Be Careful What You Wish For: The Clifton Chronicles 4 (46 page)

Emma saw her rise from her place in the middle of the fourth row, wearing a wide-brimmed yellow hat that would have been more appropriate at Ascot, but Emma still ignored the woman, pointing
instead to a man a few rows behind her.

‘Will the
Buckingham
only be sailing on the transatlantic route, or does the company have plans for her to visit other destinations in the future?’

‘Good question,’ Giles had taught Emma to say, particularly when it wasn’t. ‘It wouldn’t be possible for the
Buckingham
to make a profit if we restricted
her voyages to the east coast of the States, not least because our rivals, particularly the Americans, have dominated that route for almost a century. No, we must identify a new generation of
passengers who do not consider the sole purpose of travel as simply to get from A to B. The
Buckingham
must be like a floating luxury hotel, on which her passengers sleep each night, while
during the day they visit countries they never thought they’d see in their lifetime. With that in mind, the
Buckingham
will make regular trips to the Caribbean and the Bahamas, and
during the summer she’ll cruise the Mediterranean and sail along the Italian coast. And who can say what other parts of the world will open up in the next twenty years?’

Once again the woman was on her feet, and once again Emma avoided her, pointing to another man near the front.

‘Are you worried about the number of passengers who are choosing to travel by aeroplane rather than ocean liners? BOAC, for example, are claiming that they can get you to New York in less
than eight hours, whereas the
Buckingham
will take at least four days.’

‘You’re quite right, sir,’ responded Emma, ‘which is why our advertising concentrates on a different vision for our passengers, offering them an experience that they
could never hope to have on an aeroplane. What aeroplane can offer a theatre, shops, a cinema, a library and restaurants that provide the finest cuisine, not to mention a sun deck and a swimming
pool? The truth is, if you’re in a hurry, don’t book a cabin on the
Buckingham
, because she’s a floating palace that you’ll want to return to again and again. And
there’s something else I can promise: when you arrive home, you won’t be suffering from jet lag.’

The woman in the fourth row was on her feet again, waving. ‘Are you trying to avoid me, chairman?’ she shouted.

Giles thought he recognized the voice and looked round to have his worst fears confirmed.

‘Not at all, madam, but as you’re neither a shareholder nor a journalist, I didn’t give you priority. But please, do ask your question.’

‘Is it true that one of your directors sold his vast shareholding over the weekend, in an attempt to bring the company down?’

‘No, Lady Virginia, that is not the case. You’re probably thinking of the twenty-two and a half per cent Don Pedro Martinez put on the market without informing the board, but
luckily, to use a modern expression, we saw him coming.’

Laughter broke out in the hall, but Virginia wasn’t deterred. ‘If one of your directors was involved in such an exercise, shouldn’t he resign from the board?’

‘If you’re referring to Major Fisher, I asked him to resign last Friday when he came to visit me in my office, as I’m sure you already know, Lady Virginia.’

‘What are you insinuating?’

‘That on two separate occasions when Major Fisher represented
you
on the board, you allowed him to sell all your shares over a weekend, and then, after you’d made a handsome
profit, you bought them back during the three-week trading period. When the share price recovered and reached a new high, you carried out the same exercise a second time, making an even larger
profit. If it was your intention to bring the company down, Lady Virginia, then, like Mr Martinez, you have failed, and failed lamentably, because you were defeated by decent ordinary people who
want this company to be a success.’

Spontaneous applause broke out throughout the hall as Lady Virginia pushed her way along the crowded row, not caring whose toes she trod on. When she reached the aisle, she looked back up at the
stage and shouted, ‘You’ll be hearing from my solicitor.’

‘I do hope so,’ said Emma, ‘because then Major Fisher will be able to tell a jury who he was representing when he bought and sold your shares.’

This knockout blow received the loudest ovation of the day. Emma even had time to glance down at the front row and wink at Cedric Hardcastle.

She spent the next hour dealing with a myriad questions from shareholders, City analysts and journalists alike, with a confidence and authority Harry had rarely witnessed. After she’d
answered the last question, she closed the meeting with the words, ‘I hope that many of you will join me on the maiden voyage to New York in a couple of months’ time, as I’m
confident it will be an experience you will never forget.’

‘I think we can guarantee that,’ whispered a man with a cultured Irish lilt who’d been sitting at the back of the hall. He slipped out while Emma enjoyed a standing
ovation.

‘G
OOD MORNING
. Thomas Cook and Son. How can I assist you?’

‘It’s Lord Glenarthur. I was hoping you’d be able to help me with a personal matter.’

‘I’ll do my best, sir.’

‘I’m a family friend of the Barringtons and the Cliftons, and I told Harry Clifton that sadly I wouldn’t be able to join them on the
Buckingham
’s maiden voyage
to New York due to business commitments. Those commitments have now fallen through, and I thought it would be rather fun not to tell them I’d be on board. A sort of surprise, if you get my
drift.’

‘I certainly do, my lord.’

‘So I was calling to find out if it might be possible to book a cabin somewhere near the family.’

‘I’ll see what I can do, if you’d be kind enough to hold the line for a moment.’ The man on the other end of the line took a sip of Jameson’s and waited. ‘My
lord, there are still two first-class cabins available on the upper deck, numbers three and five.’

‘I’d like to be as close to the family as possible.’

‘Well, Sir Giles Barrington is in cabin number two.’

‘And Emma?’

‘Emma?’

‘I do apologize. Mrs Clifton.’

‘She’s in cabin number one.’

‘Then I’ll take cabin number three. I’m most grateful for your assistance.’

‘My pleasure, sir. I hope you have a pleasant trip. May I ask where we should send the tickets?’

‘No, don’t bother yourself. I’ll get my chauffeur to collect them.’

Don Pedro unlocked the safe in his study and removed what was left of his money. He placed bundles of five-pound notes in neat stacks of ten thousand, until they took up every
inch of his desk. He returned £23,645 to the safe and locked it, then double-checked the remaining £250,000 before placing the money in the rucksack they had provided. He sat down at
his desk, picked up the morning paper and waited.

Ten days had passed before the chauffeur returned his call, to say the operation had been sanctioned, but only if he was willing to pay £500,000. When he’d queried the amount, it was
pointed out to him that considerable risks were involved, because if any of the lads were caught, they would probably spend the rest of their days in Crumlin Road, or even worse.

He didn’t bother to bargain. After all, he had no intention of paying the second instalment, as he doubted that there were many IRA sympathizers in Buenos Aires.

‘Good morning, Thomas Cook and Son.’

‘I’d like to book a first-class cabin for the
Buckingham’s
maiden voyage to New York.’

‘Yes, of course, madam, I’ll put you through.’

‘First-class reservations, how can I help you?’

‘It’s Lady Virginia Fenwick. I’d like to book a cabin for the maiden voyage.’

‘Could you repeat your name please?’

‘Lady Virginia Fenwick,’ she said slowly, as if addressing a foreigner.

A long silence followed, which Virginia assumed meant the booking clerk was checking availability.

‘I’m so sorry, Lady Virginia, but unfortunately first class is completely sold out. Shall I put you through to cabin class?’

‘Certainly not. Don’t you realize who I am?’

The clerk would have liked to say yes, I know exactly who you are, because your name has been pinned to the bulletin board for the past month with clear instructions to all sales clerks what to
do if that particular lady phoned to make a booking, but instead he said, sticking to his script, ‘I am sorry, my lady, but there is nothing I can do.’

‘But I am a personal friend of the chairman of Barrington’s Shipping,’ said Virginia. ‘Surely that makes a difference?’

‘It most certainly does,’ replied the booking clerk. ‘We do have one first-class cabin still available, but it can only be released on the express order of the chairman. So if
you’d be kind enough to give Mrs Clifton a call, I’ll hold the cabin in your name, and release it immediately I hear back from her.’

They never heard back from her.

When Don Pedro heard the sound of a car horn, he folded his newspaper, placed it on the desk, picked up the rucksack and made his way out of the house.

The chauffeur touched his cap and said, ‘Good morning, sir,’ before placing the rucksack in the boot of the Mercedes.

Don Pedro got into the back seat, closed the door and waited. When the chauffeur climbed behind the wheel, he didn’t ask where Don Pedro wanted to go because he’d already selected
the route. They turned left out of Eaton Square and headed towards Hyde Park Corner.

‘I’m assuming the agreed amount is in the rucksack,’ said the chauffeur as they passed the hospital on the corner of Hyde Park.

‘Two hundred and fifty thousand pounds in cash,’ said Don Pedro.

‘And we will expect the other half to be paid in full within twenty-four hours of carrying out our part of the agreement.’

‘That is what I agreed,’ said Don Pedro, as he thought about the £23,645 left in the safe in his office; all the money he possessed. Even the house was no longer in his
name.

‘You do realize the consequences if you don’t pay the second instalment?’

‘You’ve reminded me often enough,’ Don Pedro said as the car proceeded up Park Lane, not exceeding the forty mile an hour speed limit.

‘In normal circumstances, should you fail to pay on time, we would have killed one of your sons, but as they are both now safely back in Buenos Aires, and Herr Lunsdorf is no longer among
us, that only leaves you,’ said the chauffeur as he drove around Marble Arch.

Don Pedro remained silent as they proceeded down the other side of Park Lane, then stopped at a set of traffic lights. ‘But what if you don’t carry out your side of the
bargain?’ he demanded.

‘Then you won’t have to pay the other two hundred and fifty thousand, will you?’ said the chauffeur as he drew up outside the Dorchester.

A doorman dressed in a long green coat rushed up to the car and opened the back door to allow Don Pedro to step out.

‘I need a taxi,’ said Don Pedro as the chauffeur drove off to rejoin the morning traffic on Park Lane.