Sons of Fortune

10

‘Are you going to run for president?’ asked Jimmy.

‘Haven’t decided yet,’ Fletcher replied.

‘Everyone assumes you will.’

‘That’s one of the problems.’

‘My father wants you to.’

‘But my mother doesn’t,’ said Fletcher.

‘Why not?’ asked Jimmy.

‘She thinks I should spend my final year concentrating on getting a place at Yale.’

‘But if you become student president, it will only assist your application. It’s me who’s going to find it a struggle.’

‘I’m sure your father has several markers to call in,’ said Fletcher with a grin.

‘What does Annie think?’ asked Jimmy, ignoring the comment.

‘She’s happy to go along with whatever I decide.’

‘Then perhaps I should be the deciding factor.’

‘What do you have in mind?’

‘If you hope to win, you’ll have to appoint me as your campaign manager.’

‘That should certainly lengthen the odds,’ said Fletcher. Jimmy picked up a cushion from the sofa and threw it at his friend. ‘In fact, if you really want to guarantee my victory,’ added Fletcher as he caught it, ‘you should volunteer your services as campaign manager for my closest rival.’

Their sparring was interrupted when Jimmy’s father walked into the room. ‘Fletcher, could you spare me a moment?’

‘Of course, sir.’

‘Perhaps we could have a chat in my study.’ Fletcher quickly rose and followed the senator out of the room. He looked back at Jimmy, but his friend just shrugged his shoulders. He wondered if he had done something wrong.

‘Have a seat,’ said Harry Gates as he took his place behind the desk. He paused before he added, ‘Fletcher, I need a favour.’

‘Anything, sir. I’ll never be able to repay you for all you’ve done for me.’

‘You’ve more than honoured our agreement,’ said the senator. ‘For the past three years, Jimmy has somehow kept his place in the top stream, and he wouldn’t have had a prayer without your continued vigilance.’

‘That’s kind of you to say so, but...’

‘It’s no more than the truth, but all I want for the boy now is to see that he has a fair shot at getting in to Yale.’

‘But how can I help when I’m not even certain of a place myself?’

The senator ignored the comment. ‘Pork barrel politics, my boy.’

‘I’m not sure I understand, sir.’

‘If you become student government president, as I’m confident you will, the first thing you’ll have to do is appoint a vice-president.’ Fletcher nodded. ‘And that could just tip the balance for Jimmy when the admissions office at Yale decides who gets those last few places.’

‘And it’s just tipped the balance for me, sir.’

‘Thank you, Fletcher, I appreciate that, but please don’t let Jimmy know that we’ve had this conversation.’

As soon as he woke the following morning, Fletcher went next door and sat on the end of Jimmy’s bed. ‘This had better be good,’ said Jimmy, ‘because I was dreaming about Daisy Hollingsworth.’

‘Dream on,’ said Fletcher, ‘half the football team are in love with her.’

‘So why did you wake me?’

‘I’ve decided to run for president, and I don’t need a campaign manager who lies in bed all morning.’

‘Was it something my father said?’

‘Indirectly.’ He paused. ‘So who do you think will be my main rival?’

‘Steve Rodgers,’ said Jimmy without hesitation.

‘Why Steve?’

‘He’s a three-letter man, so they’ll try to run him as the popular jock up against the austere academic. You know, Kennedy against Stevenson.’

‘I had no idea you knew what the word austere meant.’

‘No more jokes, Fletcher,’ said Jimmy as he rolled off the bed. ‘If you’re going to beat Rodgers, you’ll have to be prepared for anything and everything they throw at you. I think we ought to begin by having a breakfast meeting with Dad; he always has breakfast meetings before he starts a campaign.’

‘Will anyone bother to stand against you?’ asked Diane Coulter.

‘No one I can’t beat.’

‘What about Nat Cartwright?’

‘Not while it’s known that he’s the principal’s favourite, and if elected will simply carry out his wishes; at least that’s what my supporters are telling everyone.’

‘And don’t let’s forget the way he treated my sister.’

‘I thought it was you who dumped him? I didn’t even realize he knew Tricia.’

‘He didn’t, but that didn’t stop him trying to make a move on her when he came round to the house to see me.’

‘Does anyone else know about this?’

‘Yes, my brother Dan. He caught him in the kitchen with his hand up her skirt. My sister complained bitterly that she just couldn’t stop him.’

‘Did she?’ He paused. ‘Do you think your brother would be willing to back me for president?’

‘Yes, but there’s not much he can do while he’s at Princeton.’

‘Oh yes there is,’ said Elliot. ‘To start with...’

‘Who’s my main rival?’ asked Nat.

‘Ralph Elliot, who else?’ said Tom. ‘He’s been working on his campaign since the beginning of last term.’

‘But that’s against the rules.’

‘I don’t think Elliot has ever cared much about rules, and as he knows you’re far more popular than he is, we can look forward to a dirty campaign.’

‘But I’m not going down that road...’

‘So we’ll have to take the Kennedy route.’

‘What do you have in mind?’

‘You should open your campaign by challenging Elliot to a debate.’

‘He’ll never accept.’

‘Then you win either way. If he does accept, you’ll wipe the floor with him. If he doesn’t, we can play the “he flunked it” card.’

‘So how would you set up such a challenge?’

‘Send him a letter, a copy of which I’ll post on the bulletin board.’

‘But you’re not allowed to post notices without the principal’s permission.’

‘By the time they take it down, most people will have read it, and those that haven’t will want to know what it said.’

‘And by then I’ll have been disqualified.’

‘Not while the principal thinks Elliot might win.’

‘I lost my first campaign,’ said Senator Gates, when he heard Fletcher’s news, ‘so let’s be sure that you don’t make the same mistakes. For a start, who’s your campaign manager?’

‘Jimmy, of course.’

‘Never “of course”; only select someone who you are convinced can do the job, even if you’re not close friends.’

‘I’m convinced he can do the job,’ said Fletcher.

‘Good. Now, Jimmy, you will be of no value to the candidate’ — it was the first time Fletcher thought of himself as the candidate — ‘unless you’re always open and frank with Fletcher, however unpleasant it might be.’ Jimmy nodded. ‘Who’s your main rival?’

‘Steve Rodgers.’

‘What do we know about him?’

‘A nice enough guy, but not a lot between his ears,’ said Jimmy.

‘Except a good-looking face,’ said Fletcher.

‘And several touchdowns last season, if I remember correctly,’ added the senator. ‘So now we know who the enemy is, let’s start working on our friends. First, you must pick an inner circle — six, eight at most. They only need two qualities, energy and loyalty — if they’ve got brains as well, that’s a bonus. How long is the campaign?’

‘Just over a week. School reassembles at nine o’clock on Monday, and the vote takes place on the Tuesday morning of the following week.’

‘Don’t think week,’ said the senator, ‘think hours, 192 of them, because every hour will count.’

Jimmy began making notes.

‘So who’s allowed to vote?’ was the senator’s next question.

‘Every student.’

‘Then make sure you spend as much time with the boys in the lower grades as with your contemporaries. They’ll be flattered that you’re taking so much interest in them. And, Jimmy, get your hands on an up-to-date list of the voters, so that you can be certain to make contact with every one of them before election day. And don’t forget, new boys will vote for the last person who speaks to them.’

‘There are 380 students,’ said Jimmy, unfolding a large sheet of paper on the floor, ‘I’ve marked the ones we already know in red, everyone I feel confident will support Fletcher in blue, new boys in yellow and left the rest blank.’

‘And if you’re in any doubt,’ said the senator, ‘leave them blank, and don’t forget younger brothers.’

‘Younger brothers?’ said Fletcher.

‘I’ve marked them in green,’ said Jimmy. ‘Every younger brother of one of our supporters who is in a lower grade will be appointed a rep. Their only job will be signing up support in their class and reporting back to their brothers.’

Fletcher looked on with admiration. ‘I’m not sure it shouldn’t be you who’s running for president,’ he said. ‘You’re a natural.’

‘No, I’m a natural campaign manager,’ said Jimmy, ‘it’s you who should be president.’

Although the senator agreed with his son’s assessment, he didn’t offer an opinion.

It was six thirty on the first day of term when Nat and Tom stood alone in the parking lot. The first vehicle to come through the gates was the principal’s.

‘Good morning, Cartwright,’ he barked, as he climbed out of his car, ‘from your excess of enthusiasm at this early hour, am I to assume that you’re running for president?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Excellent, and who is your main rival?’

‘Ralph Elliot.’

The principal frowned. ‘Then it will be a fiercely fought competition, because Elliot won’t roll over easily.’

‘True,’ admitted Tom, as the principal disappeared towards his study, leaving the two of them to greet the second car. The occupant turned out to be a terrified new boy, who ran away when Nat approached him, and worse, the third car was full of Elliot supporters, who quickly fanned across the car park, obviously having already been through a dress rehearsal.

‘Damn,’ said Tom, ‘our first team meeting isn’t scheduled until the ten o’clock break. Elliot obviously briefed his team during the vacation.’

‘Don’t worry,’ said Nat, ‘just grab our people as they get out of their cars, and put them to work immediately.’

By the time the last car had disgorged its occupants, Nat had answered nearly a hundred questions and shaken hands with over three hundred boys, but only one fact became clear. Elliot was happy to promise them anything in exchange for their vote.

‘Shouldn’t we be letting everyone know what a sleaze-bag Elliot really is?’

‘What do you have in mind?’ Nat asked.

‘How he cajoles new boys into parting with their allowances?’

‘There’s never been any proof.’

‘Just endless complaints.’

‘If there’re that many, they’ll know where to put their cross, won’t they?’ said Nat. ‘In any case, that’s not the sort of campaign I want to run,’ he added. ‘I’d prefer to assume the voters can make up their own minds which one of us can be trusted.’

‘That’s an original idea,’ said Tom.

‘Well, at least the principal is making it clear that he doesn’t want Elliot to be president,’ said Nat.

‘I don’t think we should tell anyone that,’ said Tom, ‘It may well swing a few more votes to Elliot.’

‘How do you think it’s going?’ asked Fletcher as they walked around the lake.

‘Can’t be sure,’ Jimmy replied. ‘A lot of the upper-mids are telling both camps that they’ll be supporting their candidate, simply because they want to be seen backing the winner. Just be thankful that the vote isn’t on Saturday evening,’ Jimmy added.

‘Why?’ asked Fletcher.

‘Because we play Kent on Saturday afternoon, and if Steve Rodgers scores the winning touchdown, we can kiss goodbye to any chance of you becoming president. It’s just a pity it’s a home game. If you’d been born a year earlier or a year later, it would have been an away match, and the impact would have been negligible. But as it is, every voter will be in the stadium watching the encounter, so pray we lose, or at least that Rodgers has a bad game.’

By two o’clock on Saturday, Fletcher was seated in the stand, prepared for four quarters which would make up the longest hour of his life. But even he couldn’t have predicted the outcome.

‘Damn, how did he manage to pull that off?’ growled Nat.

‘Bribery and corruption would be my bet,’ said Tom. ‘Elliot has always been a useful player, but never good enough to make the school team.’

‘Do you think they’ll risk putting him in the game?’

‘Why not? St George’s often field a weak side, so they could leave him out there for a few minutes once they’re confident it won’t affect the result. Then Elliot will spend the rest of the game running up and down the side lines, waving at the voters, while all we can do is stare down at him from the bleachers.’

‘Then let’s make sure all our workers are in position outside the stadium a few minutes before the game ends, and don’t let anyone see our new hand-held placards until Saturday afternoon. That way Elliot won’t have time to come up with his own.’

‘You’re learning fast,’ said Tom.

‘When Elliot’s your opponent, you’re not left with a lot of choice.’

‘I’m not sure how it will affect the vote,’ said Jimmy, as the two of them ran towards the exit to join up with the rest of the team. ‘At least Steve Rodgers can’t shake hands with everyone as they leave the stadium.’

‘I wonder how long he’ll be in the hospital,’ Fletcher said.

‘Three days is all we need,’ said Jimmy. Fletcher laughed.

Fletcher was delighted to find that his team were already well spread out by the time he joined them, and several boys came up to say they would be supporting him, although it still felt close. He never moved beyond the main exit as he continued to shake hands with any boy over the age of fourteen and under the age of nineteen, including, he suspected, a few supporters from the visiting team. Fletcher and Jimmy didn’t leave until they were sure the stadium was empty of everyone except the groundsmen.

As they walked back to their rooms, Jimmy admitted that no one could have predicted a tie, or that Rodgers would have been on his way to the local hospital before the end of the first quarter.

‘If the vote was tonight he’d win on sympathy. If no one sees him again before Tuesday at nine o’clock, you’ll be the president.’

‘Doesn’t ability to do the job come into the equation?’

‘Of course not, you fool,’ said Jimmy. ‘This is politics.’

When Nat arrived at the game, his placards were to be seen everywhere, and all that the Elliot supporters could do was cry foul play. Nat and Tom couldn’t hide their smiles as they took their places in the bleachers. The smiles broadened when St George’s scored early in the first quarter. Nat didn’t want Taft to lose, but no coach was going to risk putting Elliot on the field while St George’s remained in the lead. And that didn’t change until the final quarter.

Nat shook hands with everyone as they left the stadium, but he knew that Taft’s last-minute victory over St George’s hadn’t helped his cause, even if Elliot had only been able to run up and down the sideline until the last person had left the bleachers.

‘Just be thankful he never got in the game,’ said Tom.

Fletcher was invited to read the lesson in chapel that Sunday morning, making it abundantly clear who the principal would have voted for. During lunch, he and Jimmy visited every dorm, to ask the boys how they felt about the food. ‘A sure vote winner,’ the senator had assured them, ‘even if you can’t do anything about it.’ That evening, they climbed into bed exhausted. Jimmy set the alarm for five thirty. Fletcher groaned.

‘A master stroke,’ said Jimmy as they stood outside assembly the following morning waiting for the boys to go off to their classrooms.

‘Brilliant,’ admitted Fletcher.

‘I’m afraid so,’ said Jimmy. ‘Not that I can complain, because I would have recommended that you do exactly the same thing, given the circumstances.’

The two of them stared across at Steve Rodgers, who was standing on crutches by the exit to the hall, allowing the boys to sign their autographs on his plastered leg.

‘A master stroke,’ repeated Jimmy. ‘It brings a new meaning to the sympathy vote. Perhaps we should ask the question, do you want a cripple for president?’

‘One of the greatest presidents in the history of this country was a cripple,’ Fletcher reminded his campaign manager.

‘Then there’s only one thing for it,’ said Jimmy, ‘you’ll have to spend the next twenty-four hours in a wheelchair.’

Over the final weekend, Nat’s workers tried to project an air of confidence, even though they realized it was too close to call. Neither candidate stopped smiling, until Monday evening, when the school bell struck six.

‘Let’s go back to my room,’ said Tom, ‘and tell stories of the death of kings.’

‘Sad stories,’ said Nat.

The team all crowded into Tom’s little room and swapped anecdotes of the roles they had played in the campaign, and laughed at jokes that weren’t funny, as they waited impatiently to learn the result.

A loud rap on the door interrupted their noisy exuberance. ‘Come in,’ called Tom.

They all stood up the moment they saw who it was standing in the doorway.

‘Good evening, Mr Anderson,’ said Nat.

‘Good evening, Cartwright,’ replied the dean of students formally. ‘As the returning officer in the election for president of student government, I have to inform you that due to the closeness of the result, I will be calling for a recount. Assembly has therefore been postponed until eight o’clock.’

‘Thank you, sir,’ was all Nat could think of saying.

When eight o’clock had struck, every boy was seated in his place. They rose dutifully when the dean of students entered the hall. Nat tried to read any sign of the result from the expression on his face, but even the Japanese would have been proud of Mr Anderson’s inscrutability.

The dean walked to the centre of the stage and invited the assembly to be seated. There was a hush, rarely experienced at a normal gathering.

‘I must tell you,’ began the dean, ‘that this was the closest result in the school’s seventy-five-year history.’ Nat could feel the palms of his hands sweating, as he tried to remain calm. ‘The voting for president of student council was Nat Cartwright, 178, Ralph Elliot, 181.’

Half the gathering leapt to their feet and cheered, while the other half remained seated and silent. Nat rose from his place, walked across to Elliot and offered his outstretched hand.

The new president ignored it.

Although everyone knew the result wouldn’t be announced until nine o’clock, the assembly hall was packed long before the principal made his entrance.

Fletcher sat in the back row, with his head bowed, while Jimmy stared directly in front of him. ‘I should have got up earlier every morning,’ said Fletcher.

‘I should have broken your leg,’ Jimmy responded.

The principal, accompanied by the chaplain, marched down the aisle as if to show God was somehow involved in who became president of student government at Hotchkiss. The principal walked to the front of the stage and cleared his throat.

‘The result of the election for student government president,’ said Mr Fleming, ‘is Fletcher Davenport 207 votes, Steve Rodgers 173 votes. I therefore declare Fletcher Davenport to be president.’

Fletcher immediately walked across and shook hands with Steve, who smiled warmly, looking almost relieved. Fletcher turned round to see Harry Gates standing by the door. The senator bowed respectfully to the new president.

‘You never forget your first election victory,’ was all he said.

They both ignored Jimmy, who was leaping up and down, unable to contain himself.

‘I believe you know my vice-president, sir,’ Fletcher replied.

11

Nat’s mother seemed to be one of the few people who wasn’t disappointed that her son hadn’t been elected president. She felt it would give him more time to concentrate on his work. And if Susan Cartwright could have seen the hours Nathaniel was putting in, she would have stopped worrying. Even Tom found it difficult to prise Nat away from his books for more than a few minutes, unless it was to go on his daily five-mile run. And even when he broke the school cross-country record, Nat only allowed himself a couple of hours off to celebrate.

Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve — it made no difference. Nat remained in his room, head buried in his books. His mother only hoped that when he left to spend a long weekend in Simsbury with Tom, he would take a real break. He did. Nat cut his work load down to two hours in the morning and another two in the afternoon. Tom was grateful that his friend kept him to the same routine, even if he declined the invitation to join him for his daily run. It amused Nat that he could complete the five miles without ever leaving Tom’s estate.

‘One of your many sweethearts?’ asked Nat over breakfast the following morning as his friend tore open a letter.

‘I only wish,’ said Tom. ‘No, it’s from Mr Thompson asking if I want to be considered for a part in Twelfth Night.’

‘And do you?’ asked Nat.

‘No. It’s more your world than mine. I’m a producer by nature, not a performer.’

‘I would have put my name down for a part if I was confident about my Yale application, but I haven’t even completed my independent study.’

‘I haven’t even started mine,’ admitted Tom.

‘Which of the five subjects did you select?’ asked Nat.

‘Control of the lower Mississippi during the Civil War,’ replied Tom. ‘And you?’

‘Clarence Darrow and his influence on the trade union movement.’

‘Yeah, I considered Mr Darrow, but wasn’t sure I could manage five thousand words on the subject. No doubt you’ve already written ten.’

‘No, but I’ve almost finished a first draft, and should have a final copy ready by the time we return in January.’

‘Yale’s deadline isn’t until February; you really ought to consider taking a part in the school play. At least read for the audition. After all, it doesn’t have to be the lead.’

Nat thought about his friend’s suggestion as he buttered himself a piece of toast. Tom was right, of course, but Nat felt it would be just another distraction if he was hoping to win a scholarship to Yale. He glanced out of the window across acres of land and wondered what it must be like to have parents who didn’t have to worry about tuition payments, pocket money, and whether he could get a holiday job during the summer vacation.

‘Do you wish to read for any particular role, Nat?’ asked Mr Thompson as he stared up at the six-foot-two boy with a mop of black hair, whose trousers always seemed to be a couple of inches too short.

‘Antonio, possibly Orsino,’ replied Nat.

‘You’re a natural Orsino,’ said Mr Thompson, ‘but I have your friend, Tom Russell, in mind for that part.’

‘I’m hardly Malvolio,’ said Nat with a laugh.

‘No, Elliot would be my first choice for Malvolio,’ said Thompson with a wry smile. Mr Thompson, like so many others at Taft, wished Nat had become the student government president. ‘But sadly he’s not available, whereas in truth, you are best suited for the role of Sebastian.’

Nat wanted to protest, although when he first read the script he had to admit he thought the part would be a challenge. However, its sheer length would demand hours of learning, not to mention time spent in rehearsals. Mr Thompson sensed Nat’s reservations. ‘I think the time has come for a little bribery, Nat.’

‘Bribery, sir?’

‘Yes, my boy. You see the admissions director at Yale is one of my oldest friends. We studied classics together at Princeton, and he always spends a weekend with me every year. I think I’ll make it the weekend of the school play,’ he paused, ‘that is, if you feel able to play Sebastian.’ Nat didn’t respond. ‘Ah, I see bribery is not enough for someone of your high moral standards, so I shall have to stoop to corruption.’

‘Corruption, sir?’ said Nat.

‘Yes, Nat, corruption. You will have observed that there are three parts in the play for females — the fair Olivia, your twin Viola, and the feisty Maria, not to mention understudies and maidservants, and don’t let’s forget that they all fall in love with Sebastian.’ Nat still didn’t respond. ‘And,’ continued Mr Thompson, revealing his trump card, ‘my opposite number at Miss Porter’s has suggested that I should take a boy over on Saturday to read the male parts while we decide who should audition for the females.’ He paused again. ‘Ah, I see I have finally caught your attention.’

‘Do you believe it’s possible to spend your whole life loving only one person?’ Annie asked.

‘If you’re lucky enough to find the right person, why not?’ responded Fletcher.

‘I suspect that when you go to Yale in the fall you’ll be surrounded by so many bright and beautiful women, I’ll pale by comparison.’

‘Not a chance,’ said Fletcher. He sat down next to her on the sofa and put an arm round her shoulder. ‘And in any case, they’ll quickly discover that I’m in love with somebody else, and once you’re at Vassar, they’ll discover why.’

‘But that won’t be for another year,’ said Annie, ‘and by then...’

‘Shh... haven’t you noticed that every man who meets you is immediately jealous of me?’

‘No, I haven’t,’ she replied honestly.

Fletcher turned to look at the girl he’d fallen in love with when she’d had a flat chest and braces on her teeth. But even then he couldn’t resist that smile, her black hair, inherited from an Irish grandmother, and steel-blue eyes from the Swedish side of the family. But now, four years later, time had added a slim graceful figure and legs that made Fletcher grateful for the new fashion of mini-skirts.

Annie put a hand on Fletcher’s thigh, ‘Do you realize that half the girls in my form are no longer virgins?’ she said.

‘So Jimmy tells me,’ said Fletcher.

‘And he should know.’ Annie paused, ‘I’m seventeen next month, and you’ve never once suggested...’

‘I’ve thought about it many times, of course I have,’ said Fletcher as she moved her body so that his hand touched her breast, ‘but when it happens, I want it to be right for both of us and for there never to be any regrets.’

Annie nestled her head in his shoulder. ‘For me there wouldn’t be any regrets,’ she said, placing a hand on his leg.

He took her in his arms. ‘When are you expecting your parents back?’

‘Around midnight. They’re attending another of those never-ending functions politicians seem to thrive on.’

Fletcher didn’t move as Annie began to unbutton her blouse. When she reached the last button, she slipped it off and let it fall to the floor. ‘Your turn I think,’ she said. Fletcher quickly unbuttoned his shirt and cast it aside. Annie stood up and faced him, amused by the sudden power she seemed to have over him. She unzipped her skirt slowly in the way she had seen Julie Christie do in Darling. Like Miss Christie, she hadn’t bothered with a petticoat. ‘Your turn I think,’ she said again.

Oh my God, thought Fletcher, I daren’t take off my trousers. He slipped off his shoes and socks.

‘That’s cheating,’ said Annie, who had removed her shoes even before Fletcher knew what she had in mind. He reluctantly pulled down his trousers, and she burst out laughing. Fletcher blushed as he looked down at his pants.

‘It’s good to know I can do that to you,’ said Annie.

‘Would it be possible for you to concentrate on the words, Nat?’ asked Mr Thompson, not attempting to disguise his sarcasm. ‘Take it from “But here the lady comes”.’

Even dressed in her school uniform, Rebecca stood out from the rest of the girls Mr Thompson was auditioning. The tall, slim girl with fair hair cascading down her shoulders had an air of self-confidence that captivated Nat, and a smile that made him respond immediately. When she returned his smile, he turned away, embarrassed to have embarrassed her. All he knew about her was her name. ‘What’s in a name,’ he said.

‘Wrong play Nat, try again.’

Rebecca Armitage waited as Nat stumbled through his words, ‘But here the lady comes...’ Rebecca was surprised because when she’d stood at the back of the hall and heard him earlier, he had sounded so totally self-assured. She looked down at her script and read, ‘Blame not this haste of mine. If you mean well, now go with me and with this holy man into the chantry by: there, before him, and underneath that consecrated roof, plight me the full assurance of your faith; that my most jealous and too doubtful soul may live at peace. He shall conceal it while you are willing it shall come to note, what time we will our celebration keep according to my birth. What do you say?’

Nat said nothing.

‘Nat, had you thought of joining in?’ suggested Mr Thompson. ‘So that Rebecca can at least deliver a few more lines? I admit that the adoring look is most effective, and for some might pass as acting, but this is not a mime we’re performing. One or two of the audience might even have come to hear the familiar words of Mr Shakespeare.’

‘Yes, sir; sorry, sir,’ said Nat, returning to the script. ‘I’ll follow this good man, and go with you; and having sworn truth, ever will be true.’

‘Then lead the way, good father; and heavens so shine, that they may fairly note this act of mine.’

‘Thank you, Miss Armitage, I don’t think I need to hear any more.’

‘But she was wonderful,’ said Nat.

‘Ah, you can deliver an entire line without pausing,’ said Mr Thompson. ‘That’s a relief to discover at this late stage, but then I had no idea you wanted to be the director as well as play the lead. However, Nat, I think I have already made up my mind who will play the fair Olivia.’

Nat watched Rebecca as she quickly left the stage. ‘Then what about Viola?’ he persisted.

‘No, if I’ve understood the plot correctly, Nat, Viola is your twin sister, and unfortunately or fortunately Rebecca bears absolutely no resemblance to you.’

‘Then Maria, she’d make a wonderful Maria.’

‘I’m sure she would, but Rebecca is far too tall to play Maria.’

‘Have you thought of playing Feste as a woman?’ asked Nat.

‘No, to be honest, Nat, I hadn’t, partly because I don’t have the time to rewrite the entire script.’

Nat didn’t notice Rebecca slip behind a pillar, trying to hide her embarrassment as he blundered on. ‘What about the maidservant in Olivia’s household?’

‘What about her?’

‘Rebecca would make a wonderful maidservant.’

‘I’m sure she would, but she can’t play Olivia and be her maidservant at the same time. Someone in the audience might notice.’ Nat opened his mouth but didn’t speak. ‘Ah, silence at last, but I feel confident that you will be rewriting the play overnight, in order to ensure that Olivia has several new scenes with Sebastian that Mr Shakespeare hadn’t even considered.’ Nat heard a giggle from behind the pillar. ‘Anyone else you fancy for the maidservant, Nat, or can I carry on with casting the play?’

‘Sorry, sir,’ said Nat. ‘Sorry.’

Mr Thompson leapt on to the stage, smiled at Nat and whispered, ‘If you were considering playing hard to get, Nat, I’m bound to say I think you’ve blown it. You’ve made yourself more available than a whore in a Las Vegas casino. And I feel sure you’ll be interested to learn that next year’s play will be The Taming of the Shrew, which I feel might have been more appropriate. If only you’d been born a year later how different your life would have been. However, good luck with Miss Armitage.’

‘The boy must be expelled,’ said Mr Fleming. ‘No other punishment would be appropriate.’

‘But, sir,’ said Fletcher, ‘Pearson is only fifteen, and he apologized to Mrs Appleyard immediately.’

‘I would have expected nothing less,’ said the chaplain, who until that moment had not offered an opinion.

‘And in any case,’ said the principal, rising from behind his desk, ‘can you imagine the effect on school discipline if it became known that you could get away with swearing at a master’s wife?’

‘And because of the words, “bloody woman”, the boy’s entire future is to be determined?’

‘That’s the consequence of such ill manners,’ said the principal, ‘and at least, this way, one can be certain he’ll learn from it.’

‘But what will he learn?’ asked Fletcher. ‘That you can never afford to make a mistake in life, or that you must never swear?’

‘Why are you defending the boy so vehemently?’

‘In the first lecture I ever heard you deliver sir, you told us that not to stand up and be counted when an injustice had been done was the act of a coward.’

Mr Fleming glanced at the chaplain, who made no comment. He remembered the lecture well. After all, he delivered the same text to every new intake.

‘May I be allowed to ask you an impertinent question?’ asked Fletcher, turning to face the chaplain.

‘Yes,’ said Dr Wade a little defensively.

‘Have you ever wanted to swear at Mrs Appleyard, because I have, several times.’

‘But that’s the point, Fletcher, you showed some self restraint. Pearson didn’t, and therefore he must be punished.’

‘If that punishment is to be expulsion, sir, then I must resign as president of the student government, because the Bible tells us that the thought is as evil as the deed.’

Both men stared at him in disbelief. ‘But why, Fletcher? Surely you realize that if you were to resign it could even affect your chances of being offered a place at Yale?’

‘The type of person who would allow that to influence him isn’t worthy of a place at Yale.’

Both men were so stunned by this remark that neither spoke for some time. ‘Isn’t that a bit extreme, Fletcher?’ the chaplain eventually managed.

‘Not for the boy in question it isn’t, Dr Wade, and I am not willing to stand and watch this student sacrificed on the altar of a woman who gets her kicks from goading pubescent boys.’

‘And you would resign as president to prove your point?’ asked the principal.

‘Not to do it, sir, would be only one step away from what your generation condoned at the time of McCarthy.’

Another long silence followed, before the chaplain said quietly, ‘Did the boy apologize in person to Mrs Appleyard?’

‘Yes, sir,’ said Fletcher, ‘and he followed it up with a letter.’

‘Then perhaps probation for the remainder of the term would be more appropriate,’ suggested the principal, glancing at the chaplain.

‘Along with the loss of all privileges, including weekend leaves, until further notice,’ added Dr Wade.

‘Does that seem to you a fair compromise, Fletcher?’ asked the principal, raising an eyebrow. It was Fletcher’s turn to remain silent. ‘Compromise, Fletcher,’ interjected the chaplain, ‘is something you will have to learn to live with if you hope to become a successful politician.’

Fletcher didn’t respond immediately. ‘I accept your judgement, Dr Wade,’ he eventually said, and, turning to the principal, added, ‘and thank you for your indulgence, sir.’

‘Thank you, Fletcher,’ said Mr Fleming as the student president rose from his place and left the principal’s study.

‘Wisdom, courage and conviction are rare enough in a grown man,’ said the principal quietly as the door closed, ‘but in a child...’

‘Then what is your explanation, Mr Cartwright?’ asked the dean of Yale’s examination board.

‘I don’t have one, sir,’ Nat admitted. ‘It must be a coincidence.’

‘It’s quite a coincidence,’ said the dean of academic affairs, ‘that large sections of your paper on Clarence Darrow are word for word identical to those of another student in your class.’

‘And what’s his explanation?’

‘As he submitted his independent study a week before yours, and it was hand-written, while yours was typed, we haven’t felt it necessary to ask him for an explanation.’

‘Would his name be Ralph Elliot, by any chance?’ asked Nat.

No one on the board commented.

‘How did he manage it?’ asked Tom, when Nat returned to Taft later that evening.

‘He must have copied it out word for word while I was over at Miss Porter’s rehearsing for Twelfth Night.’

‘But he still had to remove the thesis from your room.’

‘That wouldn’t have been difficult,’ said Nat. ‘If it wasn’t on my desk, he would have found it filed under Yale.’

‘But he still took a hell of a risk going into your room when you weren’t there.’

‘Not when you’re the student president. Don’t forget he has the run of the place — no one questions his coming or going. He would easily have had enough time to copy out the text and return the original to my room the same evening without anyone being any the wiser.’

‘So what have the board decided?’

‘Thanks to the principal going overboard on my behalf, Yale has agreed to defer my application for a year.’

‘So Elliot gets away with it once again.’

‘No, he does not,’ said Nat firmly. ‘The principal worked out what must have happened, because Yale have also withdrawn Elliot’s place.’

‘But that only delays the problem for a year,’ said Tom.

‘Happily not,’ said Nat, smiling for the first time. ‘Mr Thompson also decided to step in, and rang the admissions tutor, with the result that Yale have not offered Elliot the chance to reapply.’

‘Good old Thomo,’ said Tom. ‘So what are you planning to do in your year out? Join the Peace Corps?’

‘No, I’m going to spend the year at the University of Connecticut.’

‘Why UConn?’ asked Tom, ‘when you could...’

‘Because it was Rebecca’s first choice.’

12

The president of Yale stared down at a thousand expectant freshmen. In a year’s time, some of them would have found the going too tough and moved on to other universities, while others would have simply given up. Fletcher Davenport and Jimmy Gates sat in the body of the hall and listened intently to every word President Waterman had to say.

‘Do not waste a moment of your time while you are at Yale, or you will regret for the rest of your life not having taken advantage of all this university has to offer. A fool leaves Yale with only a degree, a wise man with enough knowledge to face whatever life throws at him. Seize every opportunity that is offered to you. Do not be frightened of any new challenge, and should you fail, there is no reason to be ashamed. You will learn far more from your mistakes than from your triumphs. Do not be afraid of your destiny. Be afraid of nothing. Challenge every writ, and let it not be said of you, I walked a path but never left an imprint.’

The president of Yale resumed his place after nearly an hour on his feet, and received a prolonged standing ovation. Trent Waterman, who did not approve of such displays, rose and left the stage.

‘I thought you weren’t going to join in the standing ovation?’ said Fletcher to his friend as they filed out of the hall. ‘“Just because everyone else has for the past ten years, doesn’t mean I shall join in the ritual,” if I remember your sentiments correctly.’

‘I admit it, I was wrong,’ said Jimmy. ‘It was even more impressive than my father had assured me it would be.’

‘I feel confident your endorsement will come as a relief to Mr Waterman,’ said Fletcher, as Jimmy spotted a young woman laden with books walking a few paces ahead of them.

‘Seize every opportunity,’ he whispered in Fletcher’s ear. Fletcher wondered whether to stop Jimmy making a complete fool of himself, or just let him find out the hard way.

‘Hi, I’m Jimmy Gates. Would you like me to help you with your books?’

‘What did you have in mind, Mr Gates? Carrying them, or reading them to me?’ replied the woman who didn’t break her stride.

‘I was thinking of carrying them to begin with, and then why don’t we see how it goes from there?’

‘Mr Gates, I have two rules I never break: dating a freshman and dating someone with red hair.’

‘Don’t you think the time has come,’ said Jimmy, ‘to break them both at once? After all, the president did tell us to never be frightened of a new challenge.’

‘Jimmy,’ said Fletcher, ‘I think...’

‘Ah yes, this is my friend Fletcher Davenport, he’s very clever, so he could help you with the reading part.’

‘I don’t think so, Jimmy.’

‘And he’s also very modest, as you can see.’

‘Not a problem you suffer from, Mr Gates.’

‘Certainly not,’ said Jimmy. ‘By the way, what’s your name?’

‘Joanna Palmer.’

‘So you’re obviously not a freshman, Joanna,’ said Jimmy.

‘No, I’m not.’

‘Then you’re the ideal person to help and succour me.’

‘What do you have in mind?’ asked Miss Palmer, as they climbed the steps to Sudler Hall.

‘Why don’t you invite me to supper this evening, and then you can tell me everything I should know about Yale,’ ventured Jimmy just as they came to a halt outside the lecture hall. ‘Hey,’ he said, turning to Fletcher, ‘isn’t this where we’re meant to be?’

‘Yes it is, and I did try to warn you.’

‘Warn me? About what?’ asked Jimmy, as he opened the door for Miss Palmer and followed her into the room, hoping he could sit next to her. The undergraduates immediately stopped talking, which took Jimmy by surprise.

‘I apologize for my friend, Miss Palmer,’ whispered Fletcher, ‘but I can assure you he has a heart of gold.’

‘And the balls to go with it, it would seem,’ Joanna replied. ‘By the way, never let him know, but I was extremely flattered that he thought I might be a freshman.’

Joanna Palmer placed her books on the long desk and turned to face the packed lecture theatre. ‘The French Revolution is the turning point of modern European history,’ she began to a rapt audience. ‘Although America had already removed a monarch,’ she paused, ‘without having to remove his head...’ Her eyes swept the tiered benches as her pupils laughed, before coming to rest on Jimmy Gates. He winked.

They held hands as they walked across the campus to their first lecture. They had become friends during the rehearsals of the play, inseparable in the week of the performance, and had both lost their virginity together during spring vacation. When Nat told his lover that he would not be going to Yale, but joining her at the University of Connecticut, Rebecca felt guilty about how happy the news made her.

Susan and Michael Cartwright liked Rebecca the moment they met her, and their disappointment over Nat not being offered an immediate place at Yale was softened by seeing their son so relaxed for the first time in his life.

The opening lecture in Buckley Hall was on the subject of American literature, and delivered by Professor Hayman. During the summer vacation, Nat and Rebecca had read all the authors on the assigned list — James, Steinbeck, Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Bellow — and then discussed in detail Washington Square, The Grapes of Wrath, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Great Gatsby, and Herzog. So by the time they took their places in the lecture theatre that Tuesday morning, they both felt confident they were well prepared. Within moments of Professor Hayman delivering his opening salvo, they both realized that they had done little more than read the texts. They had not considered the different influences on the authors that birth, upbringing, education, religion and mere circumstance had brought to their work, nor given any thought to the fact that the gift of storytelling was not bestowed on any particular class, colour or creed.

‘Take, for example, Scott Fitzgerald,’ continued the professor, ‘in his short story, “Bernice Bobs Her Hair”...’

Nat looked up from his notes and saw the back of his head. He felt sick. He stopped listening to Professor Hayman’s views on Fitzgerald and continued to stare for some time before the student turned and began talking to his neighbour. Nat’s worst fears were confirmed. Ralph Elliot was not only at the same university, but taking the same course. Almost as if conscious of being stared at, Elliot suddenly turned round. He didn’t acknowledge Nat, as his attention settled on Rebecca. Nat glanced across at her, but she was too busy taking notes on Fitzgerald’s drinking problems during his time in Hollywood to register Elliot’s unsubtle interest.

Nat waited until Elliot had left the lecture theatre before he collected up his books and rose from his place.

‘Who was that who kept turning round and staring at you?’ asked Rebecca, as they strolled over to the dining hall.

‘His name’s Ralph Elliot,’ said Nat. ‘We were both at Taft, and I think he was staring at you, not me.’

‘He’s very good looking,’ said Rebecca with a grin. He reminds me a little of Jay Gatsby. Is he the one Mr Thompson thought would make a good Malvolio?’

‘A natural, I think were Thomo’s exact words.’

Over lunch, Rebecca pressed Nat to tell her more about Elliot, but he said that there wasn’t that much to tell, and continually tried to change the subject. If enjoying Rebecca’s company also meant having to be at the same university as Ralph Elliot, it was something he’d learn to live with.

Elliot didn’t attend the afternoon lecture on the Spanish influence over the colonies, and by the time Nat accompanied Rebecca back to her room that evening, he had almost forgotten the unwelcome presence of his old rival.

The women’s dorms were on south campus, and Nat’s freshman advisor had warned him that it was against the regulations for men to be found in residence after dark.

‘Whoever fixed the regulations,’ said Nat, as he lay next to Rebecca on her single bed, ‘must have thought that students could only make love in the dark.’ Rebecca laughed as she pulled her sweater back on.

‘Which means that during the spring semester you won’t have to go back to your room until after nine o’clock,’ she said.

‘Perhaps the regulations will allow me to stay with you after the summer semester,’ said Nat without explanation.

During his first term, Nat was relieved to discover that he rarely came into contact with Ralph Elliot. His rival showed no interest in cross-country running, acting or music, so it came as a surprise when Nat found him chatting to Rebecca outside the chapel on the last Sunday of term. Elliot quickly walked away the moment he saw Nat approaching them.

‘What did he want?’ asked Nat defensively.

‘Just going over his ideas to improve the student council. He’s running as the freshman representative, and wanted to know if you were thinking of putting your name forward.’

‘No, I’m not,’ said Nat firmly. ‘I’ve had enough of elections.’

‘I think that’s a pity,’ said Rebecca, squeezing Nat’s hand, ‘because I know a lot of our year hope you will run.’

‘Not while he’s in the field,’ said Nat.

‘Why do you hate him so much?’ asked Rebecca. ‘Is it just because he beat you in that silly school election?’ Nat stared across at Elliot and watched him chatting to a group of students — the same insincere smile, and no doubt the same glib promises. ‘Don’t you think it’s possible that he might have changed?’ said Rebecca.

Nat didn’t bother to reply.

‘Right,’ said Jimmy, ‘the first election you can run for, is as freshman representative on the Yale college council.’

‘I thought I’d skip elections during my first year,’ said Fletcher, ‘and just concentrate on work.’

‘You can’t risk it,’ declared Jimmy.

‘And why not?’ asked Fletcher.

‘Because it’s a statistical fact that whoever gets elected to the college council in his first year, is almost certain to end up as president three years later.’

‘Perhaps I don’t want to be president of the college council,’ said Fletcher with a grin.

‘Perhaps Marilyn Monroe didn’t want to win an Oscar,’ said Jimmy, as he produced a booklet from his briefcase.

‘What’s that?’

‘The freshman face book — there’s 1,021 of them.’

‘I see you’ve once again begun the campaign without consulting the candidate.’

‘I had to, because I can’t afford to hang around waiting for you to make up your mind. I’ve done some research and discovered that you have little or no chance of even being considered for the college council unless you speak in the freshman’s debate in the sixth week.’

‘Why’s that?’ asked Fletcher.

‘Because it’s the only occasion when all the frosh come together in one room and are given the chance to listen to any prospective candidate.’

‘So how do you get selected as a speaker?’

‘Depends which side of the motion you want to support.’

‘So what’s the motion?’

‘I’m glad to see you’re finally warming to the challenge, because that’s our next problem.’ Jimmy removed a leaflet from an inside pocket. ‘Resolved: America should withdraw from the Vietnam War.’

‘I don’t see any problem with that,’ said Fletcher, ‘I’d be quite happy to oppose such a motion.’

‘That’s the problem,’ said Jimmy, ‘because anyone who opposes is history, even if they look like Kennedy and speak like Churchill.’

‘But if I present a good case, they might feel I was the right person to represent them on the council.’

‘However persuasive you are, Fletcher, it would still be suicide, because almost everyone on campus is against the war. So why not leave that to some madman who never wanted to be elected in the first place?’

‘That sounds like me,’ said Fletcher, ‘and in any case, perhaps I believe...’

‘I don’t care what you believe,’ interrupted Jimmy. ‘My only interest is getting you elected.’

‘Jimmy, do you have any morals at all?’

‘How could I?’ Jimmy replied. ‘My father’s a politician and my mother sells real estate.’

‘Despite your pragmatism, I still couldn’t get myself to speak in favour of such a motion.’

‘Then you’re doomed to a life of endless study and holding hands with my sister.’

‘Sounds pretty good to me,’ said Fletcher, ‘especially as you seem quite incapable of having a serious relationship with any woman for more than twenty-four hours.’

‘That isn’t Joanna Palmer’s opinion,’ said Jimmy.

Fletcher laughed, ‘And what about your other friend, Audrey Hepburn? I haven’t seen her on campus lately.’

‘Neither have I,’ said Jimmy, ‘but it will only be a matter of time before I capture Miss Palmer’s heart.’

‘In your dreams, Jimmy.’

‘You will in time, apologize, O ye of little faith, and I predict that it will be before your disastrous contribution to the freshman debate.’

‘You won’t change my mind, Jimmy, because if I take part in the debate, it will be to oppose the motion.’

‘You do like to make life difficult for me, don’t you, Fletcher. Well, one thing’s for certain, the organizers will welcome your participation.’

‘Why’s that?’ asked Fletcher.

‘Because they haven’t been able to find anyone half electable who is willing to put the case against withdrawal.’

‘Are you sure?’ asked Nat quietly.

‘Yes, I am,’ replied Rebecca.

‘Then we must get married as soon as possible,’ said Nat.

‘Why?’ asked Rebecca. ‘We live in the Sixties, the age of the Beatles, pot, and free love, so why shouldn’t I have an abortion?’

‘Is that what you want?’ asked Nat in disbelief.

‘I don’t know what I want,’ said Rebecca. ‘I only found out this morning. I need some more time to think about it.’

Nat took her hand. ‘I’d marry you today if you’d have me.’

‘I know you would,’ said Rebecca, squeezing his hand, ‘but we have to face the fact that this decision will affect the rest of our fives. We shouldn’t rush into it.’

‘But I have a moral responsibility to you and our child.’

‘And I have my future to consider,’ said Rebecca.

‘Perhaps we should tell our parents, and see how they react?’

‘That’s the last thing I want to do,’ said Rebecca. ‘Your mother will expect us to get married this afternoon, and my father will turn up on campus with a shotgun under his arm. No, I want you to promise you won’t mention that I’m pregnant to anyone, especially our parents.’

‘But why?’ pressed Nat.

‘Because there’s another problem...’

‘How’s the speech coming on?’

‘Just finished the third draft,’ said Fletcher cheerfully, ‘and you’ll be happy to learn that it’s likely to make me the most unpopular student on campus.’

‘You do like making my task more difficult...’

‘Impossible is my ultimate aim,’ admitted Fletcher. ‘By the way, who are we up against?’

‘Some guy called Tom Russell.’

‘What have you found out about him?’

‘Went to Taft.’

‘Which means that we have a head start,’ said Fletcher with a grin.

‘No, I’m afraid not,’ said Jimmy. ‘I met him at Mory’s last night, and I can tell you he’s bright and popular. I can’t find anyone who doesn’t like him.’

‘Have we got anything going for us?’

‘Yes, he admitted that he’s not looking forward to the debate. He’d rather support another candidate, if the right one came forward. Sees himself as more of a campaign organizer than a leader.’

‘Then perhaps we could ask Tom to join our team,’ said Fletcher. ‘I’m still looking for a campaign organizer.’

‘Funnily enough, he offered me that job,’ said Jimmy.

Fletcher stared at his friend. ‘Did he really?’

‘Yes,’ replied Jimmy.

‘Then I’ll have to take him seriously, won’t I?’ Fletcher paused, ‘Perhaps we should start by going over my speech tonight, then you can tell me if...’

‘Not possible tonight,’ said Jimmy. ‘Joanna’s invited me over to her place for supper.’

‘Ah yes, that reminds me, I can’t make it either. Jackie Kennedy has asked me to accompany her to the Met.’

‘Now you mention it, Joanna did wonder if you and Annie would like to join us for a drink next Thursday. I told her that my sister was coming over to New Haven for the debate.’

‘Are you serious?’ said Fletcher.

‘And if you do decide to join us, please tell Annie not to hang around for too long, because Joanna and I like to be tucked up in bed by ten.’

When Nat found Rebecca’s hand-written note slipped under his door, he ran all the way across campus, wondering what could possibly be that urgent.

When he walked into her room she turned away as he tried to kiss her, and without explanation locked the door. Nat sat by the window, while Rebecca perched herself on the end of the bed. ‘Nat, I have to tell you something that I’ve been avoiding for the past few days.’ Nat just nodded, as he could see that Rebecca was finding it difficult to get the words out. There followed what seemed to him to be an interminable silence.

‘Nat, I know you’ll hate me for this...’

‘I’m incapable of hating you,’ said Nat, now looking directly at her.

She met his gaze but then lowered her head. ‘I’m not sure you’re the father.’

Nat gripped the sides of his chair. ‘How’s that possible?’ he eventually asked.

‘That weekend you went over to Penn for the cross-country meet, I ended up at a party and I’m afraid I drank a little too much.’ She paused again. ‘Ralph Elliot joined us and I don’t remember a great deal after that, except waking up in the morning, and finding him sleeping next to me.’

It was Nat’s turn not to speak for some time. ‘Have you told him that you’re pregnant?’

‘No,’ said Rebecca. ‘What’s the point? He’s hardly spoken to me since.’

‘I’ll kill the bastard,’ said Nat, rising from his chair.

‘I don’t think that will help,’ said Rebecca quietly.

‘It doesn’t change anything,’ said Nat, walking across to take her in his arms, ‘because I still want to marry you. In any case, the odds are far more likely that it’s my child.’

‘But you could never be sure,’ said Rebecca.

‘That’s not a problem for me,’ said Nat.

‘But it’s a problem for me,’ said Rebecca, ‘because there’s something else I haven’t told you...’

The moment Fletcher entered the packed Woolsey Hall he regretted not heeding Jimmy’s advice. He took his place on the bench opposite Tom Russell, who greeted him with a warm smile, as a thousand students began to chant, ‘Hey, hey LBJ, how many kids have you killed today?’

Fletcher looked up at his opponent as he rose from his place to open the debate. Tom was welcomed by the assembled throng with acclamation even before he’d opened his mouth. To Fletcher’s surprise he appeared to be just as nervous as he was, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.

The crowd fell silent the moment Tom began to speak, but he had only delivered two words when it turned to boos. ‘Lyndon Johnson,’ he waited. ‘Lyndon Johnson has told us that it is America’s duty to defeat the North Vietnamese and save the world from creeping communism. I say it’s the president’s duty not to sacrifice one American life on the altar of a doctrine that, given time, will defeat itself.’

Once again the throng erupted, this time into cheers, and it was nearly a minute before Tom could continue. In fact the remainder of his words were punctuated with so many interruptions of approval, that he’d barely delivered half his speech before he came to the end of his allotted time.

The cheers turned to boos the moment Fletcher rose from his place. He had already decided that this was the last public speech he would ever make. He waited for a silence that never came, and when someone shouted, ‘Get on with it,’ he delivered his first faltering words.

‘The Greeks, the Romans and the British have all, in their time, taken on the mantle of world leadership,’ Fletcher began.

‘That’s no reason why we should!’ hollered someone from the back of the hall.

‘And after the break-up of the British Empire following the Second World War,’ continued Fletcher, ‘that responsibility has been passed on to the United States. The greatest nation on the earth.’ A smattering of applause broke out in the hall. ‘We can of course sit back and admit that we are unworthy of that responsibility, or we can offer leadership to millions around the world, who admire our concept of freedom and wish to emulate our way of life. We could also walk away, allowing those same millions to suffer the yoke of communism as it engulfs the free world, or we could support them as they too try to embrace democracy. Only history will be left to record the decision we make, and history must not find us wanting.’

Jimmy was amazed that they had thus far listened with only the occasional interruption, and surprised by the respectful applause Fletcher received when he resumed his place some twenty minutes later. At the end of the debate everyone in the hall recognized that Fletcher had won the argument, even if it was Tom who won the motion by over two hundred votes.

Jimmy somehow managed to look cheerful after the result had been read out to the cheering mob. ‘It’s nothing less than a miracle,’ said Jimmy.

‘Some miracle,’ said Fletcher. ‘Didn’t you notice that we lost by two hundred and twenty-eight votes?’

‘But I was expecting to be beaten by a landslide, so I consider two hundred and twenty-eight to be nothing less than a miracle. We’ve got five days to change the minds of a hundred and fourteen voters, because most frosh accept that you’re the obvious choice to represent them on the student council,’ said Jimmy as they walked out of Woolsey Hall, with several people whispering to Fletcher, ‘Well done’ and ‘Good luck.’

‘I thought Tom Russell spoke well,’ said Fletcher, ‘and more important, he represents their views.’

‘No, he won’t do any more than keep the seat warm for you.’

‘Don’t be too sure of that,’ said Fletcher. ‘Tom might quite like the idea of becoming president.’

‘Not a chance with what I have planned for him.’

‘Dare I ask what you have in mind?’ said Fletcher.

‘I had a member of our team present whenever he gave a speech. During the campaign he made forty-three pledges, most of which he will not be able to keep. After he’s been reminded of that fact twenty times a day, I don’t think his name will be appearing on the ballot paper for president.’

‘Jimmy, have you ever read Machiavelli’s The Prince?’ asked Fletcher.

‘No, should I?’

‘No, don’t bother, he has nothing to teach you. What are you doing for dinner tonight?’ he added, as Annie came across to join them. She gave Fletcher a big hug. ‘Well done,’ she said, ‘your speech was brilliant.’

‘Too bad a couple of hundred others didn’t agree with you,’ said Fletcher.

‘They did, but most of them had decided how they were going to vote long before they entered the hall.’

‘That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to tell him.’ Jimmy turned to Fletcher. ‘My kid sister’s right, and what’s more...’

‘Jimmy, I’ll be eighteen in a few weeks’ time,’ said Annie, scowling at her brother, ‘just in case you haven’t noticed.’

‘I’ve noticed, and some of my friends even tell me that you’re passably pretty, but I can’t see it myself.’

Fletcher laughed. ‘So are you going to join us at Dino’s?’

‘No, you’ve obviously forgotten that Joanna and I invited you both to dinner at her place.’

‘I hadn’t forgotten,’ said Annie, ‘and I can’t wait to meet the woman who’s tied my brother down for more than a week.’

‘I haven’t looked at another woman since the day I met her,’ said Jimmy quietly.

‘But I still want to marry you,’ said Nat, holding on to her.

‘Even if you can’t be sure who the father is?’

‘That’s all the more reason for us to get married, then you’ll never doubt my commitment.’

‘I’ve never doubted it for a moment,’ said Rebecca. ‘or that you’re a good and decent man, but haven’t you considered the possibility that I might not love you enough to want to spend the rest of my life with you?’ Nat let go of her and looked into her eyes. ‘I asked Ralph what he would do if it turned out to be his child, and he agreed with me that I should have an abortion.’ Rebecca placed the palm of her hand on Nat’s cheek. ‘Not many of us are good enough to live with Sebastian, and I’m certainly no Olivia.’ She took her hand away and quickly left the room without another word.

Nat lay on her bed unaware of the darkness setting in. He couldn’t stop thinking about his love for Rebecca, and of his loathing for Elliot. He eventually fell asleep, and woke only when the telephone rang.

Nat listened to the familiar voice and congratulated his old friend when he heard the news.

13

When Nat went to pick up his mail from the student union, he was pleased to find he had three letters: a bumper crop. One of them bore the unmistakable hand of his mother. The second was postmarked New Haven, so he assumed it had to be from Tom. The third was a buff envelope containing his monthly scholarship cheque, which he would bank immediately as his funds were running low.

He walked across to McConaughy and grabbed a bowl of cornflakes and a couple of slices of toast, avoiding the powdered scrambled eggs. He took a vacant seat in the far corner of the room, and tore open his mother’s letter. He felt guilty that he hadn’t written to her for at least two weeks. There were only a few days to go before the Christmas vacation, so he hoped she would understand if he didn’t reply immediately. He’d had a long conversation with her on the phone the day after he had broken up with Rebecca. He hadn’t mentioned her being pregnant or given a particular reason for them breaking up.

My dear Nathaniel — she never called him Nat. If anyone ever read a letter from his mother, Nat reckoned that they would quickly learn everything they needed to know about her. Neat, accurate, informative, caring but somehow leaving an impression of being late for her next appointment. She always ended with the words, Must dash, love Mother. The only piece of real news she had to impart was Dad’s promotion to regional manager, which meant he would no longer have to spend endless hours on the road, but in future would be working in Hartford.

Nat took another spoonful of cereal before he opened the letter from New Haven. Tom’s missive was typed and contained the occasional spelling mistake, probably caused by the excitement of describing his election victory. In his usual disarming way, Tom reported that he had won only because his opponent had made a passionate speech defending America’s involvement in the Vietnam War, which hadn’t helped his cause when it came to the ballot. Nat liked the sound of Fletcher Davenport, and realized that he might well have run up against him had he gone to Yale. He bit into his toast as he continued to read Tom’s letter: I was sorry to hear about your break-up with Rebecca. Is it irreconcilable? Nat looked up from the letter not sure of the answer to that question, although he realized his old friend wouldn’t be at all surprised once he discovered Ralph Elliot was involved.

Nat buttered a second piece of toast and for a moment considered whether a reconciliation was still possible, but quickly returned to the real world. After all, he still planned to go on to Yale just as soon as he’d completed his first year.

Finally Nat turned his attention to the brown envelope and decided he would drop his monthly cheque off at the bank before his first lecture — unlike some of his fellow students, he couldn’t afford to leave banking his meagre funds until the last moment. He slit open the envelope, and was surprised to find that there was no cheque enclosed, just a letter. He unfolded the single sheet of paper, and stared at the contents in disbelief.

Nat placed the letter on the table in front of him, and considered its consequences. He accepted that the draft was a lottery, and his number had come up. Was it morally right to apply for an exemption simply because he was a student, or should he, as his old man had done in 1942, sign up and serve his country? His father had spent two years in Europe with the Eightieth Division before returning home with the Purple Heart. Over twenty-five years later he felt just as strongly that America should be playing a role in Vietnam. Did such sentiments apply only to those uneducated Americans who were given little choice?

Nat immediately phoned home, and was not surprised when his parents had one of their rare disagreements on the subject. His mother was in no doubt that he should complete his degree, and then reconsider his position; the war could be over by then. Hadn’t President Johnson promised as much during the election campaign? His father, on the other hand, felt that though it might have been an unlucky break, it was nothing less than Nat’s duty to answer the call. If everyone decided to burn their draft card, a state of anarchy would prevail, was his father’s final word on the subject.

He next phoned Tom at Yale to find out if he’d received a draft notice.

‘Yes I have,’ said Tom.

‘Did you burn it?’ Nat asked.

‘No, I didn’t go that far, though I know several students who have.’

‘Does that mean you’re going to sign up?’

‘No, I don’t have your moral fibre, Nat. I’m going to take the legal route. My father’s found a lawyer in Washington who specializes in exemption, and he’s pretty confident he can get me deferred, at least until I’ve graduated.’

‘What about that guy who ran against you for freshman rep and felt so strongly about America’s responsibility to those “who wished to participate in democracy” — what decision has he come to?’ asked Nat.

‘I’ve no idea,’ said Tom, ‘but if his name comes up in the ballot, you’ll probably meet up with him in the front line.’

As each month passed, and no buff envelope appeared in his mail slot, Fletcher began to believe that he had been among the fortunate ones that hadn’t made the ballot. However, he had already decided what his reply would be should the slim brown envelope appear.

When Jimmy was called up, he immediately consulted his father, who advised him to apply for an exemption while he was still an undergraduate, but to make it clear that he would be willing to reconsider his position in three years’ time. He also reminded Jimmy that by then there might well be a new president, new legislation and a strong possibility that Americans would no longer be in Vietnam. Jimmy took his father’s advice, and was outspoken when he discussed the moral issue with Fletcher.

‘I have no intention of risking my life against a bunch of Vietcong, who will, in the end, succumb to capitalism, even if they fail in the short term to respond to military superiority.’

Annie agreed with her brother’s views, and was relieved that Fletcher hadn’t received a draft notice. She wasn’t in any doubt how he would respond.

On 5 January 1967 Nat reported to his local draft board.

After a rigorous medical examination, he was interviewed by a Major Willis. The major was impressed; Cartwright scored ninety-two per cent in his pre-induction physical, having spent a morning with young men who came up with a hundred different reasons why he should find them medically unfit to serve. In the afternoon, Nat sat the General Classification Test, and scored ninety-seven per cent.

The following night, along with fifty other inductees, Nat boarded a bus destined for New Jersey. During the slow, interminable journey across the state lines, Nat toyed with little plastic trays of food that made up his boxed lunch, before falling into a fitful sleep.

The bus finally came to a halt at Fort Dix in the early hours of the morning. The would, and would not be, soldiers off-loaded to be greeted by the yells of troop handlers. They were quickly billeted in prefabricated huts, and then allowed to sleep for a couple of hours.

The following morning, Nat rose — he had no choice — at five, and after being given a ‘buzz cut’, was issued with fatigues. All fifty new recruits were then ordered to write a letter to their parents, while at the same time returning every item of civilian origin to their home of record.

During the day, Nat was interviewed by Specialist Fourth Class Jackson, who, having checked through his papers, had only one question, ‘You do realize, Cartwright, that you could have applied for exemption?’

‘Yes, I do, sir.’

Specialist Jackson raised an eyebrow. ‘And having taken advice, you made the decision not to?’

‘I didn’t need to take advice, sir.’

‘Good, then just as soon as you’ve completed your basic training, Private Cartwright, I’m sure you’ll want to apply for officer cadet school.’ He paused. ‘About two in fifty make it, so don’t get your hopes up. By the way,’ he added, ‘you don’t call me sir. Specialist 4th Class will be just fine.’

After years of cross-country running Nat considered himself in good shape, but he quickly discovered that the army had a totally different meaning for the word, not fully explained in Webster’s. And as for the other word — basic — everything was basic: the food, the clothing, the heating, and especially the bed he was expected to sleep on. Nat could only assume that the army were importing their mattresses direct from North Vietnam, so that they could experience the same hardship as the enemy.

For the next eight weeks Nat rose every morning at five, took a cold shower — heat simply didn’t exist in army parlance — was dressed, fed and had his clothes neatly folded on the end of the bed before standing to attention on the parade ground by six a.m. along with all the other members of Second Platoon Alpha Company.

The first person to address him each morning was Drill Sergeant Al Quamo, who always looked so smart that Nat assumed he must have risen at four to press his uniform. And if Nat attempted to speak to anyone else during the next fourteen hours, Quamo wanted to know who and why. The drill sergeant was the same height as Nat, and there the resemblance ended. Nat never stood still long enough to count the sergeant’s medals. ‘I’m your mother, your father, and your closest friend,’ he bellowed at the top of his voice. ‘Do you hear me?’

‘Yes, sir,’ shouted back thirty-six raw recruits from the Second Platoon. ‘You’re my mother, my father and my closest friend.’

Most of the platoon had applied for exemption and been turned down. Many of them considered Nat was crazy to volunteer, and it took several weeks before they changed their minds about the boy from Cromwell. Long before the course had ended, Nat had become the platoon counsellor, letter writer, advisor and confidant. He even taught a couple of the recruits to read. He didn’t choose to tell his mother what they had taught him in return. Half-way through the course, Quamo made him up to squad leader.

At the end of the two-month stint, Nat came top in everything which involved spelling. He also surprised his fellow rookies by beating them all round the cross-country course and although he had never fired a weapon before basic training, he even out-shot the boys from Queens when it came to mastering the M60 machine gun and the M70 grenade launcher. They were more practised in smaller weapons.

It didn’t take eight weeks for Quamo to change his mind about Nat’s chances of making Officer Cadet School. Unlike most of the other ‘sadsacks’ who were destined for ‘Nam, he found that Nat was a born leader.

‘Mind you,’ Quamo warned Nat, ‘a butter bar second lieutenant is just as likely to have his ass blown off as a private soldier, because one thing’s for certain, the VC can’t tell the difference.’ Sergeant Quamo turned out to be right, because only two soldiers were selected to go to Fort Benning. The other was a college boy from third platoon named Dick Tyler.

For the first three weeks at Fort Benning, the main outdoor activity was alongside the black hats. The parachute instructors took their new recruits through their landing falls, first from a thirty-five-foot wall, and later from the dreaded three-hundred-foot tower. Of the two hundred soldiers who began the course, less than a hundred made it through to the next stage. Nat was among the final ten chosen to wear a white helmet during jump week. Fifteen jumps later, and it was his turn to have silver jump wings pinned to his chest.

When Nat returned home for a week’s furlough, his mother hardly recognized the child who had left her three months earlier. He had been replaced by a man, an inch taller and half a stone lighter, with a crew cut that made his father reminisce about his days in Italy.

After the short break, Nat returned to Fort Benning, pulled back on his glistening Corcoran jump boots, threw his barrack bag over his shoulder, and took the short walk from airborne to the other side of the road.

Here he began his training as an infantry officer. Although he rose just as early each morning, he now spent far more of his time in the classroom, studying military history, map reading, tactics and command strategy, along with seventy other would-be officers who were also preparing to be sent to Vietnam. The one statistic no one would talk about was that more than fifty per cent of them could expect to return in a body bag.

‘Joanna’s going to have to face a disciplinary enquiry,’ said Jimmy as he sat on the end of Fletcher’s bed. ‘Whereas it’s me who should be suffering the wrath of the ethics committee,’ he added.

Fletcher tried to calm his friend, but he had never seen him so incensed. ‘Why can’t they understand that it’s not a crime to fall in love?’

‘I think you’ll find that they are more worried about the consequences of it happening the other way round,’ said Fletcher.

‘What do you mean?’ asked Jimmy, looking up.

‘Simply that the administration is genuinely concerned about male teachers taking advantage of young impressionable female undergraduates.’

‘But can’t they tell when it’s genuine?’ asked Jimmy. ‘Anyone can see that I adore Joanna, and she feels the same way about me.’

‘And they might even have turned a blind eye in your case if you both hadn’t made it so public.’

‘I would have thought you of all people would have respected Joanna for her refusal to be disingenuous on the subject,’ said Jimmy.

‘I do,’ said Fletcher, ‘but she’s left the authorities with no option but to respond to that honesty, given the university regulations.’

‘Then it’s the regulations that need changing,’ said Jimmy. ‘Joanna believes as a teacher, you shouldn’t have to hide your true feelings. She wants to make sure that the next generation never have to face the same predicament.’

‘Jimmy, I’m not disagreeing with you, and knowing Joanna, she will have thought about those regulations carefully and also have a strong view on the relevance of rule 17b.’

‘Of course she does, but Joanna isn’t going to become engaged just to let the board off the hook.’

‘That’s some woman you asked if you could carry her books,’ said Fletcher.

‘Don’t remind me,’ Jimmy replied. ‘You know that they’re now cheering her at the beginning and end of every lecture she gives.’

‘So when does the ethics committee convene to make its decision?’

‘Next Wednesday at ten o’clock. It’s going to be a media field day. I just wish my father wasn’t coming up for re-election in the fall.’

‘I wouldn’t worry about your father,’ said Fletcher. ‘My bet is that he’ll have already found a way of turning the problem to his advantage.’

Nat had never expected to come into contact with his commanding officer, and wouldn’t have done so if his mother hadn’t parked her car in the colonel’s reserved space. When Nat’s father spotted the sign COMMANDANT, he suggested she should quickly reverse. Susan reversed a little too quickly, and collided with Colonel Tremlett’s jeep just as he swung in.

‘Oh, God,’ said Nat as he leapt out of the car.

‘I wouldn’t go that far,’ said Tremlett. ‘Colonel will do just fine.’

Nat leapt to attention and saluted as his father surreptitiously checked the commandant’s medals. ‘We must have served together,’ he said, staring at a red and green ribbon among the cluster on his chest. The colonel looked up from studying the dent in his fender. ‘I was with the Eightieth in Italy,’ Nat’s father explained.

‘I hope you manoeuvred those Shermans a damn sight better than you drive a car,’ said the colonel as the two men shook hands. Michael didn’t mention that it was his wife who was driving. Tremlett looked at Nat. ‘Cartwright, isn’t it?’

‘Yes, sir,’ said Nat, surprised that the commanding officer knew his name.

‘Your son looks as though he’s going to top his class when he graduates next week,’ Tremlett said, turning his attention back to Nat’s father. He paused, ‘I may have an assignment in mind for him,’ he added without explanation. ‘Report to my office at eight tomorrow morning, Cartwright.’ The colonel smiled at Nat’s mother, and shook hands once again with his father, before turning back to Nat. ‘And if I can see a dent in that fender when I leave tonight, Cartwright, you can forget your next furlough.’ The colonel winked at Nat’s mother as the boy sprang to attention and saluted again.

Nat spent the afternoon on his knees with a hammer and a pot of khaki paint.

The following morning, Nat arrived at the colonel’s office at seven forty-five, and was surprised to be ushered straight through to see the commandant. Tremlett pointed to a chair on the other side of his desk.

‘So you’ve stood up and been counted, Nat,’ were the colonel’s first words as he glanced down at his file. ‘What do you want to do next?’

Nat looked across at Colonel Tremlett, a man with five rows of ribbons on his chest. He’d seen action in Italy and Korea and had recently returned from a tour of duty in Vietnam. His nickname was the terrier, because he enjoyed getting so close to the enemy that he could bite their ankles. Nat responded to his question immediately. ‘I expect to be among those posted to Vietnam, sir.’

‘It’s not necessary for you to serve in the Asian sector,’ said his CO. ‘You’ve proved your point, and there are several other postings I can recommend, ranging from Berlin to Washington DC, so that once you’ve completed your two years, you can return to university.’

‘That rather defeats the object, doesn’t it, sir?’

‘But it’s almost unknown to send an enlisted officer to ‘Nam,’ said the CO, ‘especially one of your calibre.’

‘Then perhaps the time has come for someone to break the mould. After all, that’s what you keep reminding us leadership is all about.’

‘What if I asked you to complete your service as my staff officer, then you could assist me here at the academy with the next intake of rookies?’

‘So that they can all go off to Vietnam and get themselves killed?’ Nat stared across the table at his CO. He immediately regretted over-stepping the mark.

‘Do you know who the last person was who sat there and told me he was determined to go to ‘Nam, and nothing I could say would change his mind?’

‘No, sir.’

‘My son, Daniel,’ replied Tremlett, ‘and on that occasion I had no choice but to accept his decision.’ The colonel paused, glancing at a photo on his desk that Nat couldn’t see. ‘He survived for eleven days.’

‘Woman lecturer seduces senator’s son‘, screamed the banner headline in the New Haven Register.

‘That’s a bloody insult,’ said Jimmy.

‘What do you mean?’ asked Fletcher.

‘I seduced her.’

When Fletcher stopped laughing, he continued to read the front page article:

Fletcher looked up. ‘How has your father taken it?’

‘Tells me he’ll win by a landslide,’ said Jimmy. ‘All the women’s rights groups are backing Joanna, and all the men think I’m the coolest thing since Dustin Hoffman’s Graduate. Dad also believes that the committee will be left with no choice but to reverse their decision long before term ends.’

‘And if they don’t?’ asked Fletcher. ‘What chance is there of Joanna being offered another job?’

‘That’s the least of her problems,’ Jimmy replied, ‘because the phone hasn’t stopped ringing since the committee announced their decision. Both Radcliffe, where she did her undergraduate degree, and Columbia, where she completed her PhD, have offered her jobs, and that was before the opinion poll on the Today Show reported that eighty-two per cent of their viewers thought she should be reinstated.’

‘So what does she plan to do next?’

‘Appeal, and my bet is that the committee won’t be able to ignore public opinion.’

‘But where does that leave you?’

‘I still want to marry Joanna, but she won’t hear of it until she knows the result of her arbitration. She refuses to become engaged in case it influences the committee in her favour. She’s determined to win the case on its merits, not on public sentiment.’

‘That’s a remarkable woman you’ve got yourself involved with,’ said Fletcher.

‘I agree,’ said Jimmy. ‘And you only know the half of it.’

14

Lt Nat Cartwright had been stencilled on the door of his little office at MACV headquarters even before he’d arrived in Saigon. It quickly became clear to Nat that he was to be desk-bound for his entire watch, not even allowed to discover where the front fine was. On arrival, he did not join his regiment in the field, but was assigned to Combat Service Support. Colonel Tremlett’s dispatches had obviously landed in Saigon long before he had.

Nat was described on the daily manifest as a quartermaster, which allowed those above him to pile up the paperwork, and those below him to take their time carrying out his orders. They all seemed to be involved in the plot, a plot that resulted in Nat spending every working hour filling in regulation forms for items as varied as baked beans and Chinook helicopters. Seven hundred and twenty-two tons of supplies were flown into the capital every week, and it was Nat’s duty to see they reached the front line. In any one month, he handled over nine thousand items. Everything managed to get there except him. He even resorted to sleeping with the commanding officer’s secretary, but quickly discovered that Mollie had no real influence over her boss, although he did find out about her considerable expertise in unarmed combat.

Nat began leaving the office later and later each evening, and even began to wonder if he was in a foreign country. When you have a Big Mac and Coke for lunch, a Kentucky Fried Chicken with a Budweiser for dinner, and return to the officers’ quarters every evening to watch the ABC News and reruns of 77 Sunset Strip, what proof is there that you ever left home?

Nat made several surreptitious attempts to join his regiment in the front line, but he came to realize that Colonel Tremlett’s influence permeated everywhere; his applications would land back on his desk a month later, rubber-stamped: Refused; re-apply in one month.

Whenever Nat requested an interview to discuss the problem with a field officer, he never managed to see anyone above the rank of staff major. On each occasion, a different officer would spend half an hour trying to convince Nat that he was doing a valuable and worthwhile job in requisition. His combat file was the thinnest in Saigon.

Nat was beginning to realize that his stand on ‘a matter principle’ had served no purpose. In a month’s time Tom would be starting his second year at Yale, and what did he have to show for his efforts other than a crew cut and an inside knowledge of how many paper clips the army required in Vietnam in any one month?

Nat was sitting in his office, preparing for the new intake of rookies due to report the following Monday, when all that changed.

Accommodation, clothing and travel documents had kept him occupied all day and well into the evening. Urgent was stamped on several of them, as the CO always wanted to be fully briefed on the background of any new intake before they landed in Saigon. Nat hadn’t noticed how long the task had taken, and when he had completed the final form, he decided to drop them off in the adjutant’s office before grabbing something to eat in the officers’ mess.

As he strolled past the ops room, he experienced a surge of anger; all the training he had been put through at Fort Dix and Fort Benning had been a complete waste of time. Although it was nearly eight o’clock, there were still a dozen or so operatives, some of whom he recognized, manning the phones and updating a large operational map of North Vietnam.

On his way back from the adjutant’s office, Nat dropped into the ops room to see if anyone was free to join him for dinner. He found himself listening to the troop movements of the Second Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment. He would have slipped back out and gone to the mess alone if it hadn’t been his own regiment. The Second Battalion was facing a barrage of mortar fire from the Vietcong and was holed up on the wrong side of the Dyng river, defending itself from a further onslaught. The red phone on the desk in front of Nat began to ring insistently. Nat didn’t move a muscle.

‘Don’t just stand there, lieutenant, pick it up and find out what they want,’ demanded the operations officer. Nat quickly obeyed the order.

‘Mayday, Mayday, this is Captain Tyler, do you read me?’

‘I do, captain, this is Lieutenant Cartwright. How can I help, sir?’

‘My platoon has been ambushed by Victor Charlie just above the Dyng River, grid reference SE42 NNE71. I need a flight of Hueys with full medical back-up. I have ninety-six men, eleven of them are already down, three dead, eight injured.’

A staff sergeant came off another phone. ‘How do I reach emergency rescue?’ asked Nat.

‘Contact Blackbird base at the Eisenhower field. Pick up the white phone and give the officer of the watch the grid reference.’

Nat grabbed the white phone, and a sleepy voice answered.

‘This is Lieutenant Cartwright. We have a Mayday call. Two platoons trapped on the north side of the Dyng river, grid reference SE42 NNE71; they’ve been ambushed and require immediate assistance.’

‘Tell them we’ll be off the ground and on our way in five minutes,’ said a voice now fully alert.

‘Can I join you?’ asked Nat, cupping his hand over the mouthpiece, expecting the inevitable rejection.

‘Are you authorized to fly in U.H.I.s?’

‘Yes I am,’ lied Nat.

‘Any parachute experience?’

‘Trained at Fort Benning,’ said Nat, ‘sixteen jumps at six hundred feet from S-123s, and in any case, it’s my regiment out there.’

‘Then if you can get here in time, Lieutenant, be my guest.’

Nat replaced the white phone and returned to the red one. ‘They’re on their way, captain,’ was all he said.

Nat ran out of the ops room and into the parking lot. A duty corporal was dozing behind the wheel of a jeep. Nat leapt in beside him, banged the palm of his hand on the horn and said, ‘Blackbird base in five minutes.’

‘But that’s about four miles away, sir,’ said the driver.

‘Then you’ll have to get moving, won’t you, Corporal,’ shouted Nat.

The corporal switched on the engine, threw the jeep into gear, and accelerated out of the parking lot, lights full on, leaving the palm of one hand on the horn and the other on the steering wheel. ‘Faster, faster,’ repeated Nat, as those who were still on the streets of Saigon after curfew leapt out of their way along with several startled chickens. Three minutes later, Nat spotted a dozen Huey helicopters perched on the airfield up ahead. The blades on one of them were already rotating.

‘Put your foot down,’ Nat repeated.

‘It’s already touching the floor, sir,’ replied the corporal as the gates of the airfield came into sight. Nat counted again: seven of the helicopters now had their blades whirring.

‘Shit,’ he said as the first one took off.

The jeep screeched to a halt at the gates to the compound, where an MP asked to see their identity cards.

‘I have to be on one of those choppers in under a minute,’ shouted Nat passing over his papers. ‘Can’t you speed it up?’

‘Just doing my job, sir,’ said the MP as he checked both men’s papers.

Once both identity cards had been handed back, Nat pointed to the one helicopter whose blades were not yet rotating, and the corporal shot off towards it, skidding to a halt by an open door, just as its blades began to turn.

The pilot looked down and grinned, ‘You only just made it, Lieutenant,’ he said. ‘Climb aboard.’ The helicopter had lifted off even before Nat had been given a chance to click on his safety harness. ‘You want to hear the bad news, or the bad news?’ asked the pilot.

‘Try me,’ said Nat.

‘The rule in any emergency is always the same. Last off the ground is the first to land on enemy territory.’

‘And the bad news?’

‘Will you marry me?’ asked Jimmy.

Joanna turned and looked at the man who had brought her more happiness in the past year than she could ever have imagined possible. ‘If you still want to ask me the same question on the day you graduate, freshman, my reply will be yes, but today the answer is still no.’

‘But why? What could have possibly changed in a year or two’s time?’

‘You’ll be a little older, and hopefully even a little wiser,’ replied Joanna with a smile. ‘I’m twenty-five and you’re not yet twenty.’

‘What difference can that make if we want to spend the rest of our lives together?’

‘Just that you might not feel that way when I’m fifty and you’re forty-five.’

‘You’ve got it all wrong,’ said Jimmy. ‘At fifty you’ll be in your prime, and I’ll be a debauched husk, so you’d better grab me while I’ve still got some energy left.’

Joanna laughed. ‘Try not to forget, freshman, that what we’ve been through during the past few weeks may also be affecting your judgement.’

‘I don’t agree. I believe the experience can only have strengthened our relationship.’

‘That’s possible,’ said Joanna, ‘but in the long run, you should never make an irreversible decision on the back of good or bad news, because it’s just possible that one of us will feel differently when this all blows over.’

‘Do you feel differently?’ asked Jimmy quietly.

‘No, I don’t,’ said Joanna firmly, as she touched his cheek. ‘But my parents have been married for nearly thirty years, and my grandparents lived to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary, so when I get married I want it to be for life.’

‘All the more reason for us to get married as quickly as possible,’ said Jimmy. ‘After all, I’m going to have to live to the age of seventy if we hope to celebrate our golden wedding.’

Joanna laughed. ‘I’ll bet your friend Fletcher would agree with me.’

‘You could be right, but you’re not marrying Fletcher. In any case, my bet is that he and my sister will be together for at least fifty years.’

‘Freshman, I couldn’t love you any more if I wanted to, but remember that I’ll be at Columbia next fall, and you’ll be still at Yale.’

‘But you can still change your mind about taking that job at Columbia.’

‘No, it was only public opinion that forced the board to reverse their decision. If you’d seen the look on their faces when they delivered their verdict, you’d have realized they couldn’t wait to see the back of me. We’ve made our point, freshman, so I think it would be better for everyone if I moved on.’

‘Not everyone,’ said Jimmy quietly.

‘Because once I’m no longer around to haunt them, they’re going to find it far easier to amend the rules,’ said Joanna, ignoring his comment. ‘In twenty years’ time, students will never believe such a ridiculous regulation even existed.’

‘Then I’ll have to get myself a commuter ticket to New York, because I’m not going to let you out of my sight.’

‘I’ll be at the station to meet you, freshman, but while I’m away, I hope you’ll take out other women. Then, if you still feel the same way about me on the day you graduate, I’ll be happy to say yes,’ she added as the alarm went off.

‘Hell,’ said Jimmy, as he leapt out of bed, ‘can I use the bathroom first, because I’ve a nine o’clock lecture, and I don’t even know what the subject is.’

‘Napoleon and his influence on the development of American law,’ said Joanna.

‘I thought you told us that American law was more influenced by the Romans and the English than any other nation?’

‘Half a mark, freshman, but you’ll still need to attend my nine o’clock lecture if you hope to find out why. By the way, do you think you could do two things for me?’

‘Only two?’ said Jimmy as he turned on the shower.

‘Could you stop staring at me like a lost puppy whenever I give a lecture?’

Jimmy stuck his head back round the door, ‘No,’ he said, as he watched Joanna slip out of her nightie. ‘What’s the second?’

‘Well, could you at least look interested in what I’m saying, and perhaps even take the occasional note?’

‘Why should I bother to take notes when it’s you who grades my papers?’

‘Because you won’t be pleased with the grade I’ve given your latest effort,’ said Joanna, as she joined him in the shower.

‘Oh, and I was hoping for an A for that particular masterpiece,’ said Jimmy as he began soaping her breasts.

‘Do you by any chance recall who you suggested was the biggest influence on Napoleon?’

‘Josephine,’ said Jimmy without hesitation.

‘That might even have been the correct answer, but it isn’t what you wrote in your essay.’

Jimmy stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel. ‘What did I write?’ he asked, turning to face her.

‘Joanna.’

Within minutes, all twelve helicopters were flying in a V formation. Nat looked behind him at the two rear gunners, who were staring intently out into the black cloudless night. He slipped on a pair of earphones and listened to the flight lieutenant.

‘Blackbird One to group, we’ll be out of allied air space in four minutes, then I anticipate an ETA of twenty-one hundred hours.’

Nat found himself sitting bolt upright as he listened to the young pilot. He glanced out of a side window at stars that would never be seen on the American continent. He could feel the adrenalin pumping through his body as they flew nearer to the enemy lines. At last he felt he was part of this damn man’s war. His only surprise was that he sensed no fear. Perhaps that would come later.

‘We’re moving into enemy territory,’ said the flight lieutenant as if he were crossing a busy road. ‘Are you receiving me, ground leader?’

There was a crackling on the line before a voice said, ‘I hear you, Blackbird One, what’s your position?’ Nat recognized the southern drawl of Captain Dick Tyler.

‘We’re approximately fifty miles south of you.’

‘Copy that, expect you to rendezvous in fifteen minutes.’

‘Roger. You won’t see us until the last moment, because we’re keeping all our external lights off.’

‘Copy that,’ came back the same drawl.

‘Have you identified a possible landing spot?’

‘There’s a small piece of sheltered land on a ridge just below me,’ replied Tyler, ‘but it will only take one helicopter at a time, and because of the rain, not to mention the mud, landing could be a hell of a problem.’

‘What’s your current position?’

‘I’m still at my same grid reference just north of the Dyng River.’ Tyler paused. ‘And I’m fairly sure that the VC have begun crossing the river.’

‘How many men do you have with you?’

‘Seventy-eight.’ Nat knew that the full complement of two platoons was ninety-six. ‘And how many bodies?’ asked the flight lieutenant, as if he were asking how many eggs the captain wanted for breakfast.

‘Eighteen.’

‘OK, be ready to put six men and two bodies into each chopper, and make sure you’re able to climb on board the moment you see me.’

‘We’ll be ready,’ said the captain. ‘What time do you have?’

‘Twenty thirty-three,’ said the flight lieutenant.

‘Then at twenty forty-eight, I’ll put up one red flare.’

‘Twenty forty-eight, one red flare,’ repeated the flight lieutenant, ‘Roger and out.’

Nat was impressed by how calm the flight lieutenant appeared to be when he, his co-pilot and both rear gunners could be dead in twenty minutes. But as he had been reminded so often by Colonel Tremlett, more lives are saved by calm men than brave ones. No one spoke for the next fifteen minutes. It gave Nat time to think about the decision he’d made; would he also be dead in twenty minutes?

Nat then endured the longest fifteen minutes of his life, staring out across acres of dense jungle lit only by a half moon while radio silence was maintained. He looked back at the rear gunners as the chopper skimmed above the tree line. They were already clasping their guns, thumbs on the buttons, alert for any trouble. Nat was looking out of a side window when suddenly a red flare shot high into the sky. He couldn’t help thinking that he would have been having coffee in the mess around now.

‘This is Blackbird One to flight,’ said the pilot, breaking radio silence. ‘Don’t switch on your under-belly lights until you’re thirty seconds from rendezvous, and remember, I’m going in first.’

A green tracer of bullets shot in front of the cockpit, and the rear gunners immediately returned fire.

‘The VC have identified us,’ said the flight leader crisply. He dipped his helicopter to the right and Nat saw the enemy for the first time. The VC were advancing up the hill, only a few hundred yards away from where the chopper would try to land.

Fletcher read the article in the Washington Post. It was an heroic episode that had caught the imagination of the American public in a war no one wanted to know about. A group of seventy-eight infantrymen, cornered in the North Vietnamese jungle, easily outnumbered by the Vietcong, had been rescued by a fleet of helicopters that had flown over dangerous terrain, unable to land while encountering enemy fire. Fletcher studied the detailed diagram on the opposite page. Flight Lieutenant Chuck Philips had been the first to swoop down and rescue half a dozen trapped men. He had hovered only a few feet above the ground while the rescue took place. He hadn’t noticed that another officer, Lieutenant Cartwright, had leapt off the aircraft just as he dipped his nose and rose back up into the sky to allow the second helicopter to take his place.

Among the bodies on the third helicopter was that of the officer in command, Captain Dick Tyler. Lieutenant Cartwright had immediately assumed command, and taken over the counter-attack while at the same time coordinating the rescue of the remaining men. He was the last person to leave the battlefield and climb on board the remaining rescue helicopter. All twelve helicopters headed back to Saigon, but only eleven landed at Eisenhower airfield.

Brigadier General Hayward immediately dispatched a rescue party, and the same eleven pilots and their crews volunteered to go in search of the missing Huey, but despite making repeated sorties into enemy territory, they could find no sign of Blackbird Twelve. Hayward later described Nat Cartwright — an enlisted man, who had left the University of Connecticut in his freshman year to sign up — as an example to all Americans of someone who, in Lincoln’s words, had given ‘the last full measure of devotion’. ‘Alive or dead, we’ll find him,’ vowed Hayward.

Fletcher scoured every paper for articles that mentioned Nat Cartwright after reading a profile that revealed he had been born on the same day, in the same town and in the same hospital.

Nat leapt off the first helicopter as it continued to hover a few feet above the ground. He assisted Captain Tyler as he sent back the first group to board the Huey while a wave of bullets and mortars shrieked across the nose cone.

‘You take over here,’ said Tyler, ‘while I go back and organize my men. I’ll send up half a dozen at a time.’

‘Go,’ shouted Nat as the first helicopter clipped to the left before ascending into the sky. As the second helicopter flew in, despite being under constant fire, Nat calmly organized the next group to take their place on board. He glanced down the hill to see Dick Tyler still leading his men in a rearguard action while at the same time giving orders for the next group to join Nat. When Nat turned back, the third chopper was dropping into place to hover above the small square of muddy ground. A staff sergeant and five soldiers ran up to the side of the helicopter and began to clamber on board.

‘Shit,’ said the staff sergeant looking back, ‘the captain’s hit.’

Nat turned to see Tyler lying face down in the mud, two soldiers lifting him up. They quickly carried his body towards the waiting helicopter.

‘Take over here, sergeant,’ said Nat, and then ran down towards the ridge. He grabbed the captain’s M60, took cover and began firing at the advancing enemy. Somehow he selected six more men to run up the hill and join the fourth helicopter. He was only on that ridge for about twenty minutes, as he continued to try and repel the waves of advancing VC, while his own support group became fewer and fewer because he kept sending them up the hill to the safety of the next helicopter.

The last six men on that ridge didn’t retreat until they saw Blackbird Twelve swoop in. As Nat finally turned and began to run up the hill, the bullet ripped into his leg. He knew he should have felt pain, but it didn’t stop him running as he had never run before. When he reached the open door of the aircraft, firing as he ran, he heard the staff sergeant say, ‘For fuck’s sake, sir, get your ass on board.’

As the staff sergeant yanked him up, the helicopter dipped its nose and lurched starboard, throwing Nat across the floor before swinging quickly away.

‘Are you OK?’ asked the skipper.

‘I think so,’ gasped Nat, finding himself lying across the body of a private soldier.

‘Typical of the army, can’t even be sure if they’re still alive. With luck and a tail wind,’ he added, ‘we should be back in time for breakfast.’

Nat stared down at the body of the soldier, who had stood by his side only moments before. His family would now be able to attend his burial, rather than having to be informed that he had been left to an unceremonious death in an unceremonious land.

‘Christ Almighty,’ he heard the flight lieutenant say.

‘Problem?’ Nat managed.

‘You could say that. We’re losing fuel fast; the bastards must have hit my fuel tank.’

‘I thought these things had two fuel tanks,’ said Nat.

‘What do you imagine I used on the way out, soldier?’

The pilot tapped the fuel gauge and then checked his milometer. A flashing red light showed he had less than thirty miles left before he would be forced to put down. He turned around to see Nat, still lying on top of the dead soldier as he clung to the floor. ‘I’m going to have to look for somewhere to land.’

Nat stared out of an open door, but all he could see was acres of dense forest.

The pilot switched on all his lights, searching for a break in the trees, and then Nat felt the helicopter shudder. ‘I’m going down,’ said the pilot, sounding just as calm as he had done throughout the whole operation. ‘I guess we’ll have to postpone breakfast.’

‘Over to your right,’ shouted Nat as he spotted a clearing in the forest.

‘I see it,’ said the pilot as he tried to swing the helicopter towards the open space, but the three-ton juggernaut just wouldn’t respond. ‘We’re going down, whether we like it or not.’

Nat thought of his mother and felt guilty that he hadn’t replied to her latest letter, and then of his father, who he knew would be so proud of him, of Tom and his triumph of being elected to the Yale student council — would he in time become president? And of Rebecca, whom he still loved and feared he always would. As he clung to the floor, Nat suddenly felt very young; he was, after all, still only nineteen. He discovered some time later that the flight lieutenant, known as Blackbird Twelve, was only a year older.

As the helicopter blades stopped whirring and the aircraft plummeted towards the trees, the staff sergeant spoke, ‘Just in case we don’t meet again, sir, my name’s Speck Foreman, it’s been an honour to know you.’

They shook hands, as one does at the end of any game.

Fletcher stared at the picture of Nat on the front page of the New York Times below the headline ‘AN AMERICAN HERO‘. A man who had signed up the moment he’d received the draft notice, although he could have cited three different reasons for claiming exemption. He’d been promoted to lieutenant and later, as a requisition officer, he’d taken command of an operation to rescue a stranded platoon on the wrong side of the Dyng River. No one seemed to be able to explain what a requisition officer was doing on a helicopter during a front-line operation.

Fletcher knew he would spend the rest of his life wondering what decision he would have made if that buff envelope had ended up in his mailbox, a question that could only be properly answered by those who had been put to the test. But even Jimmy conceded that Lieutenant Cartwright must have been a remarkable man. ‘If this had happened a week before the vote,’ he told Fletcher, ‘you might even have beaten Tom Russell — it’s all in the timing.’

‘No, I wouldn’t,’ said Fletcher.

‘Why not?’ asked Jimmy.

‘That’s the weird thing,’ Fletcher replied. ‘He turns out to be Tom’s closest friend.’

A fleet of eleven helicopters had returned to search for the missing men, but all they could come up with a week later were the remains of an aircraft that must have exploded the moment it hit the trees. Three bodies had been identified, one of them Flight Lieutenant Carl Mould’s, but despite an extensive search of the area, no trace could be found of Lieutenant Cartwright or Staff Sergeant Speck Foreman.

Henry Kissinger, the national security advisor, asked the nation to both mourn and honour men who exemplified the courage of every fighting soldier at the front.

‘He shouldn’t have said mourn,’ remarked Fletcher.

‘Why not?’ asked Jimmy.

‘Because Cartwright’s still alive.’

‘What makes you so sure of that?’

‘I don’t know how I know,’ Fletcher replied, ‘but I promise you, he’s still alive.’

Nat couldn’t recall hitting the trees, or being thrown from the helicopter. When he eventually woke, the blazing sun was burning down on his parched face. He lay there, wondering where he was, and then the memory of that dramatic hour came flooding back.

For a moment a man who wasn’t even sure there was a God prayed. Then he raised his right arm. It moved like an arm should move, so he wiggled the fingers, all five of them. He lowered the arm and raised the left one. It too obeyed the telegraphed message from his brain, so he wiggled his fingers and, once again, all five of them responded. He lowered the arm and waited. He slowly raised his right leg and carried out the same exercise with the toes. He lowered the leg before raising the other one, and that’s when he felt the pain.

He turned his head from side to side, and then placed the palms of his hands on the ground. He prayed again and pressed down on his hands to push himself giddily up. He waited for a few moments in the hope that the trees would stop spinning, and then tried to stand. Once he was on his feet he tentatively placed one foot in front of the other, as a child would do, and as he didn’t fall over, he tried to move the other one in the same direction. Yes, yes, yes, thank you, yes, and then he felt the pain again, almost as if until that moment he had been anaesthetized.

He fell to his knees, and examined the calf of his left leg where the bullet had torn straight through. Ants were crawling in and out of the wound, oblivious to the fact that this human thought he was still alive. It took Nat some time to remove them one by one, before binding his leg with a sleeve of his shirt. He looked up to see the sun retreating towards the hills. He only had a short time to discover if any of his colleagues had survived.

He stood and turned a complete circle, only stopping when he spotted smoke coming from the forest. He began to limp towards it, vomiting when he stumbled across the charred body of the young pilot, whose name he didn’t know, the jacket of his uniform hanging from a branch. Only the lieutenant’s bars on his epaulette indicated who it had been. Nat would bury him later, but for now he had a race with the sun. It was then that he heard the groan.

‘Where are you?’ shouted Nat. The groan went up a decibel. Nat swung round to see the massive frame of Staff Sergeant Foreman lodged in the trees, only a few feet above the wreckage. As he reached the man, the groan rose yet another decibel. ‘Can you hear me?’ asked Nat. The man opened and closed his eyes as Nat lowered him on to the ground. He heard himself saying, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll get you home,’ like some schoolboy hero from the pages of a comic book. Nat removed the compass from the staff sergeant’s belt, looked up at the sun, and then he spotted an object in the trees. He would have cheered if only he could have thought of some way of retrieving it. Nat dragged himself over to the base of the tree. He somehow jumped up and down on one foot as he grabbed at a branch and shook it, hoping to dislodge its load. He was about to give up when it shifted an inch. He tugged at the branch even more vigorously, and then it moved again and suddenly, without warning, came crashing down. It would have landed on Nat’s head if he hadn’t quickly fallen to one side. He couldn’t jump.

Nat rested for a moment, before slowly lifting the staff sergeant up and gently placing him on the stretcher. He then sat on the ground and watched the sun disappear behind the highest tree, having completed its duty for the day in that particular land.

He had read somewhere about a mother who had kept her child alive after a car crash by talking to him all through the night. Nat talked to the staff sergeant all night.

Fletcher read in sheer disbelief how, with the help of local peasants, Lieutenant Nat Cartwright had dragged that stretcher from village to village for two hundred and eleven miles, and seen the sun rise and fall seventeen times before he reached the outskirts of the city of Saigon, where both men were rushed to the nearest field hospital.

Staff Sergeant Speck Foreman died three days later, never discovering the name of the lieutenant who had rescued him and who was now fighting for his own life.

Fletcher followed every snippet of news he could find about Lieutenant Cartwright, never doubting he would live.

A week later they flew Nat to Camp Zama in Japan, where they operated on him to save his leg. The following month he was allowed to return home to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC to complete his recuperation.

The next time Fletcher saw Nat Cartwright was on the front page of the New York Times, shaking hands with President Nixon in the Rose Garden at the White House.

He was receiving the Medal of Honour.

15

Michael and Susan Cartwright were ‘bowled over’ by their visit to the White House to witness their only son being decorated with the Medal of Honour in the Rose Garden. After the ceremony, President Nixon listened attentively to Nat’s father as he explained the problems Americans would be facing if they all lived to the age of ninety and were not properly covered by life insurance. ‘In the next century, Americans will spend as long in retirement as they do in work,’ were the words LBJ repeated to his cabinet the following morning.

On their journey back to Cromwell, Nat’s mother asked him what plans he had for the future.

‘I can’t be sure, because it’s not in my hands,’ he replied. ‘I’ve received orders to report to Fort Benning on Monday, when I’ll find out what Colonel Tremlett has in mind for me.’

‘Another wasted year,’ said his mother.

‘Character building,’ said his father, who was still glowing from his long chat with the president.

‘I hardly think Nat’s in need of much more of that,’ was his mother’s response.

Nat smiled as he glanced out of the window and took in the Connecticut landscape. While pulling a stretcher for seventeen days and seventeen nights with snatches of sleep and little food, he had wondered if he would ever see his homeland again. He thought about his mother’s words, and had to agree with her. The idea of a wasted year of form-filling, making and returning salutes before training someone else to take his place angered him. The top brass had made it clear that they weren’t going to let him return to Vietnam and thereby risk the life of one of America’s few recognized heroes.

Over dinner that night, after his father had repeated the conversation he’d had with the president several times, he asked Nat to tell them more about ‘Nam.

For over an hour, Nat described the city of Saigon, the countryside and its people, rarely referring to his job as a requisition officer. ‘The Vietnamese are hard-working and friendly,’ he told his parents, ‘and they seem genuinely pleased that we’re there, but no one, on either side, believes that we can stay for ever. I fear history will regard the whole episode as pointless, and once it’s over it will be quickly erased from the national psyche.’ He turned to his father. ‘At least your war had a purpose.’ His mother nodded her agreement, and Nat was surprised to see that his father didn’t immediately offer a contrary view.

‘Did you come away with any particular abiding memory?’ asked his mother, hoping that her son might talk about his experience at the front.

‘Yes, I did. The inequality of man.’

‘But we’re doing everything we can to assist the people of South Vietnam,’ said his father.

‘I’m not referring to the Vietnamese, father,’ Nat replied, ‘I’m talking about what Kennedy described as “my fellow Americans”.’

‘Fellow Americans?’ his mother repeated.

‘Yes, because my abiding memory will be our treatment of the poor minorities, in particular the blacks. They were on the battlefield in great numbers for no other reason than that they couldn’t afford a smart lawyer who could show them how to avoid the draft.’

‘But your closest friend...’

‘I know,’ said Nat, ‘and I’m glad Tom didn’t sign up, because he might well have suffered the same fate as Dick Tyler.’

‘So do you regret your decision?’ asked his mother quietly.

Nat took some time before he responded. ‘No, but I often think of Speck Foreman, his wife and three children in Alabama, and wonder what purpose his death served.’

Nat rose early the next morning to catch the first train bound for Fort Benning. When the engine pulled into Columbus station, he checked his watch. There was still another hour before his meeting with the colonel, so he decided to walk the two miles up to the academy. On the way, he was continually reminded that he was in a garrison town, by how regularly he had to return salutes from everyone below the rank of captain. Some even smiled in recognition when they spotted the Medal of Honour, as they might with a college football hero.

He was standing outside Colonel Tremlett’s office a full fifteen minutes before his appointment.

‘Good morning, Captain Cartwright. The colonel told me to take you straight through to his office the moment you arrived,’ said an even younger ADC.

Nat marched into the colonel’s office, stood to attention, and saluted. Tremlett came round from behind his desk, and threw his arms around Nat. The ADC was unable to hide his surprise, as he thought only the French greeted their fellow officers in that way. The colonel motioned Nat to a seat on the other side of his desk. After returning to his chair, Tremlett opened a thick file and began studying its contents. ‘Do you have any idea what you want to do for the next year, Nat?’

‘No, I don’t, sir, but as I’m not being allowed to return to Vietnam, I’d be happy to take up your earlier offer, and remain at the academy to assist you with any new intake.’

‘That job has already been taken,’ said Tremlett, ‘and I’m no longer sure if that’s what’s best for you in the long term.’

‘Do you have something else in mind?’ asked Nat.

‘Now you mention it, I do,’ admitted the colonel. ‘Once I knew you were coming home, I called in the academy’s top lawyers to advise me. Normally I despise lawyers — a breed who only fight their battles in a courtroom, but I have to admit on this occasion one of them has come up with a most ingenious scheme.’ Nat didn’t comment, as he was keen to learn what the colonel had in mind. ‘Rules and regulations can be interpreted in so many ways. How else would lawyers keep their jobs?’ asked the colonel. ‘A year ago, you signed up for the draft without question, and having been commissioned, you were sent to Vietnam, where you proved me wrong, thank God.’

Nat wanted to say, get on with it colonel, but restrained himself.

‘By the way Nat, I forgot to ask if you’d like a coffee.’

‘No thank you, sir,’ said Nat, trying not to sound impatient.

The colonel smiled, ‘I think I’ll have one.’ He picked up his phone. ‘Fix me up with a coffee, will you, Dan,’ he said, ‘and perhaps even some donuts.’ He looked across at Nat. ‘Are you sure you won’t change your mind?’

‘You’re enjoying yourself, aren’t you, sir?’ said Nat with a smile.

‘To be honest, I am,’ said the colonel. ‘You see, it’s taken me several weeks to get Washington to fall in line with my proposal, so I hope you’ll forgive me if I indulge myself for a few more minutes.’

Nat smiled wryly, and settled back in his chair.

‘It appears that there are several avenues left open to you, and most of them in my view are a complete waste of time. You could, for example, apply for a discharge on the grounds of an injury sustained in action. If we went down that path you would end up with a small pension, and be out of here in about six months — after your spell as a requisition officer you don’t need to be told how long the paperwork would take. You could, of course, as you suggested, complete your service here at the academy, but do I really want a cripple on my staff?’ the colonel asked with a grin, as his ADC entered the room with a tray of piping hot coffee, and two cups. ‘You could on the other hand take up some other posting, in a more friendly environment, like Honolulu, but I don’t expect you need to go that far to find yourself a dancing girl. But whatever I have to offer,’ he once again glanced down at Nat’s file, ‘you would still only end up clicking your heels for another year. So now I need to ask you a question, Nat. What had you planned to do, once you’d completed your two years?’

‘Return to university, sir, and continue with my studies.’

‘Exactly what I thought you’d say,’ said the colonel, ‘so that’s exactly what you’re going to do.’

‘But the new term starts next week,’ said Nat, ‘and as you pointed out, the paperwork alone

‘Unless you were to sign up for another six years, then you might find that the paperwork moves surprisingly quickly.’

‘Sign up for another six years?’ repeated Nat in disbelief. ‘I was hoping to get out of the army, not stay in it.’

‘And you will,’ said the colonel, ‘but only if you sign up for six years. You see, with your qualifications, Nat,’ he added as he stood up and began to pace round the room, ‘you can immediately apply for any course of higher education and what’s more, the army will pay for it.’

‘But I already have a scholarship,’ Nat reminded his commanding officer.

‘I’m well aware of that, it’s all in here,’ said the colonel, looking down at the open file in front of him. ‘But the university doesn’t offer you a captain’s pay to go with it.’

‘I would be paid to go to university?’ said Nat.

‘Yes, you would receive a full captain’s pay, plus an added allowance for an overseas posting.’

‘An overseas posting? But I’m not applying for a place at the University of Vietnam — I want to return to Connecticut, and then go on to Yale.’

‘And so you will, because the regulations state that if, and only if, you have served abroad, in a war sector, and, I quote,’ the colonel turned another page in his file, ‘then an application for advanced education will be given the same status as your last posting. I’ve decided I now love lawyers,’ said the colonel looking up, ‘because, can you believe it, they’ve come up with something even better.’ Tremlett sipped his coffee while Nat remained silent. ‘Not only will you receive your full captain’s salary as well as an overseas allowance,’ the colonel continued, ‘but because of your injury, at the end of six years, you will automatically be discharged, when you will qualify for a captain’s pension.’

‘How did they ever get that through Congress?’ asked Nat.

‘I don’t suppose they worked out that anyone would qualify in all four categories at the same time,’ replied the colonel.

‘There has to be a downside,’ said Nat.

‘Yes, there is,’ said the colonel gravely, ‘because even Congress has to cover its backside.’ Once again, Nat didn’t bother to hold him up. ‘First, you will have to return to Fort Benning every year for two weeks’ intensive training to bring you up to scratch.’

‘But I’d enjoy that,’ said Nat.

‘And at the end of the six years,’ said the colonel, ignoring the interruption, ‘you will remain on the active list until your forty-fifth birthday, so in the event of another war, you could be called up.’

‘That’s it?’ said Nat in disbelief.

‘That’s it,’ repeated the colonel.

‘So what do I have to do next?’

‘Sign all six documents that the lawyers have prepared, and we’ll have you back at the University of Connecticut by this time next week. By the way, I’ve already spoken to the provost, and he tells me that they’re looking forward to seeing you on Monday week. He asked me to inform you that the first lecture begins at nine o’clock. Sounds a bit late to me,’ he added.

‘You even knew how I would respond, didn’t you?’ said Nat.

‘Well, I admit,’ said Tremlett, ‘that I did think you would consider it a better alternative to brewing my coffee for the next twelve months. By the way, are you sure you won’t join me?’ the colonel asked, as he poured himself a second cup.

‘Will you take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife?’ intoned the bishop of Connecticut.

‘I will,’ said Jimmy.

‘Will you take this man to be your lawful wedded husband?’

‘I will,’ said Joanna.

‘Will you take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife?’ repeated the bishop.

‘I will,’ said Fletcher.

‘Will you take this man to be your lawful wedded husband?’

‘I will,’ said Annie.

Double weddings were a rare event in Hartford, and the bishop admitted that it was the first he’d ever conducted.

Senator Gates stood at the head of a long receiving line, smiling at each new guest. He knew almost all of them. After all, both his children were being married on the same day.

‘Who would have thought Jimmy would end up marrying the smartest girl in the class?’ said Harry proudly.

‘Why shouldn’t he?’ asked Martha. ‘You did. And don’t forget, thanks to Joanna, he also managed cum laude.’

‘We’ll cut the cake, just as soon as everyone is seated at their tables,’ announced the maitre d’, ‘and I’ll need the brides and grooms in front, and the parents behind the cake when the photographs are taken.’

‘You won’t have to round up my husband,’ said Martha Gates. ‘If a flashbulb goes off, he’ll be on the other side of the camera within moments — it’s an occupational hazard.’

‘How right she is,’ admitted the senator. He turned his attention to Ruth Davenport, who was looking wistfully at her daughter-in-law.

‘I sometimes wonder if they aren’t both a little too young.’

‘She’s twenty,’ said the senator, ‘Martha and I were married when she was twenty.’

‘But Annie still hasn’t graduated.’

‘Does it matter? They’ve been together for the past six years.’ The senator turned to greet another guest.

‘I sometimes wish...’ began Ruth.

‘What do you sometimes wish?’ enquired Robert, who was standing on the other side of his wife.

Ruth turned so that the senator couldn’t overhear her. ‘No one could love Annie more than I do, but I sometimes wish they, well,’ she hesitated, ‘they had both dated more.’

‘Fletcher met lots of other girls, he just didn’t want to date them, and by the way,’ said Robert, allowing his champagne glass to be refilled yet again, ‘how often have I gone shopping with you, only to find you end up buying the dress you first looked at?’

‘That didn’t stop me considering several other men before I settled for you,’ said Ruth.

‘Yes, but that was different, because none of the others wanted you.’

‘Robert Davenport, I would have you know...’

‘Ruth, have you forgotten how many times I asked you to marry me before you finally accepted? I even tried to make you pregnant.’

‘You never told me that,’ said Ruth, turning to face her husband.

‘You’ve obviously forgotten how long it was before you eventually had Fletcher.’

Ruth looked back at her daughter-in-law. ‘Let’s hope she doesn’t have to face the same problem.’

‘No reason why they should,’ said Robert. It’s not Fletcher who is going to have to give birth. And my bet is,’ he continued, ‘that Fletcher, like me, will never look at another woman for the rest of his life.’

‘You’ve never looked at another woman since we’ve been married?’ said Ruth after shaking hands with two more guests.

‘No,’ said Robert, before he took another gulp of champagne, ‘I slept with several of them, but I never looked at them.’

‘Robert, how much have you had to drink?’

‘I haven’t counted,’ Robert admitted, as Jimmy broke away from the line.

‘What are you two laughing about, Mr Davenport?’

‘I was telling Ruth about my many conquests, but she refuses to believe me. So tell me, Jimmy, what are you hoping to do when you graduate?’

‘I’ll be joining Fletcher at law school. It’s likely to be a tough ride, but with your son to get me through the day, and Joanna the night, I might just about manage it. You must be very proud of him,’ said Jimmy.

‘Magna cum laude and president of the college council,’ said Robert. ‘We sure are,’ he added as he held out his empty glass to a passing waiter.

‘You’re drunk,’ said Ruth, trying not to smile.

‘You’re right as always, my darling, but that won’t stop me being inordinately proud of my only son.’

‘But he would never have become president without Jimmy’s contribution,’ said Ruth firmly.

‘It’s very kind of you to say so, Mrs Davenport, but don’t forget, Fletcher won by a landslide.’

‘But only after you had convinced Tom... whatever his name was, that he should stand down and back Fletcher.’

‘It may have helped, but it was Fletcher who instigated the changes that will affect a generation of Yalies,’ said Jimmy as Annie came over to join them. ‘Hi, kid sister.’

‘When I’m chairman of General Motors, will you still address me in that tiresome manner?’

‘Sure will,’ said Jimmy, ‘and what’s more, I’ll stop driving Caddies.’

Annie was just about to hit him, when the maitre d’ suggested that the time had come to cut the cake.

Ruth put an arm around her daughter-in-law. ‘Take no notice of your brother,’ she said, ‘because once you’ve graduated, he’ll have been put firmly in his place.’

‘It’s not my brother I need to prove anything to,’ said Annie. ‘It’s always been your son who sets the pace.’

‘Then you’ll just have to beat him as well,’ said Ruth.

‘I’m not sure I want to,’ said Annie. ‘You know he’s talking about going into politics once he’s obtained his law degree.’

‘That shouldn’t stop you having your own career.’

‘It won’t, but I’m not too proud to make sacrifices if it will help him to achieve his ambitions.’

‘But you’ve the right to a career of your own,’ said Ruth.

‘Why?’ said Annie. ‘Because it’s suddenly become fashionable? Perhaps I’m not like Joanna,’ she said glancing across at her sister-in-law. ‘I know what I want, Ruth, and I’ll do whatever is necessary to achieve it.’

‘And what’s that?’ asked Ruth quietly.

‘Support the man I love for the rest of my life, bring up his children, delight in his success, and with all the pressures of the seventies, that may prove a lot harder than gaining a magna cum laude from Vassar,’ said Annie as she picked up the silver knife with an ivory handle. ‘You know, I suspect there are going to be far fewer golden wedding anniversaries in the twenty-first century than there have been in the twentieth.’

‘You’re a lucky man, Fletcher,’ said his mother as Annie placed the knife on the bottom layer of the cake.

‘I knew that even before the braces had been removed from her teeth,’ said Fletcher.

Annie passed the knife across to Joanna. ‘Make a wish,’ whispered Jimmy.

‘I already have, freshman,’ she replied, ‘and what’s more, it’s been granted.’

‘Ah, you mean the privilege of being married to me?’

‘Good heavens no, it’s far more significant than that.’

‘What could possibly be more significant than that?’

‘The fact that we’re going to have a baby.’

Jimmy threw his arms around his wife. ‘When did that happen?’

‘I don’t know the exact moment, but I stopped taking the pill once I was convinced you’d graduate.’

‘That’s wonderful. Come on, let’s share the news with our guests.’

‘You say a word, and I’ll plant this knife in you instead of the cake. Mind you, I always knew it was a mistake to marry a freshman with red hair.’

‘I bet the baby has red hair.’

‘Don’t be too sure, freshman, because if you mention it to anyone, I’ll tell them I’m not certain who the father is.’

‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ said Jimmy, as his wife raised the knife, ‘I have an announcement to make.’ The room fell silent. ‘Joanna and I are going to have a baby.’ The silence continued for a moment, before the five hundred guests broke into spontaneous applause.

‘You’re dead, freshman,’ said Joanna, as she plunged the knife into the cake.

‘I knew that the moment I met you, Mrs Gates, but I think we should have at least three children before you finally kill me.’

‘Well, senator, you’re about to become a grandfather,’ said Ruth. ‘My congratulations. I can’t wait to be a grandmother, although I suspect it will be some time before Annie has her first child.’

‘She won’t even consider it until she’s graduated, would be my bet,’ said Harry Gates, ‘especially when they find out what I have planned for Fletcher.’

‘Is it possible that Fletcher might not fall in with your plans?’ suggested Ruth.

‘Not as long as Jimmy and I continue to make him feel that it was always his idea in the first place.’

‘Don’t you think by now he might just have worked out what you’re up to?’

‘He’s been able to do that since the day I met him at the Hotchkiss versus Taft game nearly a decade ago. I knew then he was capable of raising the bar far higher than I ever could.’

The senator placed an arm around Ruth. ‘However, there’s one problem I may need your help with.’

‘And what’s that?’ asked Ruth.

‘I don’t think Fletcher has made up his mind yet if he’s a Republican or a Democrat, and I know how strongly your husband...’

‘Isn’t it wonderful news about Joanna?’ said Fletcher to his mother-in-law.

‘Sure is,’ said Martha, ‘Harry’s already counting the extra votes he’ll pick up once he becomes a grandfather.’

‘What makes him so confident of that?’ asked Fletcher.

‘Senior citizens are the fastest growing section of the electorate, so it must be worth at least a percentage point for the voters to see Harry wheeling a stroller everywhere.’

‘And if Annie and I have a child, will that be worth another percentage point?’

‘No, no,’ said Martha, ‘it’s all in the timing. Just try to remember that Harry will be up for re-election again in two years’ time.’

‘Do you think we should plan the birth of our first child simply to coincide with the date of Harry’s next election?’

‘You’d be surprised how many politicians do,’ replied Martha.

‘Congratulations, Joanna,’ said the senator, giving his daughter-in-law a hug.

‘Will your son ever be able to keep a secret?’ Joanna hissed as she extracted the knife from the cake.

‘No, not if it will make his friends happy,’ admitted the senator, ‘but if he thought it would harm someone he loved, he would carry the secret to his grave.’

16

Professor Karl Abrahams entered the lecture theatre as the clock struck nine. The professor gave eight lectures a term, and it was rumoured that he had never missed one in thirty-seven years. Many of the other rumours about Karl Abrahams could not be substantiated, and so he would have dismissed them as hearsay and therefore inadmissible.

However, such rumours persisted, and thus became part of folklore. There was no doubting his sardonic wit should any student be foolish enough to take him on; that could be testified to on a weekly basis. Whether it was the case that three presidents had invited him to join the Supreme Court, only the three presidents knew. However it was recorded that, when questioned about this, Abrahams said he felt the best service he could give the nation was to instruct the next generation of lawyers and create as many decent, honest counsellors as possible, rather than clear up the mess made by so many bad ones.

The Washington Post, in an unauthorized profile, observed that Abrahams had taught two members of the present Supreme Court, twenty-two federal judges and several of the deans of leading law schools.

When Fletcher and Jimmy attended the first of Abrahams’ eight lectures, they weren’t under any illusion about how much work lay ahead of them. Fletcher was, however, under the illusion that during his final year as an undergraduate, he had put in sufficiently long hours, often ending up in bed after midnight. It took Professor Abrahams about a week to familiarize him with hours when he had normally slept.

Professor Abrahams continually reminded his first-year students that not all of them would attend his final address to the law graduates at the end of the course. Jimmy bowed his head. Fletcher began to spend so many hours researching that Annie rarely saw him before the library doors had been locked and bolted. Jimmy would sometimes leave a little earlier so that he could be with Joanna, but he rarely departed without several books under his arm. Fletcher told Annie that he’d never known her brother to work so hard.

‘And it won’t be any easier for him once the baby arrives,’ Annie reminded her husband one evening after she had come to pick him up from the library.

‘Joanna will have planned for the child to be born during the vacation so she can be back at work on the first day of term.’

‘I don’t want our first child to grow up like that,’ said Annie. ‘I intend to raise my children in our home as a full-time mother and with a father who will be back early enough in the evening to read to them.’

‘Suits me,’ said Fletcher. ‘But if you change your mind and decide to become the chairman of General Motors, I’ll be happy to change the diapers.’

The first thing that surprised Nat when he returned to university was how immature his former classmates seemed to be. He had sufficient credits to allow him to move on to his sophomore year, but the students he had mixed with before signing up were still discussing the latest pop group or movie star, and he’d never even heard of the Doors. It wasn’t until he attended his first lecture that he became aware just how much the experience of Vietnam had changed his life.

Nat was also aware that his fellow students didn’t treat him as if he was one of them, not least because a few of the professors also appeared somewhat in awe. Nat enjoyed the respect he was afforded, but quickly discovered there was another side to that coin. Over the Christmas vacation, he discussed the problem with Tom, who told him that he understood why some of them were a bit wary of him; after all, they believed he had killed at least a hundred Vietcong. ‘At least a hundred?’ repeated Nat.

‘While others have read what our soldiers got up to with the Vietnamese women,’ said Tom.

‘I should have been so lucky; if it hadn’t been for Mollie, I’d have remained celibate.’

‘Well, don’t disillusion them would be my advice,’ said Tom, ‘because my bet is that the men are envious and the women intrigued. The last thing you want them to discover is that you’re a normal law-abiding citizen.’

‘I sometimes wish they’d remember that I’m also only nineteen,’ Nat replied.

‘The trouble is,’ said Tom, ‘that Captain Cartwright, holder of the Medal of Honour, doesn’t sound as if he’s only nineteen, and I’m afraid the limp only reminds them.’

Nat took his friend’s advice, and decided to dissipate his energy in the classroom, in the gym and on the cross-country course. The doctors had warned him that it could take at least a year before he would be able to run again — if ever. After their pessimistic prediction, Nat never spent less than an hour a day in the gym, climbing ropes, lifting weights and even playing the occasional game of paddle tennis. By the end of the first term back he was able to jog slowly round the course — even if it did take him an hour and twenty minutes to cover six miles. He looked up his old training schedule, and found that his record as a freshman remained on the books at thirty-four minutes, eighteen seconds. He promised himself that he would break that by the end of his sophomore year.

The next problem Nat faced was the response he got whenever he asked a woman out on a date. They either wanted to jump straight into bed with him or simply turned him down out of hand. Tom had warned him that his scalp in bed was probably a prize several undergraduates wanted to claim, and Nat quickly discovered that some he hadn’t even met were already doing so.

‘Reputation has its disadvantages,’ complained Nat.

‘I’ll swap places with you if you like,’ said Tom.

The one exception turned out to be Rebecca, who made it clear from the day Nat arrived back on campus that she wanted to be given a second chance. Nat was circumspect about rekindling that particular old flame, and concluded that if they were to rebuild any relationship, it would have to be done slowly. Rebecca, however, had other plans.

After their second date, she invited him back to her room for coffee, and started trying to undress him only moments after she’d closed the door. Nat broke away, and could only come up with the lame excuse that he was running a time trial the following day. She wasn’t put off that easily, and when she reappeared a few minutes later carrying two cups of coffee, Rebecca had already changed into a silk robe that revealed she was wearing little if anything underneath. Nat suddenly realized that he no longer felt anything for her, and quickly drank his coffee, repeating that he needed an early night.

‘Time trials never worried you in the past,’ teased Rebecca.

‘That was when I had two good legs,’ replied Nat.

‘Perhaps I’m no longer good enough for you,’ said Rebecca, ‘now that everybody thinks you’re some kind of hero.’

‘It’s got nothing to do with that. It’s just...’

‘It’s just that Ralph was right about you from the start.’

‘What do you mean by that?’ asked Nat sharply.

‘You’re simply not in his class.’ She paused. ‘In or out of bed.’

Nat was about to respond but decided it just wasn’t worth it. He left without saying another word. Later that night he lay awake, realizing that Rebecca, like so many other things, was part of his past life.

One of Nat’s more surprising discoveries on returning to the university was how many students pressed him to run against Elliot for the president of the student senate. But Nat made it clear that he had no interest in fighting an election while he still needed to make up for the time he’d lost.

When he returned home at the end of his sophomore year, Nat told his father that he was just as pleased that his cross-country time was now down to under an hour as to discover he was placed in the top six on the class fist.

During the summer Nat and Tom travelled to Europe. Nat found that one of the many advantages of a captain’s salary was that it allowed him to accompany his closest friend without ever feeling he couldn’t afford to pay his way.

Their first stop was London, where they watched the guards march down Whitehall. Nat was left in no doubt that they would have been a formidable force in Vietnam. In Paris, they strolled along the Champs Elysees and regretted having to turn to a phrase book every time they saw a beautiful woman. They then travelled on to Rome, where in tiny back-street cafés they discovered for the first time how pasta really should taste, and swore they would never eat at McDonald’s again.

But it wasn’t until they reached Venice that Nat fell in love, and overnight became promiscuous, his taste ranging from nudes to virgins. It began with a one-day stand — Da Vinci, followed by Bellini, and then Luini. Such was the intensity of these affairs that Tom agreed they should spend a few more days in Italy and even add Florence to their itinerary. New lovers were quickly picked up on every street corner — Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Canaletto, Tintoretto. Almost anyone with an o at the end of their name qualified to join Nat’s harem.

Professor Karl Abrahams stood in front of his desk for the fifth lecture of the term and stared up at the semicircle of tiered seats that rose above him.

He began his lecture, not a book, not a file, not even a note in front of him, as he took them through the landmark case of Carter v Amalgamated Steel.

‘Mr Carter,’ began the professor, lost an arm in an industrial accident in 1923, and was sacked without receiving a cent in compensation. He was unable to seek further employment, as no other steel company would consider offering work to a one-armed man, and when he was turned down for a job as door-keeper at a local hotel, he realized that he would never work again. There wasn’t an Industry Compensation Act until 1927, so Mr Carter decided to take the rare and almost unheard of step at that time of suing his employers. He wasn’t able to afford a lawyer — that hasn’t changed over the years — however, a young law student who felt that Mr Carter had not received fair recompense volunteered to represent him in court. He won the case and Carter was awarded one hundred dollars in compensation — not a large amount for such a grievance you might well feel. However, together these two men were responsible for bringing about a change in the law. Let us hope that one of you might at some time in the future cause the law to be changed when faced with such an injustice. Subtext, the young lawyer’s name was Theo Rampleiri. He only narrowly avoided being thrown out of law school for spending too much time on the Carter case. Later, much later, he was appointed to the Supreme Court.’

The professor frowned. ‘Last year General Motors paid a Mr Cameron five million dollars for the loss of a leg. This was despite the fact that GM was able to prove that it was Mr Cameron’s negligence that was the cause of the injury.’ Abrahams took them through the case slowly, before adding, ‘The law so often is, as Mr Charles Dickens would have us believe, an ass, and perhaps more important, indiscriminately imperfect. I have no brief for counsel who look only for a way around the law, especially when they know exactly what the Senate and Congress intended in the first place. There will be those amongst you who forget these words within days of joining some illustrious firm, whose only interest is to win at all costs. But there will be others, perhaps not so many, who will remember Lincoln’s dictum, “let justice be done”.’ Fletcher looked up from his notes and stared down at his mentor. ‘By the time we next meet, I expect you to have researched the five cases that followed Carter versus Amalgamated Steel, through to Demetri versus Demetri, all of which resulted in changes in the law. You may work in pairs, but not consult any other pair. I hope I make myself clear.’ The clock struck eleven. ‘Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.’

Fletcher and Jimmy shared the work load as they trawled through case after case, and by the end of the week, they had found three that were relevant. Joanna pulled from the recesses of her memory a fourth that had been heard in Ohio when she was a child. She refused to give them any more clues.

‘What does love, honour and obey mean?’ demanded Jimmy.

‘I never agreed to obey you, freshman,’ was all she said, ‘and by the way, if Elizabeth wakes up during the night, it’s your turn to change her diaper.’

‘Sumner versus Sumner,’ Jimmy told her triumphantly as he slipped into bed just after midnight.

‘Not bad, freshman, but you still have to find the fifth by ten o’clock on Monday if you’re hoping to get a smile out of Professor Abrahams.’

‘I think we’d have to do a whole lot more than that to move the lips on that block of granite,’ said Jimmy.

As Nat climbed the hill, he spotted her running ahead of him. Nat assumed he would pass her on the downward slope. He checked his watch as he reached the half-way mark. Seventeen minutes and nine seconds. Nat felt confident that he would break his personal best, and be back on the team for the first meet of the season.

He felt full of energy as he surged over the brow of the hill and then he swore out loud. The stupid woman had taken the wrong path. She had to be a freshman. He began to shout at her back, but she didn’t respond. He cursed again, changed direction and chased after her. As he came bounding down the slope, she suddenly turned and looked startled.

‘You’re going the wrong way,’ shouted Nat, ready to turn and quickly retrace his steps, but even at twenty yards he wanted to take a closer look. He jogged quickly up to her, and kept running on the spot.

‘Thank you,’ she said, ‘it’s only my second time on the course, and I couldn’t remember which path to take at the top of the hill.’

Nat smiled. ‘You have to take the smaller path; the wider one leads you into the woods.’

‘Thank you,’ she repeated, and began running back up the hill without another word.

He chased after her, and once he had caught up jogged by her side until they reached the top. He waved goodbye once he was certain she had returned to the straight and narrow. ‘See you later,’ he said, but if she replied, Nat didn’t hear her.

Nat checked his watch as he crossed the finishing line. Forty-three minutes, fifty-one seconds. He cursed again, wondering how much time he’d lost re-directing the wrong-path woman. He didn’t mind. He began to warm down, and took longer over his stretching exercises than he normally would have done, as he waited for the young woman to return.

Suddenly she appeared at the top of the hill, running slowly down towards the finishing line. ‘You made it,’ Nat said with a smile as he jogged over to join her. She didn’t return his smile. ‘I’m Nat Cartwright,’ he said.

‘I know who you are,’ she replied curtly.

‘Have we met before?’

‘No,’ she said, ‘I know you only by reputation.’ She jogged off in the direction of the women’s locker room without offering any further explanation.

‘Stand up those who managed to find all five cases.’

Fletcher and Jimmy rose triumphantly, an emotion that deflated when they discovered at least seventy per cent of the class were also on their feet. ‘Four?’ said the professor trying not to sound too disdainful. Most of those remaining rose, leaving around ten per cent still seated. Fletcher could only wonder how many of them would complete the course. ‘Sit down,’ he said. ‘Let us begin with Maxwell River Gas versus Pennstone; what change in the law came about because of that particular case?’ He pointed to a student in the third row.

‘In 1932 it became the company’s responsibility to ensure that all equipment complied with safety regulations, and all employees understood any emergency procedure.’ The professor moved his finger on.

‘Any written instructions had to be posted where every employee could read them.’

‘When did that become redundant?’

The finger moved again, another voice, ‘Reynolds versus McDermond Timber.’

‘Correct.’ The finger moved again. ‘And why?’

‘Reynolds lost three fingers when cutting a log, but his defence counsel was able to show he couldn’t read, and had not been given any verbal instruction on how to operate the machine.’

‘What was the basis of the new law?’ The finger moved again.

‘The Industry Act 1934, when it became an employer’s responsibility to instruct all staff, verbally and in writing, how to use any equipment.’

‘When did that need further amendments?’ Someone else was selected.

‘Rush versus the government.’

‘Correct, but why did the government still win the case despite being in the wrong?’

Yet another selection. ‘I don’t know, sir.’ The finger moved scornfully on, in search of someone who did.

‘The government was able to defend its position when it was shown that Rush had signed an agreement stating...’ The finger moved.

‘... that he’d received full instructions as demanded by law.’ The finger moved again.

‘That he had also been in their employ beyond the statutory three-year period.’ The finger continued moving...

‘... but the government went on to prove they were not a company in the meaning of the word, as the bill had been badly drafted by the politicians.’

‘Don’t blame the politicians,’ said Abrahams. ‘Lawyers draft legislation, so they must take the responsibility. The politicians were not culpable on this occasion, so once the courts accepted that the government was not subject to its own legislation, who caused the law to be changed yet again?’ He pointed the finger at another terrified face. ‘Demetri versus Demetri,’ came the reply.

‘How did this differ from past laws?’ The finger came to rest on Fletcher.

‘It was the first time that one member of a family sued another for negligence while they were still married, as well as being fifty-fifty shareholders in the company concerned.’

‘Why did that action fail?’ he continued to stare at Fletcher.

‘Because Mrs Demetri refused to give evidence against her husband.’

The finger moved on to Jimmy. ‘Why did she refuse?’ demanded Abrahams.

‘Because she was stupid.’

‘Why was she stupid?’ demanded the professor again.

‘Because her husband probably made love to her, or hit her, the night before or possibly even both, so she caved in.’ A little laughter broke out.

‘Were you present to witness the love-making, Mr Gates, or the attack on her?’ asked Abrahams, to even more laughter.

‘No, sir,’ said Jimmy, ‘but I’ll bet it’s what happened.’

‘You may well be right, Mr Gates, but you would not have been able to prove what took place in the bedroom that night unless you could provide a reliable witness. Had you made such a rash statement in court, opposing counsel would have objected, the judge would have sustained his objection, and the jury would have dismissed you as a fool, Mr Gates. And more importantly, you would have let down your client. Don’t ever rely on what might have happened, however likely it appears, unless you can prove it. If you can’t, remain silent.’

‘But...’ began Fletcher. Several students quickly bowed their heads, others held their breath, while the rest just stared at Fletcher in disbelief.

‘Name?’

‘Davenport, sir.’

‘No doubt you feel able to explain what you mean by the word “but”, Mr Davenport?’

‘Mrs Demetri was advised by her counsel that if she won the case, as neither of them owned a majority holding, the company would have to cease trading. The Kendall Act 1941. She then placed her shares on the open market and they were picked up by her husband’s greatest rival, a Mr Canelli, for $100,000. I cannot prove that Mr Canelli was, or wasn’t, sleeping with Mrs Demetri, but I do know that the company went into liquidation a year later, when she repurchased her shares for ten cents each, at a cost of $7,300, and then immediately signed a new partnership deal with her husband.’

‘Was Mr Canelli able to prove the Demetris were acting in collusion?’ Fletcher thought carefully. Was Abrahams setting him a trap? ‘Why do you hesitate?’ demanded Abrahams.

‘It wouldn’t constitute proof, professor.’

‘Nevertheless, what is it you wish to tell us?’

‘Mrs Demetri produced a second child a year later, and the birth certificate indicated that Mr Demetri was the father.’

‘You’re right, that is not proof, so what charge was brought against her?’

‘None; in fact, the new company went on to be very successful.’

‘Then how did they cause the law to be changed?’

‘The judge brought this case to the attention of the attorney general of that state.’

‘Which state?’

‘Ohio, and as a consequence, they passed the Marriage Partnership Act.’

‘Year?’

‘1949.’

‘Changes of relevance?’

‘Husbands and wives could no longer repurchase shares sold in a former company in which they had been partners, if that directly benefited them as individuals.’

‘Thank you, Mr Davenport,’ said the professor, as the clock struck eleven. ‘Your “but” was well qualified.’ A ripple of applause broke out. ‘But not that well qualified,’ added Abrahams, as he left the lecture theatre.

Nat sat on the wall opposite the dining hall and waited patiently. After he had seen about five hundred young women leave the building, he decided the reason she was so slim was because she simply didn’t eat. Then she suddenly came rushing through the swing doors. Nat had been given more than enough time to rehearse his lines, but still felt nervous when he caught up with her. ‘Hi, I’m Nat.’ She looked up, but didn’t smile. ‘We met the other day.’ She still didn’t respond.

‘On the top of the hill.’

‘Yes, I do remember,’ she said.

‘But you didn’t tell me your name.’

‘No, I didn’t.’

‘Have I done something to annoy you?’

‘No.’

‘Then can I ask what you meant by “your reputation”?’

‘Mr Cartwright, you may be surprised to learn that there are some women on this campus who don’t think you have the automatic right to claim their virginity simply because you’ve won the Medal of Honour.’

‘I never thought I did.’

‘But you must be aware that half the women on campus claim they’ve slept with you.’

‘They may well claim it,’ said Nat, ‘but the truth is that only two of them can prove it.’

‘But everyone knows how many girls chase after you.’

‘And most of them can’t keep up, as I’m sure you remember.’ He laughed, but she didn’t respond. ‘So why can’t I fall for someone just like anyone else?’

‘But you’re not just like anyone else,’ she said quietly. ‘You’re a war hero on a captain’s salary, and as such you expect everyone else to fall in line.’

‘Who told you that?’

‘Someone who’s known you since your schooldays.’

‘Ralph Elliot, no doubt?’

‘Yes, the man you tried to cheat out of the Taft student government presidency...’

‘I did what?’ said Nat.

‘... and then passed off his essay as yours when you applied for Yale,’ she said ignoring his interruption.

‘Is that what he told you?’

‘Yes,’ the young woman replied calmly.

‘Then perhaps you should ask him why he isn’t at Yale.’

‘He explained that you transferred the blame on to him so he lost his place as well.’ Nat was about to explode again, when she added, ‘And now you want to be president of the student senate, and your only strategy seems to be to sleep your way to victory.’

Nat tried to control his temper. ‘First, I don’t want to run for president, second I’ve only slept with three women in my life: a student I also knew when I was at school, a secretary in Vietnam, and a one-night stand I now regret. If you can find anyone else, please introduce me because I’d like to meet them.’ She stopped and looked at Nat for the first time. ‘Anyone else,’ he repeated. ‘Now can I at least know your name?’

‘Su Ling,’ she said quietly.

‘Su Ling, if I promise never to try and seduce you until after I’ve asked for your hand in marriage, sought your father’s permission, produced a ring, booked the church, and had the banns read, will you at least let me take you out to dinner?’

Su Ling laughed. ‘I’ll think about it,’ she said. ‘I’m sorry to rush, but I’m already late for my afternoon lecture.’

‘But how do I find you?’ asked Nat desperately.

‘You managed to find the Vietcong, Captain Cartwright, surely it shouldn’t be too difficult to find me?’

17

‘All rise. The state versus Mrs Anita Kirsten. His Honour Mr Justice Abernathy presiding.’

The judge took his place and looked towards the defence counsel’s table. ‘How do you plead, Mrs Kirsten?’

Fletcher rose from behind the defence table. ‘My client pleads Not Guilty, your honour.’

The judge looked up, ‘Are you representing the defendant?’

‘Yes I am, your honour.’

Judge Abernathy glanced down at the charge sheet. ‘I don’t think I’ve come across you before, Mr Davenport?’

‘No, your honour, it’s my first appearance in your court.’

‘Will you please approach the bench, Mr Davenport?’

‘Yes, sir.’ Fletcher stepped out from behind the little table and walked towards the judge, where the prosecution counsel joined them.

‘Good morning, gentlemen,’ said Mr Justice Abernathy. ‘May I enquire what legal qualifications you have that are recognized in my court, Mr Davenport?’

‘None, sir.’

‘I see. Is your client aware of this?’

‘Yes sir, she is.’

‘But she still wants you to represent her, despite this being a capital charge?’

‘Yes, sir.’

The judge turned to face the attorney general for Connecticut. ‘Do you have any objection to Mr Davenport representing Mrs Kirsten?’

‘None whatsoever, your honour; in fact the state welcomes it.’

‘I feel sure they do,’ said the judge, ‘but I must ask you, Mr Davenport, if you have any experience of the law at all.’

‘Not a great deal, your honour,’ Fletcher admitted. ‘I’m a second year law student at Yale, and this will be my first case.’ The judge and the attorney general smiled.

‘May I ask who your director of studies is?’ asked the judge.

‘Professor Karl Abrahams.’

‘Then I am proud to preside over your first case, Mr Davenport, because that is something you and I have in common. How about you, Mr Stamp?’

‘No sir, I qualified in South Carolina.’

‘Although it is most irregular, in the end it must be the defendant’s decision, so let us proceed with the case in hand.’ The attorney general and Fletcher returned to their places.

The judge looked down at Fletcher. ‘Will you be applying for bail, Mr Davenport?’

Fletcher rose from his place. ‘Yes, sir.’

‘On what grounds?’

‘That Mrs Kirsten has no previous record, and constitutes no danger to the public. She is the mother of two children, Alan aged seven, and Delia aged five, who are currently living with their grandmother in Hartford.’

The judge turned his attention to the attorney general. ‘Does the state have any objection to bail Mr Stamp?’

‘We most certainly do, your honour. We oppose bail not only on the grounds that this is a capital charge, but because the murder itself was premeditated. We therefore contend that Mrs Kirsten constitutes a danger to society, and may also try to leave the state’s jurisdiction.’

Fletcher shot up. ‘I must object, your honour.’

‘On what grounds, Mr Davenport?’

‘This is indeed a capital charge, so leaving the state is hardly relevant, your honour, and in any case, Mrs Kirsten’s home is in Hartford, where she earns her living working as a hospital cleaner at St Mary’s, and her children are both at a local school.’

‘Any further submission, Mr Davenport?’

‘No, sir.’

‘Bail refused,’ said the judge, and brought his hammer down. ‘This court is adjourned until Monday the seventeenth.’

‘All rise.’

Mr Justice Abernathy winked at Fletcher as he left the court room.

Thirty-four minutes and ten seconds. Nat couldn’t hide his delight that he had not only broken his personal best, but had managed sixth place in the university trials, and was therefore certain to be picked for the opening meet against Boston University.

As Nat warmed down, and went through his usual stretching routine, Tom walked over to join him. ‘Congratulations,’ he said, ‘and my bet is that by the end of the season, you’ll have knocked another minute off your time.’

Nat stared at the sour red scar on the back of his leg as he pulled on his sweat-pants. ‘Why don’t we have dinner tonight,’ continued Tom, ‘and celebrate, because there’s something I need to discuss with you before I go back to Yale.’

‘Can’t manage tonight,’ said Nat as they began to stroll across to the locker rooms. ‘I’ve got a date.’

‘Anyone I know?’

‘No,’ said Nat, ‘but as it’s my first for months, I have to admit I’m quite nervous.’

‘Captain Cartwright nervous? Whatever next?’ mocked Tom.

‘That’s the problem,’ admitted Nat. ‘She thinks I’m a cross between Don Juan and Al Capone.’

‘She sounds a good judge of character,’ said Tom. ‘So tell me all about her.’

‘There’s not that much to tell. We ran into each other on the top of a hill. She’s bright, ferocious, quite beautiful, and thinks I’m a bastard.’ Nat then recounted their conversation outside the refectory.

‘Ralph Elliot obviously got his version in first,’ said Tom.

‘To hell with Elliot. Do you think I should wear a jacket and tie?’

‘You haven’t asked for that sort of advice since we were at Taft.’

‘And in those days I needed to borrow your jacket and your tie, so what do you think?’

‘Full dress uniform with medals.’

‘Be serious.’

‘Well, it would certainly confirm her opinion of you.’

‘That’s exactly what I’m trying to disabuse her of.’

‘Well then, try looking at it from her point of view.’

‘I’m listening.’

‘What do you think she’ll wear?’

‘I have no idea, I’ve only seen her twice in my life, and on one of those occasions she was in her running shorts covered in mud.’

‘God, that must have been sexy, but I don’t suppose she’ll turn up in a tracksuit, so what about the other occasion?’

‘Smart and understated.’

‘Then follow her lead, which won’t be easy, because there’s nothing smart about you, and from what you say, she doesn’t believe that you’re capable of being understated.’

‘Answer the question,’ Nat said.

‘I’d go for casual,’ said Tom. ‘Shirt, not T-shirt, slacks and a sweater. I could, of course, as your advisor on sartorial elegance, join you both for dinner.’

‘I don’t want you anywhere near the place, because you’ll only fall in love with her.’

‘You really care about this girl, don’t you?’ said Tom quietly.

‘I think she’s divine, but that doesn’t stop her being very uncertain about me.’

‘But she’s agreed to have dinner with you, so she can’t believe you’re all bad.’

‘Yes, but the terms of that agreement were somewhat unusual,’ said Nat as he told Tom what he had proposed before she would agree to a date.

‘As I said, you’ve got it bad, but that doesn’t alter the fact that I need to see you. How about breakfast? Or will you also be having eggs and bacon with this mysterious oriental lady?’

‘I’d be very surprised if she agreed to that,’ said Nat wistfully. ‘And disappointed.’

‘How long do you expect the trial to last?’ asked Annie.

‘If we plead not guilty to murder, but guilty to manslaughter, it could be over in a morning, with perhaps a further court appearance for sentencing.’

‘Is that possible?’ asked Jimmy.

‘Yes, the state is offering me a deal.’

‘What sort of deal?’ asked Annie.

‘If I agree to a charge of manslaughter, Stamp will only call for three years, no more, which means with good behaviour and parole, Anita Kirsten could be out in eighteen months. Otherwise he intends to press for first degree and demand the death penalty.’

‘They would never send a woman to the electric chair in this state for killing her husband.’

‘I agree,’ said Fletcher, ‘but a tough jury might settle for ninety-nine years, and as the defendant is only twenty-five, I have to accept the fact that she might be better off agreeing to eighteen months; at least that way she could look forward to spending the rest of her life with her family.’

‘True,’ said Jimmy. ‘But I ask myself, why is the attorney general willing to agree to three years if he feels he’s got such a strong case? Don’t forget this is a black woman, accused of murdering a white man, and at least two members of the jury will be black. If you play your cards right, it could be three, and then you can almost guarantee a hung jury.’

‘Plus the fact that my client has a good reputation, holds down a responsible job, and has no previous convictions. That’s bound to influence any jury, whatever colour.’

‘I wouldn’t be so sure of that,’ said Annie. ‘Your client poisoned her husband with an overdose of curare, which caused paralysis and then she sat on the staircase waiting for him to die.’

‘But he’d been beating her up for years — and he also abused their children,’ said Fletcher.

‘Do you have any proof of that, counsellor?’ asked Jimmy.

‘Not a lot, but on the day she agreed to appoint me, I took several photographs of the bruises on her body, and the bum on the palm of her hand will remain with her for the rest of her life.’

‘How did she get that?’ asked Annie.

‘That bastard of a husband pressed her hand down on a burning stove, and only stopped when she fainted.’

‘Sounds a lovely guy,’ said Annie. ‘So what’s stopping you pleading manslaughter and pressing for extenuating circumstances?’

‘Only the fear of losing, and Mrs Kirsten having to spend the rest of her life in jail.’

‘Why did she ask you to be her defence counsel in the first place?’ asked Jimmy.

‘No one else stepped up to the plate,’ replied Fletcher. ‘And in any case, she found my fee irresistible.’

‘But you’re up against the state’s attorney.’

‘Which is a bit of a mystery, because I can’t work out why he’s bothering to represent the state in a case like this.’

‘That’s simply answered,’ said Jimmy. ‘Black woman kills white man in a state where only twenty per cent of the population is black, and over half of them don’t bother to vote, and surprise, surprise, there’s an election coming up in May.’

‘How long has Stamp given you before you have to tell him your decision?’ asked Annie.

‘We’re back in court next Monday.’

‘Can you spare the time to be involved in a long trial?’ she asked.

‘No, but I mustn’t make that an excuse for agreeing to any compromise.’

‘So we’ll be spending our holiday in court number three, will we?’ asked Annie with a grin.

‘It could even be court number four,’ said Fletcher, putting an arm round his wife.

‘Have you thought of asking Professor Abraham’s advice on how she should plead?’

Jimmy and Fletcher stared at her in disbelief. ‘He advises presidents and heads of state,’ said Fletcher.

‘And possibly the occasional governor,’ added Jimmy.

‘Then perhaps the time has come for him to start advising a second-year law student. After all, that’s what he’s paid for.’

‘I wouldn’t know where to start,’ said Fletcher.

‘How about picking up the phone and asking if he’ll see you,’ said Annie. ‘My bet is that he’d be flattered.’

Nat arrived at Mario’s fifteen minutes early. He’d chosen the restaurant because it was unpretentious — tables with red and white checked cloths, a small arrangement of flowers, with black-and-white photos of Florence decorating the walls. Tom had also told him the pasta was homemade, cooked by the patron’s wife and had brought back memories of their trip to Rome. He’d taken Tom’s advice and selected a casual blue shirt, grey slacks and a navy sweater, no tie and no jacket — Tom had approved.

Nat introduced himself to Mario, who suggested a quiet table in the corner. After Nat had read the menu several times, he looked at his watch again, becoming ever more nervous. He must have checked a dozen times to be sure he had enough cash on him in case they didn’t accept credit cards. Perhaps it would have been more sensible if he had walked round the block a couple of times.

The moment he saw her, he realized he’d blown it. Su Ling was wearing a smart, well-cut blue suit, cream blouse and navy shoes. Nat rose from his place and waved. She smiled — a smile he hadn’t experienced until then, which made her look even more captivating. She walked over to join him.

‘I apologize,’ he said, rising from his place as he waited for her to be seated.

‘What for?’ she asked, looking puzzled.

‘My clothes. I confess I spent a lot of time thinking about what I should wear, and still got it wrong.’

‘Me too,’ said Su Ling. ‘I expected you to turn up in a uniform covered in medals,’ she added as she slipped off her jacket and placed it over the back of her chair.

Nat burst out laughing, and they didn’t seem to stop laughing for the next two hours, until Nat asked if she’d like some coffee. ‘Yes, black please,’ said Su Ling.

‘I’ve told you about my family, now tell me about yours,’ Nat said. ‘Are you, like me, an only child?’

‘Yes, my father was a master sergeant in Korea when he met my mother. They were only married for a few months before he was killed at the battle of Yudam-ni.’

Nat wanted to lean across and take her hand. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said.

‘Thank you,’ she said simply. ‘Mom decided to emigrate to America so that we could meet up with my grandparents. But we were never able to trace them.’ This time he did take her hand. ‘I was too young to know what was going on, but my mother doesn’t give up that easily. She took a job in Storrs Laundry, near the bookstore, and the owner allowed us to live above the shop.’

‘I know that laundry,’ said Nat. ‘My father has his shirts done there — it’s very efficient and...’

‘... And has been ever since my mother took it over, but she’s had to sacrifice everything to ensure that I had a good education.’

‘Your mother sounds just like mine,’ said Nat as Mario appeared by their side.

‘Everything to your satisfaction, Mr Cartwright?’

‘An excellent meal, thank you, Mario,’ said Nat. ‘All I need now is the check.’

‘Certainly, Mr Cartwright, and may I say what an honour it has been to have you in the restaurant.’

‘Thank you,’ said Nat, trying to hide his embarrassment.

‘How much did you tip him to say that?’ asked Su Ling once Mario had slipped away.

‘Ten dollars, and he’s word-perfect every time.’

‘But does it always pay off?’ asked Su Ling.

‘Oh yes, most of my dates start taking off their clothes even before we get back to the car.’

‘So do you always bring them here?’

‘No. If I think it’s likely to be a one-night stand, I take them to McDonald’s, followed by a motel — if it’s serious, we go to the Altnaveigh Inn.’

‘So which group are chosen for Mario’s?’ asked Su Ling.

‘I can’t answer that,’ said Nat, ‘because I’ve never taken anyone to Mario’s before.’

‘I’m flattered,’ said Su Ling as he helped her on with her jacket. As they walked out of the restaurant, Su Ling took his hand. ‘You’re really quite shy, aren’t you?’

‘Yes, I suppose I am,’ said Nat, as they continued walking towards the campus.

‘Not at all like your arch rival, Ralph Elliot.’ Nat didn’t comment. ‘He asked me for a date within minutes of meeting me.’

‘To be fair,’ said Nat, ‘I would have too, but you walked away.’

‘I thought I was running at the time,’ she said. He turned and smiled. ‘And even more interesting is how much action you actually saw in Vietnam to turn you into such a hero.’ Nat was about to protest when she added, ‘Answer, about half an hour.’

‘How do you know that?’ asked Nat.

‘Because I did some research on you, Captain Cartwright, and to quote Steinbeck, “you’re sailing under false colours”. I learned that quote today,’ she said, ‘just in case you might think I’m well read. When you jumped on the helicopter, you weren’t even carrying a gun. You were a requisition officer who shouldn’t have been on that aircraft in the first place. In fact, it was bad enough that you jumped on the helicopter without permission, but you also jumped off it without permission. Mind you, if you hadn’t, you might well have been court-martialled.’

‘True,’ said Nat, ‘but don’t tell anyone else, because it will stop me having my usual three girls a night.’

Su Ling placed a hand in front of her mouth and laughed. ‘But I did read on, and your action after the helicopter crashed in the jungle was that of an extremely brave man. To have dragged that poor soldier on a stretcher with half your leg blown away must have taken immense courage, and then to discover he had later died can only have left an irremediable scar.’ Nat didn’t reply. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said as they reached south campus, ‘that last remark was inconsiderate of me.’

‘It was kind of you to search for the truth,’ he said, looking down into her dark brown eyes. ‘Not many have bothered to do that.’

18

‘Members of the jury, in most murder trials it is the responsibility of the state, and rightly so, to prove that the defendant is guilty of homicide. That has not proved necessary in this case. Why? Because Mrs Kirsten signed a confession within an hour of her husband’s brutal killing. And even now, eight months later, you will have noted that her legal representative has not at any time during this trial suggested that his client didn’t commit the crime, or even challenged how she went about it.

‘So let us turn to the facts in this case, because this was not what could be described as a crime of passion where a woman seeks to defend herself with the nearest weapon to hand. No, Mrs Kirsten was not interested in the nearest weapon to hand, because she spent several weeks planning this cold-blooded murder, well aware that her victim would have no chance of defending himself.

‘How did Mrs Kirsten set about her task? Over a period of nearly three months, she collected several phials of curare from different drug dealers who reside in the shadows of Hartford. The defence tried to suggest that none of the dealers’ evidence could be relied upon, which might have influenced you had Mrs Kirsten herself not confirmed from the witness stand that they were all telling the truth.

‘Having collected the phials over several weeks, what does Mrs Kirsten do next? She waits until a Saturday night, when she knows her husband goes out drinking with his friends, and covertly pours the drug into six bottles of beer, and even replaces the tops. She then puts these bottles on the kitchen table, leaves the light on and goes to bed. She even places a bottle opener and a glass next to them. She does everything except pour out the drink herself.

‘Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this was a well planned and cleverly executed murder. However, if you can believe it possible, there was even worse to follow.

‘When her husband arrives home that night, he does indeed fall into her trap. First he goes to the kitchen, probably to turn off the light, and, seeing the bottles on the table, Alex Kirsten is tempted into having a beer before going to bed. Even before he has put the second bottle to his lips, the drug has begun to take effect. When he calls for help his wife leaves the bedroom and walks slowly down to the hall, where she hears her husband crying out in pain. Does she phone for an ambulance? No, she does not. Does she even go to his assistance? No, she does not. She sits on the staircase and waits patiently until his agonized cries have stopped and she can be certain he’s dead. And then, and only then, does she raise the alarm.

‘How can we be so sure this is what actually took place? Not just because the neighbours were woken by her husband’s haunting screams for help, but because when one of those neighbours came to the door to see if they could assist, in her panic Mrs Kirsten forgot to dispose of the contents of the other four bottles.’ He paused for several seconds. ‘When analysed, they contained enough curare to kill a football team.

‘Members of the jury, the only defence Mr Davenport has suggested for this crime is that Mrs Kirsten’s husband regularly beat her. If this was the case, why didn’t she inform the police? If this was true, why didn’t she go and live with her mother, who resides on the other side of the city? If we are to believe her story, why didn’t she leave him? I’ll tell you why. Because once her husband was out of the way, she would own the house they lived in and collect his pension from the company he worked for, making it possible for her to live in relative comfort for the rest of her life.

‘In normal circumstances, the state would not hesitate to call for the death penalty for such a horrendous crime, but we do not feel it is appropriate on this occasion. It is nevertheless, your duty to send a clear message to any person who believes they can get away with murder. Such a crime may be lightly regarded in some other states, but we don’t need one of those to be Connecticut. Do we want to be known as the state that condones murder?’

The attorney general lowered his voice almost to a whisper, and looked straight at the jury. ‘When you indulge yourself in a moment of sympathy for Mrs Kirsten, and indeed you should, if only because you are caring human beings, place that on one side of the scales called justice. On the other side, place the facts — the cold-blooded murder of a forty-two-year-old man who would still be alive today if it were not for the premeditated crime cunningly executed by that evil woman.’ He turned and pointed directly at the defendent. ‘The state has no hesitation in asking you to find Mrs Kirsten guilty, and sentence her according to the law.’ Mr Stamp returned to his place, the suggestion of a smile on his face.

‘Mr Davenport,’ said the judge, ‘I intend to break for lunch. When we return, you may begin your summing up.’

‘You look very pleased with yourself,’ said Tom as they settled down for breakfast in the kitchen.

‘It was an unforgettable evening.’

‘From that I assume consummation took place?’

‘No, you cannot assume anything of the sort,’ said Nat. ‘But I can tell you that I held her hand.’

‘You did what?’

‘I held her hand,’ Nat repeated.

‘That won’t do your reputation any good.’

‘I’m rather hoping it will ruin my reputation,’ said Nat as he poured some milk over his Wheaties. ‘And how about you?’ he asked.

‘If you are referring to my sex life, it is currently non-existent, though not through lack of offers, one even persistent. But I’m just not interested.’ Nat stared across at his friend and raised an eyebrow. ‘Rebecca Thornton has made it all too obvious that she’s available.’

‘But I thought...’

‘That she was back with Elliot?’

‘Yes.’

‘Possibly, but whenever I see her, she prefers to talk about you — in very flattering terms, I might add, though I’m told she tells a different story whenever she’s with Elliot’

‘If that’s the case,’ said Nat, ‘why do you think she’s bothering to chase you?’

Tom pushed aside his empty bowl and began to concentrate on the two boiled eggs in front of him. He cracked the shell and looked at the yolk before he continued. ‘If it’s known that you’re an only child and your father is worth millions, most women view you in a completely different light. So I never can be sure if it’s me, or my money they’re interested in. Just be thankful that you don’t suffer from the same problem.’

‘You’ll know when it’s the right person,’ said Nat.

‘Will I? I wonder. You’re one of the few people who’s never shown the slightest interest in my wealth, and you’re almost the only person I know who always insists on paying his own way. You’d be surprised by how many people assume I’ll pick up the tab just because I can afford it. I despise such people, which means that my circle of friends ends up being very small.’

‘My latest friend is very small,’ said Nat, hoping to snap Tom out of his morose mood, ‘and I know you’ll like her.’

‘The “I held her hand” girl?’

‘Yes, Su Ling — she’s about five foot four, and now that thin is fashionable, she’ll be the most sought-after woman on the campus.’

‘Su Ling?’ said Tom.

‘You know her?’ asked Nat.

‘No, but my father tells me that she’s taken over the new computer lab that his company funded, and the tutors have virtually stopped bothering to try and teach her.’

‘She never mentioned anything about computers to me last night,’ said Nat.

‘Well, you’d better move quickly, because Dad also mentioned that MIT and Harvard are both trying to tempt her away from UConn, so be warned, there’s a big brain on top of that little body.’

‘And I’ve made a complete fool of myself again,’ said Nat, ‘because I even teased her about her English, when she’s obviously mastered a new language that everyone wants to know about. By the way, is that why you wanted to see me?’ asked Nat.

‘No, I had no idea you were dating a genius.’

‘I’m not,’ said Nat, ‘she’s a gentle, thoughtful, beautiful woman, who considers holding hands is one step away from promiscuity.’ He paused. ‘So if it wasn’t to discuss my sex life, why did you call this high-powered breakfast meeting in the first place?’

Tom gave up on the eggs and pushed them to one side. ‘Before I return to Yale, I wanted to know if you’re going to run for president.’ He waited for the usual barrage of count me out, not interested, you’ve got the wrong person, but Nat didn’t respond for some time.

‘I discussed it with Su Ling last night,’ he eventually said, ‘and in her usual disarming way, she told me that it was not so much that they wanted me, as they didn’t want Elliot. The lesser of two evils were her exact words, if I remember correctly.’

‘I’m sure she’s right,’ said Tom, ‘but that could change if you gave them a chance to get to know you. You’ve been pretty much of a recluse since you returned to college.’

‘I’ve had a lot of catching up to do,’ said Nat defensively.

‘Well that’s no longer the case, as your grade point average clearly shows,’ said Tom, ‘and now you’ve been selected to run for the university...’

‘If you were at UConn, Tom, I wouldn’t hesitate to run for president, but while you’re at Yale...’

Fletcher rose from his place to face the jury — ninety-nine years was written on every one of their faces. If he could have turned the clock back and accepted the offer of three years, he would have done so without hesitation. Now he had been left with only one throw of the dice to try and give Mrs Kirsten the rest of her life back. He touched his client’s shoulder, and turned to seek a reassuring smile from Annie, who had felt so strongly that he should defend this woman. The smile disappeared the moment he saw who was seated two rows behind her. Professor Karl Abrahams graced him with a nod. At least Jimmy would discover what it took to get a nod out of Homer.

‘Members of the jury,’ Fletcher began, a slight tremor in his voice. ‘You have listened to the persuasive advocacy of the attorney general as he poured venom on my client, so perhaps the time has come to show where that venom should have been directed. But first may I spend a moment talking about you. The press have made great play of the fact that I did not object to every white juror who was selected; indeed there are ten of you on this jury. They went further, and suggested that had I achieved an all-black jury with a majority of women, then Mrs Kirsten would have been certain to walk free. But I didn’t want that. I chose each one of you for a different reason.’ The jury members looked puzzled.

‘Even the attorney general couldn’t work out why I didn’t object to some of you,’ added Fletcher turning to face Mr Stamp. ‘I crossed my fingers, because neither did any of his vast team fathom why I selected you. So what is it that you all have in common?’ The attorney general was now looking just as puzzled as the jurors. Fletcher swung round and pointed to Mrs Kirsten. ‘Like the defendant, every one of you has been married for more than nine years.’ Fletcher turned his attention back to the jury. ‘No bachelors or spinsters who have never experienced married life, or what goes on between two people behind closed doors.’ Fletcher spotted a woman in the second row who shuddered. He remembered Abrahams saying that in a jury of twelve, there is a strong possibility that one of them will have suffered the same experience as the defendant. He had just identified that juror.

‘Which of you dreads the thought of your spouse returning home after midnight, drunk, with only violence in mind? For Mrs Kirsten, this was something she had come to expect six nights out of seven, for the past nine years. Look at this frail and fragile woman and ask yourself what chance she would have up against a man of six foot two who weighed two hundred and thirty pounds?’

He focused his attention on the woman juror who had shuddered. ‘Which of you arrives home at night and expects their husband to grab the bread board, a cheese grater or even a steak knife for use not in the kitchen for preparing a meal, but in the bedroom to disfigure his wife? And what did Mrs Kirsten have to call on for her defence, this five foot four, one hundred and five pound woman? A pillow? A towel? A fly-swatter perhaps?’ Fletcher paused. ‘It’s never crossed your mind, has it?’ he added, facing the rest of the jurors. ‘Why? Because your husbands and wives are not evil. Ladies and gentlemen, how can you begin to understand what this woman was being subjected to, day in and day out?

‘But not satisfied with such degradation, one night this thug returns home drunk, goes upstairs, drags his wife out of bed by her hair, back down the stairs and into the kitchen; he is bored with simply beating her black and blue.’ Fletcher began to walk in the direction of his client. ‘He needs some other thrill to reach new heights of excitement, and what does Anita Kirsten see immediately she’s dragged into the kitchen? The ring on the stove is already red hot, and waiting for its victim.’ He swung back to face the jury. ‘Can you imagine what must have been going through her mind when she first saw that ring of fire? He grabs her hand like a piece of raw steak, and slams it down on the stove for fifteen seconds.’

Fletcher picked up Mrs Kirsten’s scarred hand and held it up so that the palm was clearly visible to the jury, looked at his watch and counted to fifteen, before he added, ‘And then she fainted.

‘Which of you can even imagine such horror, let alone be asked to endure it? So why did the attorney general demand ninety-nine years? Because, he told us, the killing was premeditated. It was, he assured us, most certainly not a crime of passion carried out by someone defending their life in a moment of rage.’ Fletcher swung round to face the attorney general and said, ‘Of course it was premeditated and of course she knew exactly what she was doing. If you were five foot four, being attacked by a man of six foot two, would you rely on a knife, a gun, or some blunt instrument that this thug could so easily turn against you?’ Fletcher turned and walked slowly towards the jury. ‘Which one of you would be that stupid? Which one of you, after what she had been through, wouldn’t plan it? Think of that poor woman when you next have a row with your spouse. After a few angry words have been exchanged, will you resort to putting the stove on to 220 degrees to prove you’ve won the argument?’ He looked at the seven men on the jury one by one. ‘Does such a man deserve your sympathy?

‘If this woman is guilty of murder, which one of you would not have done the same thing if you had been unfortunate enough to marry Alex Kirsten?’ This time he turned his attention to the five women before he continued. ‘“But I didn’t,” I hear you cry. “I married a good and decent man.” So now we can all agree on Mrs Kirsten’s crime. She married an evil man.’

Fletcher leant on the rail of the jury box. ‘I must beg the jury’s indulgence for my youthful passion, for passion it is. I chose to take this case as I feared justice would not be done for Mrs Kirsten, and in my youth I hoped that twelve fair-minded citizens would see what I had seen and would be unable to condemn this woman to spend the rest of her life in jail.

‘I must close my submission, by repeating to you the words Mrs Kirsten said to me when we sat alone in her cell this morning. “Mr Davenport, although I am only twenty-five, I would rather spend the rest of my life in jail than have to spend another night under the same roof as that evil man.”

‘Thank God she does not have to return home to him tonight. It is in your power, as members of the jury, to send this woman home tonight to her loving children, with the hope that together they might rebuild their lives, because twelve decent people understood the difference between good and evil.’ Fletcher lowered his voice to almost a whisper. ‘When you go home to your husbands and wives this evening, tell them what you did today in the name of justice, for I am confident if you bring in a verdict of Not Guilty, your spouses will not turn the stove up to 220 degrees because they don’t agree with you. Mrs Kirsten has already suffered a nine-year sentence. Do you really think she deserves another ninety?’

Fletcher returned to his seat, but did not turn round to look at Annie, for fear that Karl Abrahams would notice he was fighting back the tears.

19

‘Hi, my name’s Nat Cartwright.’

‘Not the Captain Cartwright?’

‘Yes, the hero who killed all those Vietcong with his bare hands because he forgot to take any paper clips with him.’

‘No,’ said Su Ling in mock admiration. ‘Not the one who flew a helicopter alone across enemy-infested jungle when he didn’t have a pilot’s licence?’

‘And then killed so many of the enemy that they stopped counting them, while at the same time he rescued a whole platoon of stranded men.’

‘And the people back home believed it, so he was decorated, given vast financial rewards and offered a hundred vestal virgins.’

‘I only get four hundred dollars a month, and I’ve never met a vestal virgin.’

‘Well you have now,’ said Su Ling with a smile.

‘Well, can you tell her that I have been chosen to run against Boston University.’

‘No doubt you’d expect her to stand around in the rain and wait until you trail in near the back, like all your other adoring fans?’

‘No, the truth is that I need my tracksuit cleaned, and I’m told her mother takes in washing.’ Su Ling burst out laughing. ‘Of course I’d like you to come to Boston,’ said Nat taking her in his arms.

‘I’ve already booked a place on the supporters’ bus.’

‘But Tom and I are driving up the night before, so why don’t you come with us?’

‘But where would I stay?’

‘One of Tom’s numerous aunts has a house in Boston, and has offered to put us all up for the night.’ Su Ling hesitated. ‘I’m told she has nine bedrooms, and even a separate wing, but if that’s not enough, I could always spend the night in the back of the car.’ Su Ling didn’t reply as Mario appeared carrying two cappuccinos.

‘This is my friend Mario,’ said Su Ling, ‘very good of you to keep my usual table’ she added.

‘Do you bring all your men here?’

‘No, I tend to select a different restaurant each time, so that way no one finds out about my vestal reputation.’

‘Like your reputation as a computer whiz?’

Su Ling blushed. ‘How did you find out about that?’

‘What do you mean, how did I find out? It seems everyone on campus knew except me. In fact my closest friend told me, and he’s at Yale.’

‘I was going to tell you, but you never asked the right question.’

‘Su Ling, you can tell me things without having to be asked the right question.’

‘Then I must ask if you’ve also heard that both Harvard and MIT have invited me to join their computer science departments.’

‘Yes, but I don’t know how you responded.’

‘Tell me, captain,’ she said, ‘can I ask you something first?’

‘You’re trying to change the subject again, Su Ling.’

‘Yes I am, Nat, because I need my question answered before I can reply to yours.’

‘OK, so what’s your question?’

Su Ling lowered her head as she always did when she was slightly embarrassed. ‘How can two such different people,’ she hesitated, ‘end up liking each other so much.’

‘End up falling in love, I think is what you’re trying to say. If I knew the answer to that question, little flower, I’d be a professor of philosophy, and not worrying about my end-of-term exam grades.’

‘In my country,’ said Su Ling, ‘love is something you do not talk about until you have known each other for many years.’

‘Then I promise not to discuss the matter again for many years — on one condition.’

‘And what is that?’

‘That you will agree to come to Boston with us on Friday.’

‘Yes, if I can have Tom’s aunt’s telephone number.’

‘Of course you can, but why?’

‘My mother will need to speak to her.’ Su Ling lifted her right foot, slipped it under the table and placed it on top of Nat’s left foot.

‘Now I feel sure that has a significant meaning in your country.’

‘Yes, it does. It means I wish to walk with you, but not in a crowd.’

Nat placed his right foot on her left. ‘And what does that mean?’

‘That you agree to my request,’ she hesitated. ‘But I should not have done it first, otherwise I would be considered a loose woman.’ Nat immediately removed his foot and then replaced it. ‘Honour restored,’ she said.

‘Then after we have been on our uncrowded walk, what happens next?’

‘You must wait for an invitation to take tea with my family.’

‘How long will that take?’

‘Normally a year would be considered appropriate.’

‘Couldn’t we speed up the process a little?’ suggested Nat. ‘How about next week?’

‘All right, then you will be invited to tea on Sunday afternoon, because Sunday is the traditional day for a man to have a first meal with a woman under the watchful eye of family.’

‘But we’ve already had several meals together.’

‘I know, so you must come to tea before my mother finds out, otherwise I will be abandoned and disinherited.’

‘Then I shall not accept your invitation to tea,’ said Nat.

‘Why not?’

‘I’ll just stand outside your house and grab you when your mother throws you out, and then I won’t have to wait for another two years.’ Nat placed both his feet on hers, and she withdrew them immediately. ‘What did I do wrong?’

‘Two feet means something completely different.’

‘What?’ asked Nat.

‘I can’t tell you, but as you were clever enough to find out the correct translation of Su Ling, I feel sure you will discover the meaning of two feet, and never do it again, unless...’

On Friday afternoon, Tom drove Nat and Su Ling up to his aunt’s home in the leafy suburbs of Boston. Miss Bussell had obviously spoken to Su Ling’s mother, because she’d put her in the bedroom on the main landing, next to hers, while Nat and Tom were relegated to the east wing.

After breakfast the following morning, Su Ling left to keep her appointment with the professor of statistics at Harvard, while Nat and Tom spent some time walking slowly round the cross-country course, something Nat always did whenever he would be running over unfamiliar territory. He checked out all the well-worn paths, and whenever he came to a stream, a gate or a sudden undulation, he practised crossing it several times.

On the way back across the meadow, Tom asked him what he would do if Su Ling agreed to a transfer to Harvard.

‘I’ll move at the same time and enrol at the business school.’

‘You feel that strongly about her?’

‘Yes, and I can’t risk letting anyone else place both feet on hers.’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘I’ll explain another time,’ said Nat as he came to a halt by a stream. ‘Where do you imagine they cross it?’

‘No idea,’ said Tom, ‘but it looks too wide to jump.’

‘Agreed, so I expect they aim for the large flat pebbles in the middle.’

‘What do you do if you re not sure?’ asked Tom.

‘Follow closely behind one of their team, because they’ll do the right thing automatically.’

‘Where are you hoping to end up this early in the season?’

‘I’d be satisfied with being a counter.’

‘I don’t understand, doesn’t everybody count?’

‘No, although there are eight runners on each team, only six count when the final score is calculated. If I come in twelfth or higher, I would be a counter.’

‘So how is the counting done?’

‘First across the line counts as one, second two, and so on. When the race is over, the first six in each team are added together, and the team with the lowest overall score is the winner. That way, seven and eight can only contribute if they stay ahead of any of the first six runners on the other team. Is that clear?’

‘Yes, I think so,’ said Tom, looking at his watch. ‘I’d better get back, because I promised Aunt Abigail I’d have lunch with her. Are you coming?’

‘No, I’m joining the rest of the team for a banana, a lettuce leaf and a glass of water. Could you pick up Su Ling and make sure that she’s back in time to watch the race.’

‘She won’t need to be reminded,’ said Tom.

When Tom strolled into the house, he found his aunt and Su Ling deep in conversation over a bowl of clam chowder. Tom sensed that his aunt had changed the subject the moment he’d entered the room. ‘You’d better grab something to eat,’ she said, ‘if you’re hoping to be back in time to see the start.’

After a second bowl of clam chowder, Tom accompanied Su Ling across to the course. He explained to her that Nat had selected a spot about half-way round, where they could see all the runners for at least a mile and then if they took a short cut, they would be back in time to watch the winner crossing the finishing line.

‘Do you understand what a counter is?’ Tom asked.

‘Yes, Nat explained it to me — an ingenious system, which makes the abacus look positively modem. Would you like me to explain it to you?’ she asked.

‘Yes, I think I would,’ said Tom.

By the time they reached the vantage point that Nat had selected, they didn’t have long to wait before the first runner came into view over the brow of the hill. They watched Boston’s captain shoot past them, and ten other runners had come and gone before Nat appeared. He gave a wave as he sped off down the hill.

‘He’s the last counter,’ said Su Ling as they set off to take the short cut back to the finishing line.

‘My bet is that he’ll move up two or three places now he knows you’re here to watch him,’ said Tom.

‘How flattering,’ said Su Ling.

‘Will you be taking up the Harvard offer?’ asked Tom quietly.

‘Did Nat ask you to find out?’ she enquired.

‘No,’ said Tom, ‘though he talks of little else.’

‘I have said yes, but only on one condition.’ Tom remained silent. Su Ling didn’t tell Tom what the condition was, so he didn’t ask.

They almost had to jog the last couple of hundred yards to make sure they were back in time to see the Boston captain raise his arms in triumph as he crossed the finishing line. Tom turned out to be right, because Nat ended up in ninth position, and fourth counter for his team. Both of them rushed over to congratulate him as if he were the winner. Nat lay on the ground exhausted, disappointed that he hadn’t done better when he learned that Boston had won by 31 to 24.

After supper with Aunt Abigail, they started out on the long drive back to Storrs. Nat rested his head in Su Ling’s lap and quickly fell asleep.

‘I can’t imagine what my mother would say about our first night together,’ she whispered to Tom as he drove on through the night.

‘Why don’t you go the whole hog and tell her that it was a menage a trois?’

‘Mother thought you were wonderful,’ said Su Ling as they walked slowly back towards south campus after tea the following afternoon.

‘What a woman,’ said Nat. ‘She can cook, run a home and is also a successful businesswoman.’

‘And don’t forget,’ said Su Ling, ‘that she was shunned in her own land for bearing a foreigner’s child and wasn’t even welcomed in this country when she first arrived, which is the reason I’ve been brought up so strictly. Like so many children of immigrants, I’m no cleverer than my mother, but by sacrificing everything to give me a first-class education, she has allowed me a better chance than she ever had. Perhaps you can now understand why I always try to respect her wishes.’

‘Yes, I can,’ said Nat, ‘and now that I’ve met your mother, I’d like you to meet mine, because I am equally proud of her.’ Su Ling laughed.

‘Why do you laugh, little flower?’ asked Nat.

‘In my country, for a man to meet a woman’s mother is to admit to a relationship. If the man then asks you to meet his mother, it means betrothal. If he then does not marry the girl, she will be a spinster for the rest of her life. However, I will take that risk, because Tom asked me to marry him yesterday when you were running away.’

Nat bent down, kissed her on the lips and then placed both his feet gently on top of hers. She smiled. ‘I love you too,’ she said.

20

‘What do you make of it?’ asked Jimmy.

‘I’ve no idea,’ said Fletcher, who glanced over at the attorney general’s table, but none of the state’s team gave any sign of looking either anxious or confident.

‘You could always ask Professor Abrahams for his opinion,’ said Annie.

‘Why, is he still around?’

‘I saw him roaming up and down the corridor only a few moments ago.’

Fletcher left the table, pushed open the little wooden gate dividing the court from the public and strode quickly out of the courtroom into the corridor. He glanced up and down the wide marble expanse, but didn’t spot the professor until the crowds near the rotunda staircase parted to reveal a distinguished looking man seated in the corner, head down, writing notes on a legal pad. Court officials and members of the public rushed past him, unaware of his presence. Fletcher walked apprehensively across to join him and watched as the old man continued making notes. He didn’t feel he could interrupt, so waited until the professor eventually looked up.

‘Ah, Davenport,’ he said, tapping the bench beside him. ‘Take a seat. You have an enquiring look on your face, so how may I assist you?’

Fletcher sat beside him. ‘I only wanted to ask your opinion on why the jury has been out for so long. Should I read anything into it?’

The professor checked his watch. ‘Just over five hours,’ he said. ‘No, I wouldn’t consider that long for a capital charge. Juries like to let you know that they’ve taken their responsibility seriously, unless of course it’s cut and dried, and this case certainly wasn’t.’

‘Do you have any feel for what the outcome might be?’ asked Fletcher anxiously.

‘You can never second-guess a jury, Mr Davenport; twelve people chosen at random, with little in common, though I must say, with a couple of exceptions, they looked a fair-minded lot. So what’s your next question?’

‘I don’t know, sir, what is my next question?’

‘What should I do if the verdict goes against me?’ He paused. ‘An eventuality you must always prepare for.’ Fletcher nodded. ‘Answer? You immediately ask the judge for leave to appeal.’ The professor tore off one of the sheets of yellow paper and handed it across to his pupil. ‘I hope you will not consider it presumptuous of me, but I have jotted down a simple form of words for every eventuality.’

‘Including guilty?’ said Fletcher.

‘No need to be that pessimistic yet. First we must consider the possibility of a hung jury. I observed in the centre of the back row a juror who never once looked at our client while she was on the witness stand. But I noticed that you also spotted the lady on the far end of the front row who lowered her eyes when you held up the scorched palm of Mrs Kirsten’s right hand.’

‘What do I do if it is a hung jury?’

‘Nothing. The judge, although not the brightest legal mind currently sitting on the appellant bench, is meticulous and fair when it comes to points of law, so he will ask the jury if they are able to return a majority verdict.’

‘Which in this state is ten to two.’

‘As it is in forty-three other states,’ the professor reminded him.

‘But if they are unable to agree on a majority verdict?’

‘The judge is left with no choice but to dismiss the jury and ask the attorney general if he wishes to call for a retrial, and before you ask, I can’t second-guess how Mr Stamp will react to that eventuality.’

‘You seem to have made a lot of notes,’ Fletcher said, looking down at line after line of neatly written script.

‘Yes, I intend to refer to this case next term when I give my lecture on the legal difference between manslaughter and homicide. It will be for my third-year students, so you should not be too embarrassed.’

‘Should I have accepted the attorney general’s deal of manslaughter, and settled for three years?’

‘I suspect we will find out the answer to that question in the not-too-distant future.’

‘Did I make a lot of mistakes?’ asked Fletcher.

‘A few,’ said the professor turning the pages of his pad.

‘What was the biggest one?’

‘Your only glaring error, in my opinion, was not calling a doctor to describe in graphic detail — something doctors always enjoy doing — how the bruises on Mrs Kirsten’s arms and legs might have been inflicted. Juries admire doctors. They assume that they are honest people, and in the main they are. But like every other group, if you ask them the right question — and it is after all the lawyers who select the questions — they are as prone to exaggeration as the rest of us.’ Fletcher felt guilty that he had missed such an obvious gambit, and only wished he had taken Annie’s advice and sought the professor’s counsel earlier.

‘Don’t worry, the state still has one or two hurdles to cross, because the judge is certain to grant us a stay of execution.’

‘Us?’ said Fletcher.

‘Yes,’ said the professor quietly, ‘although I have not appeared in court for many years, and may well be a little rusty, I was hoping that you might allow me to assist you on this occasion.’

‘You would serve as my co-counsel?’ said Fletcher in disbelief.

‘Yes, Davenport, I would,’ said the professor, ‘because you did convince me of one thing. Your client should not be spending the rest of her life in jail.’

‘Jury’s coming back,’ shouted a voice that echoed down the corridor.

‘Good luck, Davenport,’ added the professor. ‘And may I say before I hear the result, that for a second-year student, your defence was a remarkable tour de force.’

Nat could sense how nervous Su Ling was the closer they got to Cromwell. ‘Are you sure your mother will approve of the way I’m dressed?’ she asked, pulling her skirt down even further.

Nat looked across to admire the simple yellow suit that Su Ling had selected, that just hinted how graceful her figure was. ‘My mother will approve, and my father won’t be able to take his eyes off you.’

Su Ling squeezed his leg. ‘How will your father react when he finds out that I’m Korean?’

‘I shall remind him of your Irish father,’ said Nat. ‘In any case, he’s spent his whole fife dealing with figures, so it will take him only a few minutes to realize how bright you are.’

‘It’s not too late to turn back,’ said Su Ling. ‘We could always visit them next Sunday.’

‘It is too late,’ said Nat. ‘In any case, haven’t you considered how nervous my parents might be? After all, I have already told them that I’m desperately in love with you.’

‘Yes, but my mother adored you.’

‘And mine will adore you.’ Su Ling remained silent until Nat told her that they were approaching the outskirts of Cromwell.

‘But I don’t know what to say.’

‘Su Ling, it’s not an examination that you have to pass.’

‘Yes it is, that’s exactly what it is.’

‘This is the town where I was born,’ said Nat, trying to relax her as they drove down the main street. ‘When I was a child, I thought it was a great metropolis. But to be fair, I also used to think Hartford was the capital of the world.’

‘How long before we get there?’ she asked.

Nat glanced out of the window. ‘I’d say about ten minutes. But please don’t expect anything too grand, we only live in a small house.’

‘My mother and I live above the shop,’ said Su Ling.

Nat laughed, ‘And so did Harry Truman.’

‘And look where that got him,’ she replied.

Nat turned the car into Cedar Avenue. ‘We’re the third house on the right.’

‘Could we drive around the block a few times?’ said Su Ling, ‘I need to think about what I’m going to say.’

‘No,’ said Nat firmly, ‘try to remember how the professor of statistics at Harvard reacted when he first met you.’

‘Yes, but I didn’t want to marry his son.’

‘I feel sure he would have agreed to that if he’d thought it might have convinced you to join his team.’ Su Ling laughed for the first time in over an hour, just as Nat brought the car to a halt outside the house. He went quickly round to Su Ling’s side and opened the door for her. She stepped out and lost one of her shoes in the gutter.

‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry,’ she said as she slipped it back on. ‘I’m sorry.’

Nat laughed and took her in his arms.

‘No, no,’ said Su Ling, ‘your mother might see us.’

‘I hope she does,’ said Nat. He smiled and took her by the hand as they walked up the short driveway.

The door was opened long before they’d reached it, and Susan ran out to greet them. She immediately took Su Ling in her arms and said, ‘Nat didn’t exaggerate. You are quite beautiful.’

Fletcher walked slowly back down the corridor towards the courtroom, surprised to find that the professor remained by his side. When they reached the swing doors, the young counsellor assumed his mentor would return to his place a couple of rows behind Annie and Jimmy, but he continued walking towards the front of the courtroom and took the vacant seat next to Fletcher’s. Annie and Jimmy could barely conceal their surprise. The court usher announced, ‘All rise. His Honour Judge Abernathy presiding.’

Once he was seated, the judge looked towards the attorney general and acknowledged him, then turned his attention to the defence team, and for the second time during the trial, surprise registered on his face.

‘I see you have acquired an assistant, Mr Davenport. Is his name to be entered on the register before I recall the jury?’

Fletcher turned to the professor, who rose from his place and said, ‘That would be my wish, your honour.’

‘Name?’ asked the judge, as if he had never seen him before.

‘Karl Abrahams, your honour.’

‘Are you qualified to appear in my court?’ asked the judge solemnly.

‘I believe I am, sir,’ said Abrahams, ‘I first became a member of the Connecticut bar in 1937, though I have never had the privilege of appearing before your honour.’

‘Thank you, Mr Abrahams. If the attorney general has no objection, I will enter your name on my register as Mr Davenport’s co-counsel.’

The attorney general rose, gave the professor a slight bow, and said, ‘It is a privilege to be in the same court as Mr Davenport’s assistant.’

‘Then I think we should waste no more time in recalling the jury,’ said the judge.

Fletcher examined the faces of the seven men and five women as they filed back to their places. The professor had suggested that Fletcher check to see if any jury members looked directly at their client, which would possibly indicate a verdict of not guilty. He thought two or three of them did, but he couldn’t be sure.

The foreman rose. ‘Have you reached a verdict in this case?’ the judge asked.

‘No, your honour, we have been unable to do so,’ the foreman replied.

Fletcher could feel the sweat on the palms of his hands even more intensely than when he had first stood to address the jury. The judge tried a second time. ‘Are you able to return a majority verdict?’

‘No, we are not your honour,’ replied the foreman.

‘Do you feel, given more time, you might eventually reach a majority verdict?’

‘I don’t think so, your honour. We have been equally divided for the past three hours.’

‘Then I have no choice but to declare a mistrial, and dismiss the jury. On behalf of the state, I thank you for your service.’ He turned his attention to the attorney general, and as he did so Mr Abrahams rose to his feet.

‘I wonder, your honour, if I might seek your guidance on a small point of protocol.’

The judge looked puzzled, as did the attorney general. ‘I can’t wait to hear your small point of protocol, Mr Abrahams.’

‘Allow me first to enquire of your honour, if I am correct in thinking that should there be a retrial, the defence team must be announced within fourteen days?’

‘That would be the normal practice, Mr Abrahams.’

‘Then may I assist the court by making it clear that should that situation arise, Mr Davenport and I will continue to represent the defendant.’

‘I am obliged for your small point of protocol,’ said the judge, no longer puzzled.

‘So I must now ask you Mr Stamp,’ said the judge, turning his attention back to the attorney general, ‘if it is your intention to apply for a retrial of this case.’

The court’s attention swung to the state’s lawyers, all five of whom were in a huddle, holding an animated conversation. Judge Abernathy made no attempt to hurry them, and it was some time before Mr Stamp rose from his place. ‘We do not believe, your honour, that it is in the state’s best interest to reopen this case.’

Cheering broke out in the well of the court as the professor tore a sheet from his yellow pad and pushed it across to his pupil. Fletcher glanced down at it, rose from his place and read it, word for word. ‘You honour, in the circumstances, I would ask for the immediate release of my client.’ He looked down at the professor’s next sentence and continued to read, ‘And may I say how grateful I am for the gracious and professional manner in which Mr Stamp and his team have conducted the case for the prosecution.’

The judge nodded, and Mr Stamp rose again. ‘May I in turn congratulate the defence counsel and his assistant on their first case before your honour, and wish Mr Davenport every success in what I feel certain will be a promising career.’

Fletcher beamed at Annie, as Professor Abrahams rose from his place. ‘Objection, your honour.’

Everyone turned to face the professor. ‘I wouldn’t have thought it was that certain,’ he said. ‘It is my belief that a lot of work still needs to be done before that promise will be realized.’

‘Sustained,’ said Judge Abernathy.

‘My mother taught me two languages up until the age of nine and by then I was just about ready to be main-streamed into the Storrs’ school system.’

‘That’s where I started my academic life,’ said Susan.

‘But I discovered from an early age that I was more at ease with numbers than words.’ Michael Cartwright nodded his understanding. ‘And I was most fortunate to have a maths teacher whose hobby was statistics, and who was also fascinated by the role the computer might play in the future.’

‘We’re beginning to rely a lot on them in the insurance business,’ said Michael as he refilled his pipe.

‘How big is your firm’s computer, Mr Cartwright?’ asked Su Ling.

‘About the size of this room.’

‘The next generation of students will work with computers no larger than the lids of their desks, and the generation after that will be able to hold them in the palm of their hand.’

‘Do you really believe that’s possible?’ asked Susan, transfixed.

‘The technology is moving at such a pace, and the demand will be so high, that the price must fall quickly. Once that happens, computers will become like the phone and the television were in the forties and fifties, as more people purchase them, the cheaper and smaller they will be.’

‘But surely some computers will still need to be large?’ suggested Michael. ‘After all, my company has over forty thousand customers.’

‘Not necessarily,’ said Su Ling. ‘The computer that sent the first man to the moon was larger than this house, but we will live to see a space capsule land on Mars controlled by a computer no larger than this kitchen table.’

‘No larger than the kitchen table?’ repeated Susan, trying to grasp the concept.

‘In California, Silicon Valley has become the new hotbed of technology. Already IBM and Hewlett Packard are finding that their latest models can be out of date in a matter of months, and once the Japanese are fully up to speed, it might even be weeks.’

‘Then how can firms like mine be expected to keep up?’ asked Michael.

‘You’ll simply have to replace your computer just as often as you change your car, and in the not-too-distant future, you’ll be able to carry in your inside pocket detailed information on every customer you represent.’

‘But I repeat,’ said Michael, ‘our company currently has forty-two thousand clients.’

‘It won’t matter if you have four hundred thousand Mr Cartwright, a hand-held computer will still be able to do the same job.’

‘But think of the consequences,’ said Susan.

‘They are very exciting, Mrs Cartwright,’ said Su Ling. She paused and blushed, ‘I apologize, I’ve been talking far too much.’

‘No, no,’ said Susan, ‘it’s fascinating, but I was hoping to ask you about Korea, a country I’ve always wanted to visit. If it’s not a silly question, are you more like the Chinese or the Japanese?’

‘Neither,’ replied Su Ling. ‘We are as different as a Russian is from an Italian. The Korean nation was originally a tribal one and probably first existed as early as the second century...’

‘And to think I told them that you were shy,’ Nat remarked as he slipped in beside her later that night.

‘I’m very sorry,’ said Su Ling. ‘I broke your mother’s golden rule.’

‘Which one?’ said Nat.

‘That when two people meet, the conversation should be equally shared, three people, thirty-three per cent, four people, twenty-five per cent. I talked,’ she paused, ‘for about ninety per cent of the time. I feel ashamed, because I behaved so disgracefully, I don’t know what came over me. I was just so nervous. I feel sure they already regret any suggestion of me as a daughter-in-law.’

Nat laughed. ‘They adored you,’ he said, ‘my father was mesmerized by your knowledge of computers, and my mother fascinated by the customs of Korea, though you didn’t mention what has to take place if a Korean girl takes tea with her suitor’s parents.’

‘That doesn’t apply to a first generation American, like myself.’

‘Who wears pink lipstick and mini skirts,’ said Nat, holding up a tube of pink lipstick.

‘I didn’t know you used lipstick, Nat. Another habit you picked up in Vietnam?’

‘Only on night ops, now turn over.’

‘Turn over?’

‘Yes,’ said Nat firmly, ‘I thought Korean women were meant to be subservient, so do as you’re told and turn over.’

Su Ling turned over, and placed her face down on the pillow. ‘What is your next order, Captain Cartwright?’

‘To take off your nightdress, little flower.’

‘Does this happen to all American girls on the second night?’

‘Take off your nightdress.’

‘Yes, captain.’ She slowly pulled her white silk nightdress over the top of her head, and dropped it on the floor. ‘What next,’ she asked. ‘Is it now that you beat me?’

‘No, that doesn’t happen until the third date, but I am going to ask you a question.’ Nat took the pink lipstick and wrote four words on her olive skin, followed by a question mark.

‘What have you written, Captain Cartwright?’

‘Why don’t you find out for yourself?’

Su Ling climbed off the bed and stared over her shoulder into the long mirror. It was some time before a smile spread across her face. She turned to find Nat lying spread-eagled on the bed, holding the lipstick high above his head. Su Ling walked slowly across, grabbed the lipstick, stared down at his broad shoulders for some time, before she wrote the words, YES I WILL.

21

‘Annie’s pregnant.’

‘That’s wonderful news,’ said Jimmy as they left the dining hall and strolled across the campus for their first lecture of the morning. ‘How many months is she?’

‘Only a couple, so now it will be your turn to give the advice.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Don’t forget, you’re the one with all the experience. You’re a father of a six-month-old baby daughter. To start with, how can I help Annie during the next seven months?’

‘Just try to be supportive. Never forget to tell her that she looks wonderful even when she resembles a beached whale, and if she gets any crazy ideas, just play along with them.’

‘Such as?’ asked Fletcher.

‘Joanna liked to eat half-pint tubs of double chocolate chip ice cream just before she went to bed each night, so I had a tub as well, and then if she woke up in the middle of the night she often asked for another one.’

‘That must have been a real sacrifice,’ said Fletcher.

‘Yes it was, because it always had to be followed by a spoonful of cod liver oil.’

Fletcher laughed. ‘Keep going,’ he said as they approached the Andersen building.

‘Annie will start going to pre-natal classes fairly soon, and the instructors usually recommend that husbands also attend so they can appreciate what their wives are going through.’

‘I’d enjoy that,’ said Fletcher, ‘especially if I’m going to have to eat all that ice cream.’ They climbed the steps and walked through the swing doors.

‘With Annie, it may turn out to be onions or pickle,’ said Jimmy.

‘Then I may not be quite as enthusiastic’

‘And then there’s the preparation for the birth. Who’ll help Annie with this?’

‘Mom asked if she wanted Miss Nichol, my old nanny to come out of retirement, but Annie wouldn’t hear of it. She’s determined to bring up this child without any outside assistance.’

‘Joanna would have taken advantage of Miss Nichol without a second thought, because from what I remember of that lady, she would have happily agreed to paint the nursery as well as change the diapers.’

‘We don’t have a nursery,’ said Fletcher, ‘just a spare room.’

‘Then as of today, that becomes the nursery, and Annie will expect you to repaint it, while she goes out and buys a whole new wardrobe.’

‘She’s got more than enough clothes already,’ said Fletcher.

‘No woman has more than enough clothes,’ said Jimmy, ‘and in a couple of months’ time she won’t be able to fit into any of them, and that’s before she starts thinking about the baby’s needs.’

‘I’d better start looking for a job as a waiter or bartender right away,’ said Fletcher, as they walked down the corridor.

‘But surely your father will...’

‘I don’t intend to spend my whole life sponging off my old man.’

‘If my father had that sort of money,’ said Jimmy, ‘I wouldn’t do a day’s work.’

‘Yes, you would,’ said Fletcher, ‘otherwise Joanna would never have agreed to marry you.’

‘I don’t think you’ll end up being a bartender Fletcher, because after your triumph in the Kirsten case you’ll get the pick of the summer association jobs. And if there’s one thing I know about my kid sister, she won’t allow anything to get in the way of you coming out top of our year.’ Jimmy paused. ‘Why don’t I have a word with my mother? She certainly helped Joanna with a lot of the chores without ever making it at all obvious.’ He paused. ‘But I’d expect something in return.’

‘What do you have in mind?’ asked Fletcher.

‘Well, for a start, how about your father’s money?’ he said with a grin.

Fletcher laughed. ‘You want my father’s money in exchange for asking your mother to help her daughter with the birth of her grandchild? You know, Jimmy, I have a feeling you’d make a very successful divorce lawyer.’

‘I’ve decided to run for president,’ he said without even announcing who it was on the other end of the line.

‘That’s good news,’ said Tom, ‘but how does Su Ling feel about it?’

‘I wouldn’t have taken the first step if she hadn’t suggested it. And she also wants to play a role in the campaign. She’s asked to be responsible for polling and anything to do with figures or statistics.’

‘Then that’s one of your problems solved,’ said Tom. ‘Have you appointed a campaign manager?’

‘Yes, just after you returned to Yale, I settled on a guy called Joe Stein. He’s fought two campaigns in the past, and will also bring in the Jewish vote,’ said Nat.

‘There’s a Jewish vote in Connecticut?’ said Tom.

‘In America, there’s always a Jewish vote, and on this campus, there are four hundred and eighteen Jews, and I need the support of every one of them.’

‘So what’s your considered opinion on the future of the Golan Heights?’ asked Tom.

‘I don’t even know where the Golan Heights are,’ Nat replied.

‘Well you’d better find out by this time tomorrow.’

‘I wonder what Elliot’s view is on the Golan Heights?’

‘That they should always be part of Israel, and not one inch should ever be sacrificed to the Palestinians, would be my bet,’ said Tom.

‘So what will be his line with the Palestinians?’

‘There are probably so few on campus, he won’t have an opinion.’

‘That would certainly make the decision easy for him.’

‘The next thing you’ll have to consider is your opening address, and where you’re going to deliver it,’ said Tom.

‘I was thinking of Russell Hall.’

‘But that only holds four hundred. Isn’t there anything bigger?’

‘Yes,’ said Nat, ‘the Assembly Rooms hold over a thousand, but Elliot made that mistake, because when he gave his opening speech, the place looked half empty. No, I’d rather book the hall and have people sitting on the ledges, hanging from the rafters, even standing on the steps outside unable to get in, which will leave a much better impression with the voters.’

‘Then you’d better select a date and reserve the hall immediately, and at the same time get on with putting the rest of your team in place.’

‘What else should I be worrying about?’ asked Nat.

‘The candidate’s bread-and-butter speech, and don’t forget to talk to every student you come across — you remember the routine, “Hi, my name is Nat Cartwright, and I’m running for president, and I hope I can rely on your support.” Then listen to what they have to say, because if they believe you’re interested in their views, you have a far better chance of their support.’

‘Anything else?’

‘Be ruthless in using Su Ling, and ask her to carry out the same routine with every female student, because she’s bound to be one of the most admired women on campus after her decision to remain at the university. There aren’t many people who turn down Harvard.’

‘Don’t remind me,’ said Nat. ‘Is that it, because you seem to have thought of just about everything?’

‘Yes, I’ll come back and help you for the last ten days of term, but I won’t be officially part of your team.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because Elliot will tell everyone your campaign is being run by an outsider and worse, a millionaire banker’s son from Yale. Try not to forget you would have won your last election if it hadn’t been for Elliot’s deceit, so be prepared for him to come up with something that might derail you.’

‘Like what?’

‘If I could work that out, I’d be Nixon’s chief of staff.’

‘How do I look?’ asked Annie, propped up on the front seat of the car, clutching her seatbelt.

‘You look fantastic, honey,’ said Fletcher, not even glancing across at her.

‘No I don’t, I look awful, and it’s going to be such an important occasion.’

‘It’s probably only one of his get-togethers for a dozen or so students.’

‘I doubt it,’ said Annie. ‘It was a hand-written invitation, and even I couldn’t miss the words, “do try to make it, there’s someone I want you to meet”.’

‘Well we’re about to find out who that is,’ said Fletcher as he parked his old Ford behind a limousine surrounded by a dozen Secret Service agents.

‘Who can that possibly be?’ whispered Annie as he helped her from the car.

‘I’ve no idea, but...’

‘How nice to see you, Fletcher,’ said the professor, who was standing at the front door. ‘Good of you to come,’ he added. It would have been damn stupid of me not to, Fletcher wanted to reply. ‘And you too, Mrs Davenport, of course I remember you well, because for a couple of weeks I sat just two rows behind you in court.’

Annie smiled. ‘I was a little slimmer then.’

‘But no more beautiful,’ said Abrahams. ‘May I ask when the baby is due?’

‘In ten weeks, sir.’

‘Please call me Karl,’ said the professor. ‘It makes me feel so much younger when an undergraduate from Vassar calls me by my first name. A privilege I might add, that I shall not be extending to your husband for at least another year.’ He winked as he put an arm round Annie’s shoulder. ‘Come on in because there’s someone I want you both to meet.’

Fletcher and Annie followed the professor into the living room, where they found a dozen guests already deep in conversation. It looked as if they were the last to arrive.

‘Mr Vice-President, I should like to introduce Annie Davenport.’

‘Good evening, Mr Vice-President.’

‘Hi, Annie,’ said Spiro Agnew thrusting out his hand, ‘I’m told you’ve married a very bright guy.’

Karl whispered loudly, ‘Try not to forget, Annie, that politicians have a tendency to exaggerate, because they are always hoping for your vote.’

‘I know, Karl, my father is a politician.’

‘Is that right?’ said Agnew.

‘No, left, sir,’ she replied with a smile, ‘he’s the majority leader in the Connecticut state senate.’

‘Are there no Republicans among us this evening?’

‘And this, Mr Vice-President, is Annie’s husband, Fletcher Davenport.’

‘Hi, Fletcher, is your father also a Democrat?’

‘No, sir, he’s a card-carrying Republican.’

‘Great, so at least we’ve got two votes wrapped up in your household.’

‘No sir, my mother wouldn’t allow you across the threshold.’

The vice-president burst out laughing. ‘I don’t know what that does for your reputation, Karl.’

‘I shall continue to remain neutral, Spiro, as I have no politics. However, may I leave Annie with you, sir, as there’s someone else I want Fletcher to meet.’

Fletcher was puzzled as he had assumed it was the vice-president to whom the professor must have been referring in his letter, but he dutifully followed his host to join a group of men standing by a blazing fire on the far side of the room.

‘Bill, this is Fletcher Davenport, Fletcher, this is Bill Alexander of Alexander...’

‘... Dupont and Bell,’ completed Fletcher as he shook hands with the senior partner of one of New York’s most prestigious law firms.

‘I’ve been keen to make your acquaintance for some time, Fletcher,’ said Bill Alexander. ‘You have managed something I failed to achieve in thirty years.’

‘And what was that, sir?’

‘Getting Karl to appear as second chair in one of my cases — how did you manage it?’

Both men waited to hear his reply. ‘I didn’t have a lot of choice, sir. He forced himself on me in a most unprofessional manner, but then you must realize he was desperate. No one has offered him any real work since 1938.’ Both men laughed.

‘But I’m bound to ask if he was worth his fee, which must have been handsome, remembering you kept that woman out of jail?’

‘It certainly was,’ said Abrahams, before his young guest could reply. He placed a hand on the bookshelf behind Bill Alexander and removed a hardback copy of The Trials of Clarence Darrow. Mr Alexander studied the book. ‘I have one myself, of course,’ said Alexander.

‘And so did I,’ said Abrahams. Fletcher looked disappointed. ‘But not a signed first edition with a dust jacket in perfect condition. They are indeed a collector’s item.’

Fletcher thought about his mother, and her invaluable advice; ‘Try to choose something he’ll treasure, it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money.’

Nat went round the circle of eight men and six women who made up his team, asking each of them to give a brief biography for the rest of the group. He then allocated their particular responsibilities in the run-up to the election. Nat could only admire Su Ling’s commitment, because following Tom’s off-stage advice, she had selected a remarkable cross-section of students, most of whom had obviously wanted Nat to stand for some time.

‘OK, let’s start with up-dates,’ said Nat.

Joe Stein rose from his place. ‘Because the candidate has made it clear that no single contribution can exceed one dollar, I have increased the number in the fund-raising team so we can approach as many of the students as possible. That group currently meets once a week, usually on a Monday. It would be helpful if the candidate was able to address them some time.’

‘Would next Monday suit you?’ asked Nat.

‘Fine by me,’ said Joe. ‘To date, we’ve raised $307, most of which was collected after your speech at Russell Hall. Because the room was so packed many of them were convinced that they were backing the winner.’

‘Thanks, Joe,’ said Nat. ‘Next: what’s the opposition up to? Tim?’

‘My name’s Tim Ulrich, and my job is to cover the opposition’s campaign, and make sure we know what they’re up to the whole time. We have at least two people taking notes whenever Elliot opens his mouth. He’s made so many promises during the past few days, that if he tried to keep them all, the university would be bankrupt by this time next year.’

‘Now how about groups. Ray?’

‘Groups fall into three categories, ethnic, religious and club, so I have three deputy leaders to cover each one. There is of course a considerable amount of over-lapping, for example, Italians and Catholics.’

‘Sex?’ suggested someone.

‘No,’ said Ray, ‘we found sex to be universal, and therefore couldn’t group it, but opera, food, fashion are examples of where the over-lapping came for Italians — but we’re on top of it. Mario’s even offering free coffee to those customers who promise to vote Cartwright.’

‘Be careful. Elliot will pick that up as an election expense,’ said Joe. ‘Don’t let’s lose on a technicality.’

‘Agreed,’ said Nat. ‘Sports?’

Jack Roberts, the basketball captain, didn’t need to introduce himself. ‘Track and field is well covered by Nat’s personal involvement, especially after his victory in the final cross-country meet against Cornell. I’m covering the baseball team as well as basketball. Elliot already has football sewn up, but the surprise is women’s lacrosse — that club has over three hundred members.’

‘I’ve got a girlfriend on the second team,’ said Tim.

‘I thought you were homosexual?’ said Chris. Some of them laughed.

‘Who is covering the gay vote?’ asked Nat.

No one spoke. ‘If anyone admits to being openly gay, find a place for them on the team, and no more snide remarks.’

Chris nodded his agreement. ‘Sorry, Nat.’

‘Finally, polls and statistics, Su Ling.’

‘My name is Su Ling. There are 9,628 students registered — 5,517 men, 4,111 women. A very amateur poll conducted on campus last Saturday morning showed Elliot had 611 votes and Nat 541, but don’t forget Elliot’s had a head start on us, because he’s been campaigning for over a year, and his posters are already displayed everywhere. Ours will be up by Friday.’

‘And torn down by Saturday.’

‘Then we replace them immediately,’ said Joe, ‘without resorting to the same tactics. Sorry, Su Ling.’

‘No, that’s fine. Every member of the team must be sure to speak to at least twenty voters a day,’ Su Ling said. ‘With sixty days still to go, we must try to canvass every student several times before election day. Now this exercise should not be done casually,’ she continued. ‘On the wall behind you, you will find a board with the name of every student in alphabetical order. On the table below you will see seventeen crayons. I have allocated a colour for each member of the team. Every evening, you will place a tick by the voters that you have spoken to. This is just another way of finding out who are the talkers and who are the workers.’

‘But you said there were seventeen crayons on the table,’ said Joe, ‘when there are only fourteen members of the team?’

‘Correct, but there’s also one black, one yellow and one red crayon. If the person has said they will be voting for Elliot, you cross him or her out in black, if you’re unsure, give them a yellow tick, but if you’re confident they will be voting for Nat, then use red. Each evening I’ll enter any new data on my computer, and hand you all print-outs first thing the following morning. Any questions?’ asked Su Ling.

‘Will you marry me?’ asked Chris.

Everyone burst out laughing. ‘Yes, I will,’ said Su Ling. She paused. ‘And remember not to believe everything you’re told, because Elliot has already asked me, and I said yes to him as well.’

‘What about me?’ said Nat.

Su Ling smiled. ‘Don’t forget, I gave you your answer in writing.’

‘Goodnight, sir, and thank you for a memorable evening.’

‘Goodnight, Fletcher. I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.’

‘We certainly did,’ said Annie. ‘It was fascinating to meet the vice-president. I’ll be able to tease my father for weeks,’ she added, as Fletcher helped her into the car.

Before he had pulled the door closed on his side, Fletcher said, ‘Annie, you were fantastic’

‘I was only trying to survive,’ said Annie. ‘I hadn’t expected Karl to place me between the vice-president and Mr Alexander during dinner. I even wondered if it was a mistake.’

‘The professor doesn’t make that sort of mistake,’ said Fletcher. ‘I suspect that Bill Alexander requested it.’

‘But why would he do that?’ asked Annie.

‘Because he’s the senior partner of an old-fashioned, traditional firm, so he’ll figure that he can learn a great deal about me if he gets to know my wife; if you’re invited to join Alexander Dupont and Bell, it’s nothing short of marriage.’

‘Then let’s hope I didn’t hold up a proposal.’

‘Far from it. What you did was to make sure I reach the courting stage. Don’t imagine that it was coincidental that Mrs Alexander came and sat next to you when coffee was being served in the drawing room.’

Annie gave out a slight moan, and Fletcher looked anxiously across. ‘Oh, my God,’ she said, ‘the contractions have begun.’

‘But you’ve still got another ten weeks,’ said Fletcher. ‘Just relax and I’ll have you back home and tucked up in no time.’

Annie groaned again, a little louder. ‘Don’t bother with going home,’ she said, ‘get me to a hospital.’

Speeding across Westville, Fletcher checked the names on the street corners and tried to work out which would be the best route to Yale-New Haven Hospital, when he spotted a taxi stand on the far side of the road. He swung the car sharply across and pulled up alongside the front cab. He wound down the window, and shouted, ‘My wife’s gone into labour, which is the quickest route to Yale-New Haven?’

‘Follow me,’ shouted the cab driver and shot off in front of them.

Fletcher tried to keep up with the taxi as he nipped in and out of the traffic, with a palm pressed down on the horn, while flashing his fights, as he took a route Fletcher didn’t even know existed. Annie clutched her stomach, as the groans became louder and louder.

‘Don’t worry my darling, we’re nearly there,’ he said, as he jumped another red light to make sure he didn’t lose contact with the cab.

When the two cars finally reached the hospital, Fletcher was surprised to see a doctor and nurse standing next to a gurney by an open door, obviously expecting them. As the cab driver jumped out, he gave the nurse a thumbs-up sign, and Fletcher guessed that he must have asked his dispatcher to call ahead; he hoped he had enough money on him to pay the fare, not to mention a large tip for the man’s initiative.

Fletcher jumped out of the car, and ran round to help Annie, but the cab driver beat him to it. They took an elbow each and helped to lift her out of the car and gently on to the gurney. The nurse began to unbutton Annie’s dress even before she was wheeled through the open door. Fletcher removed his wallet, turned to the taxi driver and said, ‘Thank you, you couldn’t have been more helpful. How much do I owe you?’

‘Not a cent, it’s on me,’ the taxi driver replied.

‘But...’ began Fletcher

‘If I told my wife I’d charged you, she’d kill me. Good luck,’ he shouted and without another word walked back to his cab.

‘Thank you,’ Fletcher repeated before he dashed into the hospital. He quickly caught up with his wife and took her hand. ‘It’s going to be just fine, honey,’ he assured her.

The orderly asked Annie a series of questions, all of which received a monosyllabic yes in reply. His enquiries complete, he rang through to theatre to alert Dr Redpath and the waiting team that they were less than a minute away. The slow, vast elevator lurched to a halt on the fifth floor. Annie was wheeled quickly down the corridor, Fletcher trotting by her side, clinging on to her outstretched hand. He could see two nurses in the distance holding open double doors so that the gurney would never lose its momentum.

Annie continued to hold on to Fletcher’s hand as she was lifted on to the operating table. Three more people came bursting into the room, their faces hidden behind masks. The first checked the instruments laid out on the table, the second prepared an oxygen mask, while the third tried to ask Annie more questions, although she was now screaming with pain. Fletcher never let go of his wife’s hand, until an older man came through the door. He pulled on a pair of surgical gloves and said, ‘Are we all ready?’ even before he’d had a chance to check the patient.

‘Yes, Dr Redpath,’ replied the nurse.

‘Good,’ he said and, turning to Fletcher, he added, ‘I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to leave Mr Davenport. We’ll call for you just as soon as the baby has been delivered.’

Fletcher kissed his wife on the forehead. ‘I’m so proud of you,’ he whispered.

22

Nat woke at five on the day of the election, only to discover that Su Ling was already in the shower. He checked the schedule on the bedside table. Full team meeting at seven, followed by an hour and a half outside the dining hall to meet and greet voters as they went in and out of breakfast.

‘Come and join me,’ shouted Su Ling, ‘we haven’t any time to waste.’ She was right, because they arrived at the team meeting only moments before the clock on the bell tower struck seven times. Every other member of the team was already present, and Tom, who had come over from Yale for the day, was passing on the experience of his own recent election. Su Ling and Nat took the two empty seats each side of their unofficial chief of staff, who continued the briefing as if they weren’t there.

‘No one stops, even to draw breath, until one minute past six when the last vote will have been cast. Now I suggest that the candidate and Su Ling are outside the dining hall between seven thirty and eight thirty while the rest of you go into breakfast.’

‘We’re expected to go on eating that rubbish for an hour?’ said Joe.

‘No, I don’t want you to eat anything, Joe, I need you moving from table to table, never two of you at the same table, and remember that Elliot’s team will probably be carrying out exactly the same exercise, so don’t waste any time asking for their vote. OK, let’s go.’

Fourteen people ran out of the room and across the lawn, disappearing through the swing doors and into the dining hall, leaving Nat and Su Ling to hang around near the entrance.

‘Hi, I’m Nat Cartwright, and I’m running for student president, and I hope you’ll be able to support me in today’s election.’

Two sleepy-eyed students said, ‘Fine, man, you’ve already wrapped up the gay vote.’

‘Hi, I’m Nat Cartwright, and I’m running for student president, and I hope you’ll be able to support me...’

‘Yes, I know who you are, but how can you possibly understand what it’s like to survive on a student loan, when you earn an extra four hundred dollars a month?’ came back the sharp reply.

‘Hi, I’m Nat Cartwright, I’m running for student president and...’

‘I won’t be voting for either of you,’ said another student, as he pushed through the swing doors.

‘Hi, I’m Nat Cartwright, and I’m running for...’

‘Sorry, just visiting from another campus, so I don’t have a vote.’

‘Hi, I’m Nat Cartwright and I’m...’

‘Good luck, but I’m only voting for you because of your girlfriend, I think she’s terrific’

‘Hi, I’m Nat Cartwright...’

‘And I’m a member of Ralph Elliot’s team, and we’re going to kick your butt.’

‘Hi, I’m Nat...’

Nine hours later, Nat could only wonder how many times he had delivered that line, and how many hands he’d shaken. All he knew for certain was that he had lost his voice and was sure his fingers would fall off. At one minute past six, he turned to Tom and said, ‘Hi, I’m Nat Cartwright and...’

‘Forget it,’ said Tom with a laugh, ‘I’m the president of Yale, and all I know is if it wasn’t for Ralph Elliot you’d have my job.’

‘What have you planned for me now,’ asked Nat, ‘because my schedule ends at six, so I don’t have a clue what to do next.’

‘Typical of every candidate,’ said Tom, ‘but I thought the three of us could have a relaxed dinner at Mario’s.’

‘What about the rest of the team?’ asked Su Ling.

‘Joe, Chris, Sue and Tim are acting as observers at the count over in the Commons, while the others are getting a well-earned rest. As the count begins at seven and should take at least a couple of hours, I’ve suggested that everybody be there by eight thirty.’

‘Sounds good to me,’ said Nat. ‘I could eat a horse.’

Mario guided the three of them to their table in the corner, and kept addressing Nat as Mr President. As the three of them sipped their drinks and tried to relax, Mario reappeared with a large bowl of spaghetti which he covered in a bolognese sauce, before sprinkling parmesan cheese all over it. However many times Nat stuck his fork in the heap of pasta, it never seemed to diminish. Tom noticed that his friend was becoming more and more nervous and eating less and less.

‘I wonder what Elliot is up to right now?’ asked Su Ling.

‘He’ll be at McDonald’s along with the rest of his wretched gang, eating burgers and fries and pretending to enjoy them,’ said Tom as he sipped a glass of house wine.

‘Well, at least there are no more dirty tricks he can play now,’ said Nat.

‘I wouldn’t be so sure of that,’ said Su Ling, just as Joe Stein came rushing through the door.

‘What can Joe want?’ asked Tom as he stood and waved at him. Nat smiled as his chief of staff rushed over to their table, but Joe didn’t return his smile.

‘We’ve got a problem,’ said Joe. ‘You’d better come over to the Commons immediately.’

Fletcher began pacing up and down the corridor, much in the same way as his father had done over twenty years before, an evening that had been described to him by Miss Nichol on many occasions. It was like the replaying of an old black-and-white movie, always with the same happy ending. Fletcher found he was never more than a few paces from the door of the operating room as he waited for someone — anyone — to come out.

At last the rubber doors swung open and a nurse rushed out, but she hurried quickly past Fletcher without saying a word. It was several more minutes before Dr Redpath finally emerged. He removed his face mask, but his lips weren’t smiling. ‘They’re just settling your wife into her room,’ he said. ‘She’s fine, exhausted, but fine. You should be able to see her in a few moments.’

‘What about the baby?’

‘Your son has been transferred to the special care nursery. Let me show you,’ he said, touching Fletcher’s elbow and guiding him along the corridor, stopping at a large plate-glass window. On the other side were three incubators. Two of them were already occupied. He watched as his son was placed gently in the third. A scrawny, helpless little thing, red and wrinkled. The nurse was inserting a rubber tube down his nose. She then attached a sensor to his chest and plugged the lead into a monitor. Her final task was to place a tiny band around the baby’s left wrist, displaying the name Davenport. The screen began to nicker immediately, but even with his slight knowledge of medicine, Fletcher could see that his son’s heartbeat was weak. He looked anxiously across at Dr Redpath.

‘What are his chances?’

‘He’s ten weeks premature, but if we can get him through the night, he’ll have a good chance of survival.’

‘What are his chances?’ Fletcher pressed.

‘There are no rules, no percentages, no laid-down laws. Every child is unique, your son included,’ the doctor added as a nurse joined them.

‘You can see your wife now, Mr Davenport,’ she said, ‘if you’d like to come with me.’

Fletcher thanked Dr Redpath and followed the nurse down one flight of stairs to the floor below, where he was taken to his wife’s bedside. Annie was propped up with several pillows behind her.

‘How’s our son?’ were her opening words.

‘He looks terrific, Mrs Davenport, and he’s lucky to begin his life with such an amazing mother.’

‘They won’t let me see him,’ said Annie quietly, ‘and I so much want to hold him in my arms.’

‘They’ve put him in an incubator for the time being,’ Fletcher said gently, ‘but he has a nurse with him the whole time.’

‘It seems years ago that we were having dinner with Professor Abrahams.’

‘Yes, it’s been quite a night,’ said Fletcher, ‘and a double triumph for you. You wowed the senior partner of a firm I want to join, and then produced a son, all on the same evening. What next?’

‘That all seems so unimportant now we have a child to take care of.’ She paused. ‘Harry Robert Davenport.’

‘It has a nice ring about it,’ said Fletcher, ‘and both our fathers will be delighted.’

‘What shall we call him,’ asked Annie, ‘Harry or Robert?’

‘I know what I’m going to call him,’ said Fletcher as the nurse returned to the room.

‘I think you should try and get some sleep, Mrs Davenport, it’s been an exhausting time for you.’

‘I agree,’ said Fletcher. He removed several pillows from behind his wife’s head, as she lowered herself slowly down the bed. Annie smiled and rested her head on the remaining pillow as her husband kissed her. As Fletcher left, the nurse switched off the light.

Fletcher raced back up the stairs and along the corridor to check if his son’s heartbeat was any stronger. He stared through the plate glass window at the monitor, willing it to flicker a little higher, and managed to convince himself that it had. Fletcher kept his nose pressed up against the window. ‘Keep fighting, Harry,’ he said, and then began counting the heartbeats per minute. Suddenly he felt exhausted. ‘Hang in there, you’re going to make it.’

He took a couple of paces backwards and collapsed into a chair on the other side of the corridor. Within minutes, he had fallen into a deep sleep.

Fletcher woke with a start when he felt a hand gently touch his shoulder. His tired eyes blinked open; he had no idea how long he’d been asleep. The first thing he saw was a nurse, her face solemn. Dr Redpath stood a pace behind her. He didn’t need to be told that Harry Robert Davenport was no longer alive.

‘So what’s the problem?’ asked Nat as they ran towards the Commons where the vote was being counted.

‘We were leading comfortably until a few minutes ago,’ said Joe, already out of breath from his trip there and back and unable to keep up with what Nat would have described as a jog. He slowed to a fast walk. ‘And then suddenly two new ballot boxes appeared, stuffed with votes — and nearly ninety per cent of them in favour of Elliot,’ he added as they reached the bottom step.

Nat and Tom didn’t wait for Joe as they bounded up the steps and through the swing doors. The first person they saw was Ralph Elliot — a smug look on his face. Nat turned his attention to Tom, who was already being briefed by Sue and Chris. He quickly joined them.

‘We were leading by just over four hundred votes,’ said Chris, ‘and we assumed it was all over, when two new boxes appeared out of nowhere.’

‘What do you mean, out of nowhere?’ asked Tom.

‘Well, they were discovered under a table, but hadn’t been included among those that were registered in the original count. In those two boxes,’ Chris checked his clipboard, ‘Elliot polled 319, to Nat’s 48, and 322 to Nat’s 41, which reversed the original outcome and put him in the lead by a handful of votes.’

‘Give me a few examples of figures from some of the other boxes,’ said Su Ling.

‘They were all fairly consistent,’ said Chris, returning to his list. ‘The most extreme was 209 for Nat, against 176 for Elliot. In fact, Elliot only polled higher in one box, 201 to 196.’

‘The votes in the last two boxes,’ said Su Ling, ‘are not statistically possible, when you compare them with the other ten that have already been counted. Someone must have literally stuffed those boxes with enough ballot papers to reverse the original decision.’

‘But how could they have managed that?’ asked Tom.

‘It would be easy enough if you could get your hands on any unused ballots,’ said Su Ling.

‘And that wouldn’t have been too difficult,’ said Joe.

‘How can you be so sure?’ asked Nat.

‘Because, when I voted in my dorm during the lunch hour, there was only one teller on duty, and she was writing an essay. I could have removed a handful of ballots without her even noticing.’

‘But that doesn’t explain the sudden appearance of two missing boxes,’ said Tom.

‘You don’t need a PhD to work out that one,’ chipped in Chris, ‘because once the poll has closed, all they had to do was hold back two of the boxes, and then stuff them with ballots.’

‘But we have no way of proving that,’ said Nat.

‘The statistics prove it,’ said Su Ling. ‘They never lie, though I admit we don’t have any first-hand proof.’

‘So what are we going to do about it?’ asked Joe, as he stared across at Elliot, the same self-satisfied look still in place.

‘There’s not much we can do except pass on our observations to Chester Davies. After all, he is the chief elections officer.’

‘OK, Joe, why don’t you do that, and we’ll wait to see what he has to say.’

Joe left them to make his submission to the dean of students. They watched as the expression on the elderly academic’s face became grimmer and grimmer. Once Joe had made his point, the dean immediately called for Elliot’s chief of staff, who did nothing more than shrug his shoulders and point out that every ballot was valid.

Nat watched apprehensively as Mr Davies questioned both men, and saw Joe nod his agreement, before they broke away to join their respective teams.

‘The dean is calling an immediate meeting of the elections committee in his office, and he will report back after they’ve discussed the matter, which should be in about thirty minutes.’

Su Ling took Nat’s hand. ‘Mr Davies is a good and just man,’ she said, ‘he’ll come to the right conclusion.’

‘He may well come to the right conclusion,’ said Nat, ‘but in the end he can only follow the election rules whatever his personal reservations.’

‘I agree,’ said a voice from behind them. Nat swung round to see Elliot grinning at him. ‘They won’t have to look in the rule book to discover that the person with the most votes is the winner,’ Elliot added with disdain.

‘Unless they come across something about one person, one vote,’ said Nat.

‘Are you accusing me of cheating?’ Elliot snapped back, as a group of his supporters drifted over and stood behind him.

‘Well, let’s put it this way. If you win this election, you can apply for a job in Chicago as a teller in Cook County, because Mayor Daly has nothing to teach you.’

Elliot took a step forward and raised his fist just as the dean reentered the room, a single sheet of paper in his hand. He made his way back up onto the stage.

‘You just escaped a hiding,’ whispered Elliot.

‘And I suspect you’re just about to get one,’ replied Nat, as they both turned to face the stage.

The chattering in the hall died down as Mr Davies adjusted the height of the microphone and faced those who had hung around to hear the result. He read slowly from a prepared script.

‘In the election for president of the student senate, it has been brought to my attention that two ballot boxes were discovered some time after the count had been concluded. When they were opened, the outcome of those votes varied considerably from all the other boxes. Therefore as delegated officials, we were left with no choice but to refer to the rule book on elections. Search as we might, we were unable to find any mention of missing boxes, or what action to take should there be a disproportionate ratio of votes found in any one box.’

‘Because no one has ever cheated in the past,’ shouted Joe from the back of the hall.

‘And no one did this time,’ came back the immediate reply, ‘you’re just bad losers.’

‘How many more boxes have you got hidden away just in case...?’

‘We don’t need any more.’

‘Quiet,’ said the dean. ‘These outbursts do not reflect well on either side.’ He waited for silence before he continued to read from his script. ‘We are, however, mindful of our responsibility as officers, and have come to the conclusion that the result of the election must stand.’ Elliot’s supporters leapt in the air and cheered.

Elliot turned to Nat and said, ‘I think you’ll find it’s you who just got the hiding.’

‘It’s not over yet,’ said Nat, his eyes still fixed on Mr Davies.

It was some time before the dean could continue, as few present realized that he had not yet completed his statement.

‘As there have been several irregularities in this election, one of which in our opinion remains unresolved, I have therefore decided that under rule 7B of the Student Senate Charter, the defeated candidate should be given the opportunity to appeal. Should he do so, the committee will be faced with three choices.’ He opened the rule book and read: ‘a) to confirm the original result, b) to reverse the original result, or c) to call for a new election, which would be held during the first week of the following term. We therefore propose to give Mr Cartwright twenty-four hours to appeal.’

‘We won’t need twenty-four hours,’ called out Joe. ‘We appeal.’

‘I shall need that in writing from the candidate,’ said the Dean.

Tom glanced across at Nat, who was looking down at Su Ling.

‘Do you remember what we agreed if I didn’t win?’