co., in collaboration with the Danish company Burmeister and Wain. The result was the world’s first diesel propulsion ship.

‘The
Buckingham
is a twin-engined vessel, 600 feet long with a beam of 78 feet, and can reach a speed of 32 knots. It is able to accommodate one hundred and two first-class
passengers, two hundred and forty-two in cabin class, and three hundred and sixty in tourist class. There will be considerable hold space available for passengers’ vehicles as well as for
commercial cargo, depending on the ship’s destination. The crew of five hundred and seventy-seven, along with the ship’s cat, Perseus, will be under the command of Captain Nicholas
Turnbull RN.

‘Let me now draw your attention to a unique innovation that can only be enjoyed by passengers travelling on the
Buckingham
, and that will surely be the envy of our rivals. The
Buckingham
will not have, as all other liners do, hot weather open decks. For us, that’s a thing of the past, because we have built the first sun deck with a swimming pool and a
choice of two restaurants.’ The slide that came up on the large screen was greeted with a further round of applause.

‘Now, I can’t pretend,’ continued Emma, ‘that building a liner of this quality has not been expensive. In fact, the final bill will be just over eighteen million pounds
which, as you know from my report last year, has eaten heavily into our reserves. However, thanks to the foresight of Ross Buchanan, a second contract was drawn up with Harland and Wolff to build a
sister ship, the SS
Balmoral
, for seventeen million pounds, provided the project is confirmed within twelve months of the
Buckingham
obtaining its certificate of
seaworthiness.

‘We took delivery of the
Buckingham
two weeks ago, which leaves us with fifty weeks before we decide whether or not to take up that option. By then, we must make up our minds if
this is a one-off, or the first of the Palace fleet. Frankly that decision will not be made by the board or even the shareholders but, as in all commercial ventures, by the public. They alone will
decide the future of the Palace Line.

‘And so to my next announcement: at midday today, Thomas Cook will open the second booking period for the
Buckingham
’s maiden voyage.’ Emma paused and looked up at the
audience. ‘But not for the general public. For the past three years, you, the shareholders, have not received the dividends you have been accustomed to in the past, so I’ve decided to
take this opportunity to thank you for your continued loyalty and support. Anyone who has held shares for over a year will not only be given priority booking for the maiden voyage, which I know
many of you have already taken advantage of, but will also receive a ten per cent discount on any trip they make on a Barrington ship in the future.’

The sustained applause that followed allowed Emma to check her notes once again.

‘Thomas Cook has warned me not to get too excited about the large number of passengers who have already booked places on the maiden voyage. They tell me that every cabin will have been
sold long before the ship sets sail, but that just as every opening night at the Old Vic is always sold out, like the theatre we will have to rely on regular customers and repeat orders over a long
period of time. The facts are simple. We cannot afford to fall below a sixty per cent cabin occupancy, and even that figure will mean we only break even year on year. Seventy per cent occupancy
will guarantee us a small profit, while we will need eighty-six per cent if we are to repay our capital outlay within ten years, as Ross Buchanan always planned. And by that time, I suspect there
will be a sun deck on all of our competitors’ ships, and we will be looking for new and innovative ideas to attract an ever more demanding and sophisticated public.

‘So the next twelve months will decide the future of Barrington’s. Do we make history, or become history? Be assured that your directors will work tirelessly on behalf of the
shareholders who have placed their trust in us, to deliver a service that will be the benchmark in the world of luxury shipping. Let me end as I began. Like my great-grandfather, I intend to do
better next year, and the year after, and the year after.’

Emma sat down and the audience rose to their feet as if it were a first night. She closed her eyes and thought of her grandfather’s words,
If you’re good enough to be the
chairman, being a woman won’t make any difference
. Admiral Summers leant across and whispered, ‘Congratulations,’ and then added, ‘Questions?’

Emma jumped back up. ‘Sorry, I quite forgot. Of course, I’ll be delighted to take questions.’

A smartly dressed man in the second row was quickly on his feet. ‘You mentioned that the share price recently touched an all-time high, but can you explain why in the past couple of weeks
there have been such peaks and troughs, which, to a layman like myself, seem inexplicable, not to say worrying?’

‘I cannot fully explain that myself,’ admitted Emma. ‘But I can tell you that a former shareholder dumped twenty-two and a half per cent of the company’s stock on the
market without having the courtesy to inform me, despite that shareholder having a representative on the board. Fortunately for Barrington’s, the broker concerned was shrewd enough to offer
those shares to one of our former directors, Mr Cedric Hardcastle, who is himself a banker. Mr Hardcastle was able to place the entire holding with a leading businessman from the north of England,
who has wanted for some time to purchase a substantial stake in the company. This meant that the shares were only on the market for a few minutes, causing minimum disruption, and indeed within days
the price returned to its former high.’