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“Far too long, and I’ve so much to tell you”

“Why don’t you pop up and spend a few days in London? It will be just like old ti, catch a show, try out one or t restaurants, and even visit Annabel’s, where one just has to be seen, darling”

“Sounds terrific I’ll checkyou back”

Virginia put down the phone and thought about her friend They hadn’t seen much of each other since her last visit to Mablethorpe Hall, when Priscilla’s husband Robert had behaved so badly And worse, since then, Robert had gone over to the other side and joined the ene but had played a part in ensuring that Major Fisher, Virginia’s representative, had been summarily dismissed from the board To make matters worse, he’d insisted that Priscilla accoe to New York, despite Virginia telling her that she had been refused a first-class cabin

When Priscilla returned hoone badly wrong on the first night of the voyage, but Robert refused to confide in her Virginia vowed to get to the bottom of it, but that would have to wait because for the hts, but Bob Bingham

When Priscilla turned up at Virginia’s flat a few days later, she recited a litany of disasters that had taken place during the voyage, including a dreadful dinner she’d had to endure with that frightful social climber, Emma Clifton The food was inedible, the as corked, and the staff ht as well have coinia that on more than one occasion she had put Mrs Clifton firmly in her place

“And did you find out what really happened on the first night?” asked Virginia

“No, but I did hear Robert say to one of the other directors that if the truth ever got out, the chairn and the company could even face bankruptcy That would certainly help with your libel trial”

Virginia hadn’t told her friend that the case was on hold because her extre not much better than fifty-fifty, and her latest bank stateh financial position to risk that However, what she had planned for Bob Bingha to part with at least half of his entire fortune, with a twist And once she’d dealt with hiinia would then turn her attention to Emma Clifton and the Hohaain have to enlist the services of Major Alex Fisher, soton family almost as much as she did

Bob Bingham was not pleased when Priscilla announced she would be staying at their house in The Boltons for a few days so she could spend soinia He sensed that that wo, and it wasn’t too difficult to work out what she ht have in mind

The only good thing about Priscilla being away for a as that it would give him a chance to invite Clive to join him for a few days at Mablethorpe Hall Clive had recently been proer relied on Bob to subsidize hiic death may have been the reason he had become so fiercely independent Bob had seen too little of his son since that dreadful night when Jessica Clifton had taken her own life, and it would never have happened if Priscilla hadn’t invited that conniving woman to spend the weekend with theinia had originally turned down the invitation, but had changed her uests, and that Clive was planning to propose to her that weekend

Bob tried to push that vile woman out of his ton’sSebastian—heof him in those terms—after all, he had already proved himself to be a capable director, and few of the board doubted that, in time, he would become the next chairo by, he was clearly doing well at Kaufman’s, even if his father had hinted that his personal life was a mess

Bob Bingha the past few years, which had see how little they had in common other than Jessica Harry was a renaissance man, a man of letters, whose constant stand on behalf of Anatoly Babakov had captured the public’s iination Bob, on the other hand, was a man of business, of balance sheets, who only ever read a book when he was on holiday Perhaps it was siether, except on those occasions when Gloucestershire played Yorkshire

Bob turned his attention to a paper that was to be presented by Sebastian, setting out why he felt the co in a new luxury liner at the present time