“Can I speak to Sebastian Clifton please?”
“This is Sebastian Clifton.”
“Mr. Clifton, I’m ringing from the United States. Will you accept a reverse charge call from a Miss Jessica Clifton?”
“Yes, I will.”
“Hi, Pops.”
“Hi, Jessie, how are you?”
“Great, thanks.”
“And your mother?”
“I’m still working on her, but I was calling to make sure you’ll be joining us in Rome next month.”
“I’m already booked into the Albergo del Senato, in the Piazza della Rotonda. It’s just opposite the Pantheon. Where will you be staying?”
“With my grandparents at the American Embassy. I can’t remember if you’ve ever met Grandpops, he’s super cool.”
“Yes, I have. In fact I visited him when he was the chef de mission at the Embassy in Grosvenor Square, and asked his permission to marry your mother.”
“How beautifully old-fashioned of you, Pops, but you needn’t bother to ask him again, because I’ve already got his approval, and I can’t think of a more romantic city than Rome in which to propose to Mom.”
“Please don’t tell me you phone the ambassador in Rome and reverse the charges!”
“Yes, but only once a week. I can’t wait to meet Grandpops Harry and Great-uncle Giles. Then I can add them to my list and let them know you’re planning to propose to Mom.”
“Should I presume you’ve already picked the date, the time and the place?”
“Yes, of course. It will have to be on Thursday, when we have tickets for the Borghese Gallery. I know Mom’s looking forward to seeing the Berninis, and Canova’s Paolina Borghese.”
“Did you know that the gallery is named after Napoleon’s sister?”
“I didn’t know you’d been to Rome, Pops.”
“It may come as a surprise to you, Jessie, but there were people roaming the earth before 1965.”
“Yes, I knew that. I’ve read about them in my history books.”
“You wouldn’t like to run a bank, by any chance?”
“No thanks, Pops, I just haven’t got the time, what with preparing for my next exhibition and trying to organize you two.”
“I can’t imagine how we survived before you came along.”
“Not very well, by all accounts. By the way, have you ever come across a man called Maurice Swann, from Shifnal in Shropshire?”
“Yes, but surely he can’t still be alive.”
“And kicking, it would seem, because he’s invited Mom to open his school theatre. What’s that all about?”
“It’s a long story,” said Seb.
Desmond Mellor was a few minutes late and, once Virginia had poured him a whisky, he got straight to the point.
“I’ve kept my word, and the time has come for you to keep yours.” Virginia didn’t comment. “I’ve made a lot of money over the years, Virginia, and I’ve recently had a serious offer for Mellor Travel, that might even make it possible for me to gain a controlling interest in Farthings Bank.”
Virginia refilled his glass with Glen Fenwick. “So, what can I do for you?”
“The long and short of it is, I want that knighthood you promised you could fix when you needed my help to convince those American detectives that you were legit.”
Virginia was well aware that the very idea of Desmond Mellor being offered a knighthood was preposterous, but she had already seen a way of turning this to her advantage. “Frankly, Desmond, I’m surprised you haven’t been nominated for an honor already.”
“Is that how it works?” said Mellor. “Someone has to nominate me?”
“Yes, the honors committee, a select group of the great and the good, receive recommendations and, if they feel it appropriate, give the nod.”
“Do you know anyone on that committee by any chance?”
“No one is meant to know who sits on the honors committee. It’s a closely guarded secret. Otherwise they’d never stop being bothered with recommendations from completely unsuitable people.”
“So what hope have I got?” said Mellor.
“Better than most,” said Virginia, “because the chairman of the committee just happens to be an old family friend.”
“What’s his name?”
“If I tell you, you must swear to keep it secret, because if he thought even for a moment you knew, that would scupper your chances of ever being knighted.”
“You have my word, Virginia.”
“The duke of Hertford — Peregrine to his friends — has been chairman of the committee for the past ten years.”
“How in hell’s name will I ever get to meet a duke?”
“As I said, he’s a personal friend, so I’ll invite him around to a cocktail party, which will be an opportunity for him to get to know you. But we’ve still got a lot of work to do before that can happen.”
“Like what?”
“First you’ll need to mount a major campaign if you want to be taken seriously.”
“What kind of campaign?”
“Articles about your company and how successful it’s been over the years, with particular emphasis on your export record, will need to appear regularly in the business sections of the press. The honors committee always respond favorably to the word ‘exports.’”
“That shouldn’t be too difficult to arrange. Mellor Travel has branches all over the globe.”
“They also like the word ‘charity.’ You’ll have to be seen to be supporting a range of worthy local and national causes, with regular photo ops that will attract their attention, so that when your name comes up in front of the committee, someone will say, ‘Does a lot of charity work, you know.’”
“You seem to know an awful lot about this, Virginia.”
“I would hope so. We’ve been at it for over four hundred years.”
“So will you help me? Obviously I wouldn’t be able to put myself up.”
“I would be only too happy to help in normal circumstances, Desmond, but as you know better than anyone, I am no longer a lady of leisure.”
“But you gave me your word.”
“And indeed I will honor my commitment. But if it is to be done properly, Desmond, I would have to spend a great deal of my time making sure you are invited to all the right society balls, asked to make speeches at the appropriate business conferences, while arranging for you to meet — without anyone knowing, of course — certain members of the honors committee, including the duke.”
“Shall we say five hundred pounds a month, to make it happen?”
“Plus expenses. I’m going to have to wine and dine some very influential people.”
“You’ve got a deal, Virginia. I’ll arrange a standing order for five hundred a month to be transferred to your bank today. And as I’ve always believed in incentives, you’ll get a bonus of ten thousand the day Her Majesty’s sword taps me on the shoulder.”
A bonus Virginia accepted she was never going to bank.
When Mellor finally left, Virginia breathed a sigh of relief. It was true that she was an old friend of the duke of Hertford, but she knew only too well that he wasn’t a member of the honors committee. Still, no harm in inviting Peregrine to a cocktail party so she could introduce him to Mellor if it kept his hopes alive, while at the same time ensuring she received a monthly check, plus expenses.
Virginia began to think of other suitable candidates for the honors committee she could also introduce to Mellor. It fascinated her that someone who was normally so shrewd and calculating, when taken out of their natural environment could be so naive and gullible. Mind you, Virginia accepted that she couldn’t afford to overplay her hand.