Mightier Than the Sword

“He was among the first to leave the ship,” said Emma, as a waiter poured her a second cup of coffee. “Our ambassador whisked him off to the United Nations so they could go over his speech before the afternoon session.”

“Perhaps we should try and fit the UN in as well?” suggested Sam.

“I don’t think so,” replied Seb. “The last time I attended one of my uncle’s speeches, he had a heart attack shortly afterward and failed to become the leader of the Labour Party.”

“That’s something you haven’t mentioned before!”

“There’s still a lot you don’t know about our family,” Seb admitted.

“Which reminds me,” said Harry. “I haven’t had the chance to congratulate you on being elected to the board.”

“Thank you, Dad. And now that I’ve read the minutes of the last meeting, I can’t wait”—Seb looked up to see an anxious look on his mother’s face—“to meet my fellow board members, especially the admiral.”

“A one-off,” said Emma, although she was still wondering if the next board meeting would be her last, because if the truth came out she’d be left with no choice but to resign. However, as the memory of that first morning at sea began to fade, she relaxed, and she was feeling a little more confident now that the Buckingham had docked in New York. She glanced out of the window. As far as she could see, there were no press hounds hovering at the bottom of the gangway, barking and baying while flashbulbs popped. Perhaps they were more interested in the result of the presidential election. But she wouldn’t breathe a sigh of relief until the Buckingham had set sail on its return journey to Avonmouth.

“So how do you plan to spend your day, Dad?” asked Seb, breaking into his mother’s reverie.

“I’m having lunch with my publisher, Harold Guinzburg. No doubt I’ll find out what he has planned for my latest book, and what he thought of it.”

“Any hope of an early copy for my mom?” said Samantha. “She’s such a fan.”

“Of course,” said Harry.

“That will be nine dollars ninety-nine cents,” said Seb, holding out his hand. Samantha placed a hot boiled egg in it. “And what about you, Mum? Any plans for painting the hull?”

“Don’t encourage her,” said Harry, not laughing.

“I’ll be the last off the ship and the first back on board. Although I do intend to visit my cousin Alistair and apologize for not attending Great-aunt Phyllis’s funeral.”

“Seb was in hospital at the time,” Harry reminded her.

“So where are we going to start?” demanded Seb as he folded his napkin.

Sam looked out of the window to check the weather. “We’ll take a cab to Central Park and walk the loop before visiting the Met.”

“Then we’d better get going,” said Seb as he rose from the table. “Have a good day, revered parents.”

Emma smiled as the two of them left the dining room, hand in hand. “I wish I’d known they were sleeping together.”

“Emma, it’s the second half of the twentieth century and, let’s face it, we are hardly in a position to—”

“No, I wasn’t moralizing,” said Emma. “It’s just that I could have sold the extra cabin.”

4

“IT WAS GOOD OF YOU to fly back at such short notice, colonel,” said Sir Alan Redmayne, as if he’d had any choice.

The SAS commander had been handed a telegram the moment he stepped off the Buckingham in New York. A car had whisked him to JFK, where he boarded the first flight back to London. Another car and driver were waiting for him at the bottom of the aircraft steps at Heathrow.

“The cabinet secretary thought you would want to see this morning’s papers,” was all the driver said before setting off for Whitehall.

IN YOUR HEART YOU KNEW HE’D LOSE was the headline in the Telegraph. The colonel turned the pages slowly, but there was no mention of the Buckingham, or any article filed under the name of Derek Hart, because if there had been, despite Lyndon Johnson’s landslide election victory over Barry Goldwater, it would surely have led the front page.

The Buckingham did make the center pages of the Daily Express, with a glowing report from the paper’s travel correspondent, extolling the pleasures of crossing the Atlantic on the latest luxury liner. The Daily Mail had pictures of their twelve lucky readers posing in front of the Statue of Liberty. Another twelve free tickets offered for some future date ensured that there was no reference to any inconvenience caused by the Home Fleet.

One hour later, having had no change of clothes or a chance to shave, Colonel Scott-Hopkins was sitting opposite the cabinet secretary in his office at No.10 Downing Street.

The colonel began with a detailed debrief before answering Sir Alan’s questions.