The Prodigal Daughter

Chapter twenty-three

Florentyna Kane’s appointment as chairman of the Baron Group was confirmed at the board meeting the day she returned from Warsaw. Richard’s first piece of advice was that she transfer the head office of Florentyna’s from San Francisco to New York. A few days later the Kane family flew back to stay in their little home on Nob Hill for the last time. They spent the next four weeks in California making the necessary arrangements for their move, which included leaving the West Coast operation in the competent hands of their senior manager and putting Nancy Ching in overall charge of the two shops in San Francisco. When it came to saying goodbye to Bella and Claude, Florentyna assured her closest friends that she would be flying back to the Coast on a regular basis.

‘Going as suddenly as you came,’ said Bella.

It was only the second time she had seen Bella cry.

Once they had settled down in New York, Richard recommended that Florentyna make the shops a subsidiary of the Baron Group so that the companies could be consolidated for tax purposes. Florentyna agreed and made George Novak president for life on his sixty-fifth birthday, giving him a salary that even Abel would have considered generous. Florentyna became chairman of the Group and Richard its chief executive.

Richard found them a magnificent new home on East Sixty-fourth Street. They decided to live on the forty-second floor of the New York Baron while their new home was being decorated. William was enrolled at the fashionable Buckley school like his father before him, while Annabel went to Spence. Carol thought perhaps the time had come to look for another job, but even at the mention of the subject, Annabel would burst into tears.

Florentyna spent every waking hour learning from George how the Baron Group was run. At the end of her first year as chairman, George Novak’s private doubts about whether his kum would have the toughness necessary to run such a huge empire were entirely allayed, especially after her stand in the South on equal pay for Baron Group employees whatever their color.

‘She has inherited her father’s genius,’ George told Richard. ‘All she lacks now is experience.’

‘Time will take care of that,’ Richard predicted.

Richard made a full report to the board on the state of the company after Florentyna’s first year as chairman. The Group declared a profit of more than $27 million despite a heavy worldwide building schedule and the drop in the value of the dollar against most trading currencies caused by the escalating war in Vietnam. Richard then presented his ideas to the board for a comprehensive investment program for the seventies. He ended his report by recommending that this kind of program be looked into by a bank.

‘Agreed,’ said Florentyna, ‘but I still look upon you as a banker.’

‘Don’t remind me,’ said Richard. ‘But with the turnover we now generate in more than fifty currencies and the fees we pay to the many financial institutions we employ, perhaps the time has come for us to control our own bank.’

‘Isn’t it nearly impossible nowadays to buy a bank outright?’ asked Florentyna. ‘And almost as hard to fulfill the government requirements for a license to run one?’

‘Yes it is, but we already own eight percent of Lester’s and we know what problems that created for my father. This time let’s turn it to our advantage. What I’d like to recommend to the board is...’

The following day Richard wrote to Jake Thomas, the chairman of Lester’s, seeking a private interview. The letter he received in reply was guarded to the point of hostility. Their secretaries agreed on a time and place for the meeting.

When Richard entered the chairman’s office, Jake Thomas rose from behind his desk and ushered him into a seat before returning to the leather chair that had been occupied by Richard’s father for more than twenty years. The bookcases were not as full nor the flowers as fresh as Richard remembered. The chairman’s greeting was formal and short, but Richard was not cowed by Thomas’s approach as he knew that he was bargaining from strength. There was no small talk.

‘Mr. Thomas, I feel that as I hold eight percent of Lester’s stock and have now moved to New York, the time has come for me to take my rightful place on the board of the bank.’

It was obvious from Jake Thomas’s first words that he had anticipated what was on Richard’s mind. ‘I think in normal circumstances that might have been a good idea, Mr. Kane, but as the board has quite recently filled its last place perhaps the alternative would be for you to sell your stock in the bank.’

It was exactly the answer Richard had expected. ‘Under no circumstances would I part with my family shares, Mr. Thomas. My father built this bank up to be one of the most respected financial institutions in America, and I intend to be closely involved in its future.’

‘That’s a pity, Mr. Kane, because I am sure you are aware that your father did not leave the bank in the happiest of circumstances and I feel certain we could have offered you a reasonable price for your shares.’

‘Better than the price my father-in-law offered you for yours?’ said Richard.

Jake Thomas’s cheeks flushed brick-red. ‘I see you have only come here to be destructive,’ he said.

‘I have often found in the past that construction must be preceded by a little destruction, Mr. Thomas.’

‘I don’t think you hold enough cards to make this house tumble,’ the chairman retorted.

‘No one knows better than you that two percent may suffice,’ said Richard.

‘I can see no point in prolonging this conversation, Mr. Kane.’

‘For the time being, I agree with you, but you can be sure that it will be continued in the not too distant future,’ said Richard.

He rose to leave. Jake Thomas did not accept his outstretched hand.

‘If that’s his attitude, we must declare war,’ said Florentyna.

‘Brave words,’ said Richard, ‘but before we make our next move I want to consult my father’s old lawyer, Thaddeus Cohen. There’s nothing he doesn’t know about Lester’s. Perhaps if we combine our knowledge we can come up with something.’

Florentyna agreed. ‘George once told me something my father thought of doing if he failed to remove your father even when he had eight percent.’

Richard listened intently as Florentyna outlined her plan.

‘Do you think that might work in this case?’ she asked her husband.

‘We just might pull it off, but it would be one hell of a risk.’

‘We have nothing to fear but fear itself,’ said Florentyna.

‘Jessie, when will you learn that FDR was a politician, not a banker.’

Richard spent most of the next four days locked in consultation with Thaddeus Cohen at the city office of Cohen, Cohen, Yablons and Cohen.

‘The only person who now holds eight percent of Lester’s stock is you,’ he assured Richard from behind his desk. ‘Even Jake Thomas has only two percent. If your father had known that Thomas could only afford to hold on to Abel Rosnovski’s stock for a few days, he might well have called his bluff and held on to the chair.’

The old family lawyer leaned back, placing both hands on top of his bald head.

‘That piece of information will make victory even sweeter,’ said Richard. ‘Do you have the names of all the shareholders?’

‘I’m still in possession of the names of the registered stockholders at the time that your father was the bank’s chief executive. But by now it may be so out-of-date as to be rendered virtually useless. Nevertheless, as you well know, you are entitled under state law to demand a formal inspection of the shareholders list.’

‘And I can imagine how long Thomas would take to release that.’

‘Around Christmas,’ said Thaddeus Cohen, allowing himself a thin smile.

‘What do you imagine would happen if I called an extraordinary meeting and gave a full account of how Jake Thomas sold his own shares in order to remove my father from the board?’

‘You wouldn’t gain a great deal from such an exercise apart from embarrassing a few people. Jake Thomas would see to it that the meeting was held on an inconvenient day and badly attended. He would also undoubtedly obtain a fifty percent proxy vote against any resolution you put forward. Into the bargain I suspect Mr. Thomas would use such a move by you to rewash dirty linen in public, which would only add a further stain to your father’s reputation. No, I think Mrs. Kane has come up with the best idea so far and, if I may be permitted to say so, it is typical of her father’s boldness in such matters.’

‘But if we should fail?’

‘I am not a betting man, but I’d back a Kane and Rosnovski against Jake Thomas any day.’

‘If I agree, what would you consider to be the most propitious time to launch the bid?’ asked Richard.

‘April one,’ Thaddeus Cohen said unhesitatingly.

‘Why that date in particular?’

‘Because it’s the right length of time before everyone has to file their tax returns to be fairly certain that a number of people will be in need of some spare cash.’

Richard went over the detailed plan with Thaddeus Cohen again and that night he explained it in full to Florentyna.

‘How much do we stand to lose if we fail?’ was her first question.

‘Roughly?’

‘Roughly.’

‘Thirty-seven million dollars.’

‘That’s pretty rough,’ said Florentyna.

‘We don’t exactly lose the money, but all our capital will be locked up in Lester’s stock and that would put a severe restriction on the cash flow for the rest of the Group, if we didn’t control the bank.’

‘What does Mr. Cohen think of our chances of pulling the coup off?’

‘Better than fifty-fifty. My father would never have considered going ahead with such odds,’ added Richard.

‘But my father would have,’ said Florentyna. ‘He always considered a glass to be half full, never half empty.’

‘Thaddeus Cohen was right.’

‘About what?’

‘About you. He warned me that if you were anything like your father, prepare for battle.’

During the next three months Richard spent most of his time with accountants, lawyers and tax consultants, who had all the paperwork completed for him by March 20. That afternoon he booked space on every major financial page in America for April 1 and informed the advertising departments that the copy would arrive by hand twenty-four hours prior to publication. He couldn’t help reflecting on the date and wondered if it would be he or Jake Thomas who would end up the fool. During the final two weeks, Richard and Thaddeus Cohen checked over the plan again and again to be certain they hadn’t overlooked anything and could be confident that the details of ‘Operation Bust a Gut’ remained known to only three people.

On the morning of April 1, Richard sat in his office and studied the full-page advertisement in The Wall Street Journal:

In his article on the facing page, Vermont Royster pointed out that this bold bid to take over Lester’s must have had the support of Chase Manhattan, which would be holding the stock of the Baron Group as security. The columnist went on to predict that if the bid succeeded, Richard Kane would undoubtedly be appointed the new chairman, a position his father had held for more than twenty years. If, on the other hand, the move failed, the Baron Group might find themselves with severe cash restrictions placed on their reserves for several years because the Group would be encumbered with a large minority shareholding without actually controlling the bank. Richard could not have summed up the situation more accurately himself.

Florentyna called Richard’s office to congratulate her husband on the way he had carried out Operation Bust a Gut. ‘Like Napoleon, you have remembered that the first rule of war is surprise.’

‘Well, let’s hope Jake Thomas is not my Waterloo.’

‘You’re such a pessimist, Mr. Kane. Just remember, Mr. Thomas is probably sitting in the nearest men’s room at this moment and he doesn’t have a secret weapon and you do.’

‘I do?’ said Richard.

‘Yes. Me.’ The phone clicked and rang again immediately.

‘Mr. Thomas of Lester’s Bank on the line for you, Mr. Kane.’

I wonder if he has a phone in the men’s room, thought Richard. ‘Put him through,’ he said, understanding for the first time a little of what the confrontation between his father and Abel Rosnovski must have been like.

‘Mr. Kane, I thought we ought to see if we can sort out our differences. Perhaps I was a little overcautious in not offering you a place on the board immediately.’

‘I’m no longer interested in a place on the board, Mr. Thomas.’

‘No? But I thought—’

‘No. I am now interested only in the chair.’

‘You do realize that if you fail to secure fifty-one percent of Lester’s stock by July fifteenth, we could institute immediate changes in the allocation of bearers’ stock and voting shares that will diminish the value of the stock you already hold? And I feel I should add that the members of the board already control between them forty percent of Lester’s stock, and I intend to contact all other shareholders by telegram today with a recommendation not to take up your offer. Once I am in possession of another eleven percent, you will have lost a small fortune.’

‘That’s a risk I’m willing to take,’ said Richard.

‘Well, if that’s your attitude, Kane, I shall call a full shareholders’ meeting for July thirtieth and if you haven’t obtained your fifty-one percent by then I will personally see to it that you are kept out of any dealing with this bank for as long as I am chairman.’ Thomas’s tone suddenly changed from bullying to ingratiating. ‘Now perhaps you might like to reconsider your position.’

‘When I left your office, Mr. Thomas, I made it clear what I had in mind. Nothing has changed.’ Richard put the phone down, opened his diary to July 30 and put a line through the page writing across it: ‘Stockholders meeting, Lester’s Bank,’ with a large question mark. He received Jake Thomas’s telegram to all stockholders that afternoon.

Every morning Richard followed the response to his advertisement with calls to Thaddeus Cohen and Chase Manhattan. By the end of the first week they had picked up 31 percent of the shares, which with Richard’s 8 percent meant that they held 39 percent in all. If Thomas had in fact started with 40 percent, it was going to be a tight finish.

Two days after his phone call from Jake Thomas, Richard received a detailed letter sent by Thomas to all shareholders, advising strongly against consideration of the offer from the Baron Group. ‘Your interests would be transferred into the hands of a company which until recently was controlled by a man convicted of bribery and corruption,’ stated the final paragraph. Richard was disgusted by Jake Thomas’s personal attack on Abel and he had never seen anything make Florentyna so angry.

‘We are going to beat him, aren’t we?’ she asked, her fingers clenched into a tight fist.

‘It will be close. I know they have over forty percent among the directors and their friends. As of four o’clock this afternoon we have forty-one percent, so it’s a battle for the last nineteen percent that will decide who wins on July thirtieth.’

During the end of the following month, Richard heard nothing from Jake Thomas, which made him wonder if he had already captured fifty-one percent, but with only eight weeks left until the stockholders’ meeting it was Richard’s turn to read over breakfast a full-page advertisement that made his heartbeat hit 120. On page 37 of The Wall Street Journal Jake Thomas had made an announcement on behalf of Lester’s. They were offering two million shares of authorized but previously unoffered stock to be sold for a newly set-up pension fund on behalf of the bank’s employees.

In an interview with the Journal’s chief reporter, Thomas explained that this was a major step in profit sharing and the funding of retirement income that would be a model to the nation both inside and outside the banking fraternity.

Richard swore uncharacteristically as he left the table and walked toward the phone, leaving his coffee to go cold.

‘What did you say?’ said Florentyna.

‘Balls,’ he repeated, and passed her the paper. She read the news while Richard was dialing.

‘What does it mean?’

‘It means that even if we do acquire fifty-one percent of the present stock, Thomas’s authorized issue of a further two million shares, which you can be sure will be sold only to the institutions, thus making it impossible to defeat him on July thirtieth.’

‘Is it legal?’ inquired Florentyna.

‘That’s what I’m about to find out,’ said Richard.

Thaddeus Cohen gave him an immediate reply. ‘It’s legal, unless you succeed in getting a judge to stop them. I was in the process of having the necessary papers drawn up, but I warn you, if we are not granted a preliminary injunction you will never be chairman of Lester’s.’

During the next twenty-four hours Richard found himself rushing in and out of lawyers’ offices and courtrooms. He signed three affidavits and a judge in chambers heard the case for an injunction. This was followed by a special expedited appeal in front of a three-judge panel which, after a day of deliberation, came down two to one in favor of holding up the share offering until the day after the extraordinary general meeting. Richard had won the battle but not the war; when he returned to his office the next morning, he found he still had only 46 percent of the stock needed to defeat Jake Thomas.

‘He must have the rest,’ said Florentyna forlornly.

‘I don’t think so,’ said Richard.

‘Why not?’ she asked.

‘Because he would not have bothered with that smoke screen exercise of the pension fund shares if he already had fifty-one percent.’

‘Good thinking, Mr. Kane.’

‘The truth is,’ said Richard, ‘that he fears we have fifty-one percent, so where is the missing five percent?’

During the last few days of June, Richard had to be stopped from phoning Chase Manhattan every hour to discover if they had received any more shares. When July 15 came he had 49 percent and was acutely aware that in exactly fifteen days Thomas would be able to issue new voting shares that would make it virtually impossible for him ever to gain control of Lester’s. And because of the cash flow requirements of the Baron Group, he would have to dump some of his Lester’s stock immediately — no doubt, as Jake Thomas had predicted, at a considerable loss. He found himself mumbling ‘two percent, only two percent’ several times during the day.

With only a week to go, and with Richard finding it hard to concentrate on the new hotel fire regulations being put into effect, Mary Preston phoned.

‘I don’t know a Mary Preston,’ Richard told his secretary.

‘She says you would remember her as Mary Bigelow.’

Richard smiled, wondering what she could possibly want. He hadn’t seen her since leaving Harvard. He picked up his phone. ‘Mary, what a surprise. Or are you only phoning to complain about bad service at one of the Baron hotels?’

‘No, no complaints — although we once spent a night at a Baron if you can remember that far back.’

‘How could I forget,’ he said, not remembering.

‘No, I was only calling to seek your advice. Some years ago my great-uncle, Alan Lloyd, left me three percent of Lester’s. I’ve had a letter from a Mr. Jake Thomas asking me to pledge those shares to the board and not to deal with you.’

Richard held his breath and could hear his heartbeat.

‘Are you still there, Richard?’

‘Yes, Mary. I was just thinking. Well, the truth is—’

‘Now don’t start a long speech, Richard. Why don’t you and your wife come and spend a night in Florida with my husband and me and then you can advise us.’

‘Florentyna doesn’t return from San Francisco until Sunday—’

‘Then come on your own. I know Max would love to meet you.’

‘Let me see if I can rearrange a couple of things. I’ll call you back within the hour.’

Richard phoned Florentyna, who told him to drop everything and go alone. ‘On Monday morning we will be able to wave good-bye to Jake Thomas once and for all.’

Richard then informed Thaddeus Cohen of the news. He was delighted. ‘On my list the stock is still under the name of Alan Lloyd.’

‘Well, it’s now in the name of Mrs. Max Preston.’

‘I don’t give a damn what her name is, just go and get it.’

Richard flew down on Saturday afternoon and was met at the West Palm Beach airport by Mary’s chauffeur, who drove Richard deep into the countryside. When he first saw the house Mary was living in he wondered how they could fill it without about twenty children. The vast mansion stood on the side of a hill in a thousand acres of its own land. It took eight minutes to drive from the Lion Lodge gates to the imposing forty steps in front of the house. Mary was standing on the top step waiting to greet him. She was dressed in a well-cut riding outfit. Her fair hair still touched her shoulders. As Richard looked up at her he recalled what had first attracted him more than ten years before.

The butler whisked away Richard’s overnight bag and ushered him into a bedroom large enough to hold a small convention. On the end of the bed was a riding outfit.

Mary and Richard rode around the grounds before dinner and although there was no sign of Max, she said he was expected about seven. Richard was thankful that Mary never went beyond a canter. It had been a long time since he had ridden, and he knew he was going to be stiff in the morning. When they returned to the house Richard had a bath and changed into a dark suit before going down to the drawing room a little after seven. The butler poured him a sherry. When Mary floated into the room in a slight off-the-shoulder evening dress the butler handed her a large whiskey without waiting to be asked.

‘I am sorry, Richard, but Max has just phoned to say he’s been held up in Dallas and won’t be back until late tomorrow afternoon. He will be very disappointed not to meet you.’ Before Richard could comment, she added: ‘Now let’s go and have dinner and you can explain to me why the Baron Group needs my three percent.’

Richard took her slowly through the story of what had happened since his father had taken over from her great-uncle. He hardly noticed the first two courses of dinner, he became so intent.

‘So with my three percent,’ said Mary, ‘the bank can return safely into the hands of the Kanes?’

‘Yes,’ said Richard. ‘Five percent is still missing, but as we already have forty-nine percent, you can put us over the top.’

‘That’s simple enough,’ said Mary, as the soufflé dish was wisked away. ‘I’ll speak to my broker on Monday and arrange everything. Let’s go and have a celebration brandy in the library.’

‘You don’t know what a relief that will be,’ said Richard, rising from his chair and following his hostess down a long corridor.

The library turned out to be the size of a basketball court with almost as many seats. Mary poured Richard a coffee while the butler offered him a Rémy Martin. She told the butler that that was all she needed for the evening and sat down next to Richard on the sofa.

‘Quite like old times,’ said Mary, edging toward him.

Richard agreed as he came back from his daydreams of being chairman of Lester’s. He was enjoying the brandy and hardly noticed when Mary rested her head on his shoulder. After she had poured him a second brandy he couldn’t miss that her hand had shifted onto his leg. He took another sip of cognac. Suddenly and without warning she threw her arms around Richard and kissed him on the lips. When she eventually released him, he laughed and said, ‘Just like old times.’ He stood up and poured himself a large black coffee. ‘What’s keeping Max in Dallas?’

‘Gas piping,’ said Mary, without much enthusiasm. Richard remained standing by the mantelpiece.

During the next hour he learned all about gas piping and a little about Max. When the clock struck twelve he suggested it might be time to turn in. She made no comment, just rose from her seat and accompanied him up the vast staircase to his room. She walked away before he could kiss her good night.

Richard found it hard to sleep, because his mind was a mixture of elation at having secured Mary’s 3 percent of Lester’s and his plans for how the takeover of the bank would be carried out with a minimum of disruption. He realized that, even as ex-chairman, Jake Thomas could still be a nuisance and was considering ways of controlling the man’s anger at losing the takeover battle when he heard a slight click from the bedroom door. He glanced toward it to see the handle turning, and then the door itself pushed slowly open. Mary stood silhouetted, wearing a see-through pink negligee.

‘Are you still awake?’

At first, Richard lay motionless, wondering if he could get away with pretending to be asleep. But he was aware that she might have seen him move, so he said, sleepily, ‘Yes.’ He was amused by the thought that this could not be a time for thinking on his feet.

Mary padded over to the edge of the bed and sat down. ‘Would you like anything?’

‘A good night’s sleep,’ said Richard.

‘I can think of two ways of helping you achieve that,’ said Mary, leaning forward and stroking the back of his head. ‘You could take a sleeping pill, or we could make love.’

‘That’s a nice idea, but I’ve already taken the sleeping pill,’ said Richard.

‘It doesn’t seem to have had the desired effect, so perhaps we should try the second remedy,’ said Mary. She lifted the negligee over her head and allowed it to fall to the floor. Then without another word she slipped under the covers and drew herself close to Richard. Richard could feel that her firm figure was that of a woman who did a lot of exercise and had had no children.

‘Hell, I wish I hadn’t taken that pill,’ said Richard, ‘or at least that I could stay another night.’

Mary started kissing Richard’s neck while running a hand down his back until she reached between his legs.

Christ, thought Richard, I’m only human. And then a door slammed. Mary threw back the covers, grabbed her negligee, ran across the room and disappeared faster than a thief when a light is flicked on. Richard pulled the sheets back over his body and listened to a murmur of conversation which he couldn’t make out. He spent the rest of the night in a fitful sleep.

When he came down to breakfast the next morning, he found Mary chatting to an elderly man who must once have been very handsome.

The man rose and shook Richard by the hand. ‘Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Max Preston,’ he said. ‘Although I hadn’t planned to be with you this weekend, my business finished early and I managed to catch the last flight out of Dallas. I certainly wouldn’t have wanted you to leave my home without having experienced true southern hospitality.’ Max and Richard chatted over breakfast about the problems they were both facing on Wall Street. They were deep into the effects of Nixon’s new tax regulations when the butler announced that the chauffeur was waiting to take Mr. Kane to the airport.

The Prestons accompanied Richard down the forty steps to the waiting car, where Richard turned and kissed Mary on the cheek, thanked her for all she had done and shook Max warmly by the hand.

‘I hope we shall meet again,’ said Max.

‘That’s a nice idea. Why don’t you give me a call when you’re next in New York?’ Mary smiled at him gently.

Mary and Max Preston waved as the Rolls-Royce glided down the long drive. Once his plane had taken off, Richard felt a tremendous sense of relief. The stewardess served him a cocktail and he began to think about his plans for Monday. To his delight, Florentyna had dinner waiting for him on his return to Sixty-fourth Street.

‘The shares are ours,’ he told her excitedly and went over the full details during dinner. They fell asleep on the sofa by the fire a little before midnight, Florentyna’s hand resting on his leg.

The next morning Richard placed a call through to Jake Thomas to inform him that he was now in possession of 52 percent.

Richard could hear an intake of breath.

‘As soon as the certificates are in my lawyer’s hands, I shall come over to the bank and let you know how I expect the change-over to be carried out.’

‘Of course,’ said Thomas resignedly. ‘May I ask from whom you obtained the last two percent?’

‘Yes, from an old friend of mine, Mary Preston.’

There was a pause at the other end. ‘Not Mrs. Max Preston of Florida?’ asked Jake Thomas.

‘Yes,’ said Richard triumphantly.

‘Then you needn’t bother to come over, Mr. Kane, because Mrs. Preston lodged her three percent of Lester’s with us four weeks ago and we’ve been in possession of the stock certificates for some time.’ The phone clicked. It was Richard’s turn to gasp.

When Richard told Florentyna about the new development, all she could say was: ‘You should have slept with the damned woman. I bet Jake Thomas would have.’

‘Would you have slept with Scott Roberts in the same circumstances?’

‘Good God, no, Mr. Kane.’

‘Precisely, Jessie.’

Richard spent another sleepless night thinking of how that final 2 percent might still be acquired. It was obvious that each side now had 49 percent of the stock. Thaddeus Cohen had already warned him that he must face reality and start thinking of ways to recoup the maximum amount of cash for the shares he already had. Perhaps he should take a leaf out of Abel’s book and sell heavily on July 29, the day before the meeting. Richard continued to toss and turn as useless ideas rushed through his mind. He turned over once again and tried to catch some sleep precisely when Florentyna woke with a start.

‘Are you awake?’ she asked quietly.

‘Yes, chasing two percent.’

‘So am I. Do you remember your mother telling us that someone had purchased two percent from Mr. Peter Parfitt on behalf of your father to stop my father from getting his hands on it?’

‘Yes, I do,’ said Richard.

‘Well, perhaps they haven’t heard about our offer.’

‘My darling, it’s been in every paper in the United States.’

‘So have the Beatles, but not everyone has heard of them.’

‘I suppose it’s worth a try,’ said Richard, picking up the phone by the side of his bed.

‘Who are you calling, the Beatles?’

‘No, my mother.’

‘At four o’clock in the morning? You can’t ring your mother in the middle of the night.’

‘I can and I must.’

‘I wouldn’t have told you if I’d known you might do that.’

‘Darling, there are only two and a half days to go before I lose you thirty-seven million dollars, and the owner of the shares we need so badly might live in Australia.’

‘Good point, Mr. Kane.’

Richard dialed the number and waited. A sleepy voice answered the phone.

‘Mother?’

‘Yes, Richard. What time is it?’

‘Four o’clock in the morning. I’m sorry to bother you, but there is no one else I can turn to. Now please listen carefully. You once said that a friend of Father’s bought two percent of Lester’s stock from Peter Parfitt to keep it from falling into the hands of Florentyna’s father. Can you remember who it was?’

There was a pause. ‘Yes, I think so. It will come back to me if you hold on a minute. Yes, it was an old friend from England, a banker who had been at Harvard with your father. The name will come in a moment.’ Richard held his breath. Florentyna sat up in bed.

‘Emson, Colin Emson, the chairman of... oh, dear, I can’t remember.’

‘Don’t worry, Mother, that’s enough to be getting on with. You go back to sleep.’

‘What a thoughtful and considerate son you are,’ said Kate Kane as she put down the phone.

‘Now what, Richard?’

‘Just make breakfast.’

Florentyna kissed him on the forehead and disappeared.

Richard picked up the phone. ‘International operator, please. What time is it in London?’

‘Seven minutes past nine.’

Richard flicked through his personal book and said, ‘Please connect me to 372-7711.’

He waited impatiently. A voice came on the line.

‘Bank of America.’

‘Put me through to Jonathan Coleman, please.’

Another wait.

‘Jonathan Coleman.’

‘Good morning, Jonathan, it’s Richard Kane.’

‘Nice to hear from you, Richard. What can I do for you?’

‘I need some information urgently. Which bank is Colin Emson chairman of?’

‘Hold on a minute, Richard, and I’ll look him up in the Bankers’ Year Book.’ Richard could hear the pages turning. ‘Robert Fraser and Company’ came back the reply. ‘Only now he’s Sir Colin Emson.’

‘What’s his number?’

‘493-3211.’

‘Thank you, Jonathan. I’ll give you a call when I’m next in London.’

Richard wrote the number on the corner of an envelope and dialed the international operator again as Florentyna came into the bedroom.

‘Getting anywhere?’

‘I’m about to find out. Operator, can you please get me a number in London. Four nine three, three two one one.’ Florentyna sat on the end of the bed while Richard waited.

‘Robert Fraser and Company.’

‘May I speak to Sir Colin Emson, please.’

‘Who shall I say is calling, sir?’

‘Richard Kane of the Baron Group, New York.’

‘Hold on please, sir.’

Richard waited again.

‘Good morning. Emson here.’

‘Good morning, Sir Colin. My name is Richard Kane — I think you knew my father?’

‘Of course. We were at Harvard together. Good chap, your old man. I was very sad to read about his death. Wrote to your mother at the time. Where are you calling from?’

‘New York.’

‘Get up early, you Americans. So what can I do for you?’

‘Do you still own two percent of Lester’s Bank shares?’ Richard held his breath again.

‘Yes, I do. Paid a bloody king’s ransom for them. Still, can’t complain. Your father did me a few favors in his time.’

‘Would you consider selling them, Sir Colin?’

‘If you’re willing to offer me a sensible price.’

‘How much would you consider sensible?’

There was a long pause. ‘Eight hundred thousand dollars.’

‘I accept,’ said Richard without hesitation, ‘but I must be able to pick them up tomorrow. If I bank-transfer the money, can you have all the paper work done by the time I arrive?’

‘Simple, dear boy, yes,’ Emson said without demur. ‘I’ll also have a car meet you at the airport and put at your disposal while you’re in London.’

‘Thank you, Sir Colin.’

‘Go easy with the “Sir,” young fellow. I’ve reached that age when I prefer to be called by my Christian name. Just let me know when you expect to arrive and everything will be ready for you.’

‘Thank you... Colin.’

Richard put down the phone.

‘You’re not getting dressed, are you?’

‘I certainly am. I won’t get any more sleep tonight. Now, where’s my breakfast?’

By six o’clock Richard was booked on the nine-fifteen flight from Kennedy Airport. He had also booked himself on a return flight the following morning at eleven, arriving back in New York by one thirty-five the following afternoon, giving him twenty-four hours to spare before the shareholders’ meeting at 2 P.M. on Wednesday.

‘Running things a bit close, aren’t we?’ said Florentyna.

‘That’s why I am going myself and not risking a messenger.’

‘Well, messenger, William will expect you to bring him back a model of a red London bus.’

‘You’re always making these major commitments on my behalf. It’s a heavy load I carry as the chief executive of your group.’

‘I know, dear, and to think it’s only because you sleep with the chairman.’

By seven Richard was seated at his office desk writing explicit instructions for the transfer of the $800,000 by Telex to Robert Fraser and Company, Albermarle Street, London W. 1. Richard knew the money would be in Sir Colin Emson’s bank long before he was. At seven-thirty he was driven to the airport and he checked in. The 747 took off on time and he arrived at London’s Heathrow at ten o’clock that night. Sir Colin Emson had been as good as his word. A driver was waiting to pick him up and whisk him off to the Baron. The manager had put him in the Davis Leroy Suite. The Presidential Suite, he explained, was already occupied by Mr. Jagger. The rest of his group had taken over the ninth floor.

‘I don’t think I know the group,’ said Richard. ‘What area do they specialize in?’

‘Singing,’ said the manager.

When Richard checked at the reception desk, there was a message waiting for him from Sir Colin suggesting they meet at the bank at nine the following morning.

Richard dined quietly in his rooms and called Florentyna to bring her up to date before going to bed.

‘Hang in there, Mr. Kane — we’re all depending on you.’

Richard woke at seven and packed before going down to breakfast. His father had always gone on about the kippers in London, so he ordered them with some anticipation. When he had finished the last morsel, he realized that they were so good that he would undoubtedly bore his own son with the same story for many years to come. After breakfast, he walked around Hyde Park to kill the hour before the bank opened. The park was green and the flower beds a mass of untouched daffodils. He couldn’t help but compare its beauty to Central Park and recalled that London still had five Royal parks of a similar size.

As nine o’clock struck, Richard walked in the front door of Robert Fraser and Company on Albermarle Street, only a few hundred yards from the Baron. A secretary ushered him through to Sir Colin Emson’s office.

‘Had a feeling you’d be on time, old fellow, so I have everything prepared for you. I once remember finding your father sitting on the doorstep with the milk bottles. Everybody drank black coffee that day.’

Richard laughed.

‘Your eight hundred thousand dollars arrived before close of business yesterday, so all I have to do is sign the share certificates over to you in the presence of a witness.’ Sir Colin flicked a switch. ‘Can you come in, Margaret?’ Sir Colin’s private secretary watched the chairman of one bank sign the transfer certificates so that the recipient could become the chairman of another bank.

Richard checked over the documents, carefully signed his part of the agreement and was handed a receipt for $800,000.

‘Well, I hope all the trouble you’ve taken in coming yourself will ensure that you become the chairman of Lester’s, old chap.’

Richard stared at the elderly man with the white walrus mustache, bald head and military bearing. ‘I had no idea you realized that...’

‘Wouldn’t want you Americans to think we’re altogether asleep over here. Now you bustle off and catch the eleven o’clock from Heathrow and you’ll make your meeting easily: not many of my customers pay as promptly as you do. By the way, congratulations on that moon chappie.’

‘What?’ said Richard.

‘You’ve put a man on the moon.’

‘Good heavens,’ said Richard.

‘No, not quite,’ said Sir Colin, ‘but I’m sure that’s what NASA has planned next.’

Richard laughed and thanked Sir Colin again. He walked quickly back to the Baron, literally humming. He knew exactly what it felt like to be the man on the moon. He had left his overnight bag with the porter so he was able to check out quickly and Sir Colin’s chauffeur drove him back to Heathrow. Richard entered terminal 3 well in time to check in for the eleven o’clock flight. He was going to be back in New York with twenty-four hours to spare: if his father had had to make the same transaction before he became chairman the process would have taken at least two weeks.

Richard sat in the Clipper Club lounge toying with a martini while reading in the Times about Rod Laver’s chances of going on from his victory at Wimbledon to win The Grand Slam. Outside, a heavy fog was descending. It wasn’t until thirty minutes later that an announcement warned passengers that there would be a short delay on all flights. An hour later, they called Richard’s flight, but as he walked across the tarmac he could see the fog growing denser by the minute. He sat in his seat, belt fastened, reading a copy of the previous week’s Time magazine, willing himself not to look outside, waiting to feel the plane move. Nixon, he read, had named the first women generals, Colonel Elizabeth Hoisington and Colonel Anne Mae Hays; no doubt the first innovation Nixon had made that Florentyna would approve of, he thought.

‘We are sorry to announce that this flight has been delayed until further notice because of fog.’ A groan went up inside the first-class cabin. ‘Passengers should return to the terminal, where they will be issued with luncheon vouchers and advised when to reboard the aircraft. Pan American apologizes for the delay and hopes it will not cause any great inconvenience.’ Richard had to smile, despite himself. Back inside the terminal, he went around to every ticket counter, checking on who had the first plane out. It turned out to be an Air Canada flight to Montreal. He reserved a seat, after being told that his Pan Am flight to New York was now the twenty-seventh in line for departure. He then checked the flights out of Montreal to New York. There was one every two hours and the flying time was just over an hour. He pestered Pan American and Air Canada every thirty minutes, but the polite, bland reply remained unvaried: ‘I’m sorry, sir, we can do nothing until the fog lifts.’

At two in the afternoon, he called Florentyna to warn her about the delay.

‘Not impressive, Mr. Kane. While you’re on the phone, did you manage to pick up a red London bus for William?’

‘Damn. I completely forgot.’

‘Not doing very well today, Mr. Kane. Better try the duty-free gift shop, hadn’t we?’

Richard found an airport shop that sold several sizes of London buses. He selected a large plastic one and paid for it with the last of his English money. With the bus safely under his arm, he decided to use his luncheon voucher. He sat down to the worst airport lunch he had ever had: one thin piece of beef about an inch square that the menu had misleadingly described as a minute steak, along with three tired lettuce leaves posing as a side salad. He checked his watch. It was already three o’clock. For two hours he tried to read a copy of The French Lieutenant’s Woman, but he was so anxious listening to every radio announcement that he never got past page 4.

At seven o’clock, after Richard had walked around terminal 3 several times, he began to think it would soon be too late for a plane to take off whatever the weather. The loudspeaker forebodingly warned of an important announcement to follow shortly. He stood like a statue as the words came out. ‘We are sorry to announce that all flights out of Heathrow have been canceled until tomorrow morning with the exception of Iran Air Flight 006 to Jiddah and Air Canada flight 009 to Montreal.’ Richard had been saved by his foresight: he knew the Air Canada flight would be completely sold out within minutes. Once again he sat in a first-class lounge. Although the flight was further delayed, it was eventually called a few minutes after eight. Richard almost cheered when the 747 took off a little after nine o’clock. Thereafter he found himself checking his watch every few minutes. The flight was uneventful except for more appalling food and the plane eventually landed at Montreal airport shortly before eleven.

Richard sprinted to the American Airlines counter to discover that he had missed the last flight to New York by a few minutes. He swore out loud.

‘Don’t worry, sir, there is a flight at ten twenty-five tomorrow morning.’

‘What time does it arrive in New York?’

‘Eleven-thirty.’

‘Two hours and thirty minutes to spare,’ he said out loud. ‘I’ll have to hire a private plane.’

‘No plane is allowed out of this airport after ten-thirty, sir.’

‘Damn,’ Richard said, and reserved a seat and took a room in the Airport Baron and phoned Florentyna.

‘Where are you now?’ she asked.

‘The Airport Baron, Montreal.’

‘Curiouser and curiouser.’

Richard explained what had happened.

‘Poor darling. Did you remember the red London bus?’

‘Yes, I’m clinging on to it, but my overnight bag is still on the Pan Am flight to New York.’

‘And the stock certificates?’

‘They are in my briefcase and have never left my side.’

‘Well done, Mr. Kane. I’ll have a car waiting for you at the airport, and Mr. Cohen and I will be at the stockholders’ meeting at Lester’s clutching on to our forty-nine percent. So if you’re in possession of your two percent, Jake Thomas will be on unemployment compensation by this time tomorrow.’

‘How can you be so cool about it?’

‘You’ve never let me down yet. Sleep well.’

Richard did not sleep well, and was back at the American Airlines terminal hours before the plane was due to board. There was a slight delay, but the captain was still anticipating that he could land at Kennedy by eleven-thirty. Richard had no baggage and felt confident he could now make the meeting with at least half an hour to spare. For the first time in over twenty-four hours he began to relax and even made some notes for his first speech as Lester’s chairman.

When the 707 arrived at Kennedy it began to circle the airport. Richard looked out of his little window and could clearly see the building in Wall Street that he had to be at in two hours. He thumped his knee in anger. At last the plane descended a few hundred feet, only to start circling again.

‘This is Captain James McEwen speaking. I am sorry for this delay, but we have been put into a holding pattern because of traffic congestion. It seems there are some delayed flights from London now arriving into New York.’ Richard wondered if the Pan American flight from Heathrow would land before he did.

Five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes. Richard checked the agenda. Item number one — a motion to reject the takeover bid by the Baron Group. Item number two — the issuing of new voting shares. If they couldn’t prove they had 51 percent, Jake Thomas would close the proceedings within minutes after the meeting began. The plane began to descend and the wheels touched the ground at twelve twenty-seven. Richard sprinted through the terminal. He passed his chauffeur on the run, who quickly followed him to the parking lot, where Richard once again checked his watch. An hour and twenty minutes to spare. He was going to make the meeting comfortably.

‘Step on it,’ said Richard.

‘Yes, sir,’ said the chauffeur as he moved into the left-hand lane of the Van Wyck Expressway. Richard heard the siren a few minutes later and a policeman on a motorcycle overtook the car and waved them on to the hard shoulder. The policeman parked and walked slowly toward Richard, who had already leaped out of the car. Richard tried to explain that it was a matter of life and death.

‘It always is,’ said the officer. ‘Either that or “My wife is having a baby.” ’ Richard left his chauffeur to deal with the policeman while he tried to hail a passing cab, but they were all full. Sixteen minutes later the policeman let them go. It was one twenty-nine as they crossed the Brooklyn Bridge and turned onto FDR Drive. Richard could see the skyscrapers of Wall Street in the distance, but the cars were bumper to bumper all the way. It was six minutes to two before they reached Wall Street, when Richard could bear it no longer and jumped out of the car, briefcase under one arm, a red London bus under the other, and sprinted the last three blocks, dodging slow pedestrians and fast-honking cab drivers. He heard the clock at Trinity Church chime two as he reached Bowling Green and prayed that it was fast as he raced up the steps of the Lester’s building, suddenly realizing he didn’t know where the meeting was being held.

‘Fifty-first floor, sir,’ the doorman informed him.

The 30 to 60 elevator was full with the post-lunch-hour crowd and it stopped at 31–33—34—42–44—47—50–51. Richard jumped out of the elevator and ran down the corridor, following the red arrow that indicated where the meeting was taking place. As he arrived in the crowded room, one or two faces turned to look at him. There must have been over five hundred people seated listening to the chairman, but he was the only shareholder sweating from head to toe. He was greeted by the sight of a cool Jake Thomas, who gave him a knowing smile from the platform. Richard realized he was too late. Florentyna was sitting in the front row, her head bowed. He took a seat at the back of the room and listened to the chairman of Lester’s.

‘All of us believe that the decision that has been made today is in the best interests of the bank. In the circumstances that your board of directors faced, no one will have been surprised by my request, and Lester’s will now continue its traditional role as one of America’s great financial institutions. Item number two,’ said Jake Thomas. Richard felt sick. ‘My final task as chairman of Lester’s is to propose that the new chairman be Mr. Richard Kane.’

Richard could not believe his ears. A little old lady rose from her seat in the front row and said that she would like to second the motion because she felt that Mr. Kane’s father had been one of the finest chairmen the bank had ever had. There was a round of applause as the old lady sat down.

‘Thank you,’ said Jake Thomas. ‘Those in favor of the resolution?’ Richard stared into the body of the hall as hands shot into the air.

‘Those against,’ Jake Thomas looked down from the platform. ‘Good, the resolution is carried unanimously. I am now happy to invite your new chairman to address you. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Richard Kane.’ Richard walked forward and everyone stood and applauded. As he passed Florentyna he handed her the red bus.

‘Glad you accomplished something on your trip to London,’ she whispered.

Richard walked, dazed, onto the platform. Jake Thomas shook his hand and then took a seat on the end of the row.

‘I have little to say on this occasion,’ began Richard, ‘other than to assure you that I wish Lester’s to carry on in the same tradition as it did under my father and that I will dedicate myself to that end.’ Unable to think of anything else to add, he smiled and said, ‘I thank you for your attendance today and look forward to seeing you all at the annual meeting.’ There followed another round of applause and the shareholders began to disperse, chattering.

As soon as they could escape from those who wished to buttonhole Richard, either to congratulate him or to tell him how they felt Lester’s should be run, Florentyna led him away to the chairman’s office. He stood and stared at the portrait of his father that hung over the fireplace and turned to his wife.

‘How did you manage it, Jessie?’

‘Well, I remembered a piece of advice my governess had taught me when I was younger. Contingency, Miss Tredgold used to say. Always have a contingency plan ready in case it rains. When you called from Montreal I was afraid there might be an outside chance it would pour and you wouldn’t make the meeting. So I called Thaddeus Cohen and explained what my contingency plan was and he spent the morning drawing up the necessary documents.’

‘What documents?’ said Richard.

‘Patience, Mr. Kane. I do feel after my triumph that I have the right to spin out this tale a little longer.’

Richard remained impatiently silent.

‘When I had the vital document in my hand, I phoned Jake Thomas and asked if he could see me twenty minutes before the stockholders’ meeting was due to start. Had you arrived in time, I would have canceled the confrontation with Mr. Thomas, but you didn’t.’

‘But your plan—’

‘My father — no fool — told me once a skunk, always a skunk, and he turned out to be right. At the meeting with Thomas, I informed him that we were in possession of fifty-one percent of Lester’s stock. He was disbelieving until I mentioned the name of Sir Colin Emson, and then he turned quite pale. I placed the whole bundle of certificates on the table in front of him and, before he could check them, told him that if he sold me his two percent before two o’clock I would still pay him the full fourteen dollars per share. I added that he must also sign a document saying he would resign as chairman and make no attempt to interfere in any future dealings involving Lester’s Bank. For good measure, although it was not in the contract, he must propose you for chairman.’

‘My God, Jessie, you have the nerve of ten men.’

‘No. One woman.’

Richard laughed. ‘What was Thomas’s response?’

‘Asked what I would do if he refused. If you refuse, I told him, we’ll sack you publicly without compensation for loss of office. Then I pointed out to him that he would have to sell his stock for the best price he could get on the open market because as long as we had fifty-one percent of Lester’s he would play no part in the future of the bank.’

‘And then?’

‘He signed there and then without even consulting his fellow directors.’

‘Brilliant, Jessie, both in conception and execution.’

‘Thank you, Mr. Kane. I do hope that now you are chairman of a bank you won’t be running all over the world getting yourself delayed, missing meetings and having nothing to show for your troubles other than a model of a red London bus. By the way, did you remember to bring a present for Annabel?’

Richard looked embarrassed. Florentyna bent down and handed him an F. A. O. Schwarz shopping bag. He lifted out a package that showed a picture of a toy typewriter on the outside with ‘Made in England’ printed all along the bottom of the box.

‘Just not your day is it, Mr. Kane? By the way, Neil Armstrong got back quicker than you did. Perhaps we should invite him to join the board?’

Richard read Vermont Royster’s article in The Wall Street Journal the next morning:

‘That’s the last we’ll hear of Jake Thomas,’ said Florentyna.

Chapter twenty-four

Richard had never heard of Major Abanjo before that morning. Neither had anyone else in America other than those who took an overzealous interest in the affairs of Nambawe, Central Africa’s smallest state. Nevertheless, it was Major Abanjo who caused Richard to run late for his most important appointment that day, the eleventh birthday of his only son.

When Richard arrived back at the apartment on Sixty-fourth Street, Major Abanjo was driven from his mind by Annabel, who had a few minutes earlier poured a pot of tea over William’s hand because she wasn’t receiving enough attention. She hadn’t realized that it was boiling hot. It seemed that Carol had been in the kitchen fussing over the birthday cake at the time. Annabel was getting even less attention now that William was screaming at the top of his voice, and all the other children had to be sent home. A few minutes later Annabel was also screaming, after Richard had placed her across his knee and administered six hard whacks with his slipper before both children were put to bed — William with two aspirins and an ice bag to help him sleep and Annabel as a further punishment. Eleven candles — and one to grow on — had burned themselves down to the icing on the large cake that remained untouched on the dining room table.

‘I’m afraid William will have a scar on his right hand for the rest of his life,’ said Florentyna after she had checked to see that her son was at last asleep.

‘Still, he took it like a man.’

‘I don’t agree,’ said Florentyna. ‘He never once grumbled.’

‘It probably wouldn’t have happened if I had been on time,’ said Richard, ignoring her comment. ‘Damn Major Abanjo.’

‘Who is Major Abanjo?’ asked Florentyna.

‘A young army officer who was behind the coup in Nambawe today.’

‘Why should a little African state stop you from being on time for William’s birthday party?’

‘That little African state has an outstanding five-year loan agreement of three hundred million dollars that Lester’s led on in 1966 and the repayment is due in three months.’

‘We are in for three hundred million dollars?’ said Florentyna, flabbergasted.

‘No, no,’ said Richard. ‘We covered the first fifteen percent of the loan, and the remaining two hundred and fifty million was divided among thirty-seven other financial institutions.’

‘Can we survive a loss of forty-five million dollars?’

‘Yes we can, as long as the Baron Group remains our friends,’ said Richard, smiling at his wife. ‘It’s three years’ profits down the drain, not to mention a severe blow to our reputation with the other thirty-seven banks and the inevitable drop in our stock price tomorrow.’

Lester’s stock dropped the next day by more than Richard had anticipated, for two reasons. The newly self-appointed President of Nambawe, Major Abanjo, announced that he had no intention of honoring previous government commitments made with any ‘Fascist regime’ including America, Britain, France, Germany and Japan. Richard wondered how many Russian bankers were boarding planes to Central Africa at that moment.

The second reason became apparent when a reporter from The Wall Street Journal called Richard and asked him if he had any statement to make about the coup.

‘I really have nothing to say,’ said Richard, trying to sound as if the whole episode were about as troublesome to him as brushing a fly off his sleeve. ‘I feel sure the problem will sort itself out during the next few days. After all, the loan is only one of many that Lester’s is involved with at the present time.’

‘Mr. Jake Thomas might not agree with that opinion,’ said the journalist.

‘You have spoken to Mr. Thomas?’ said Richard in disbelief.

‘Yes, Mr. Kane, he called the Journal earlier today and had an off-the-record conversation with our publisher, leaving us in no doubt that he would be surprised if Lester’s could survive such a demand on cash flow.’

‘No comment,’ said Richard curtly, and put the phone down.

At Richard’s request, Florentyna called a board meeting of the Baron Group to ensure enough financial backing so that Lester’s could survive a run on its stock. To Richard’s and Florentyna’s surprise, George was not at all convinced that the Baron Group should enmesh itself in Lester’s problems. He told them he had never approved of using the Baron stock as security for the takeover of the bank in the first place.

‘I remained silent at the time, but I’m not willing to do so on a second occasion,’ he said, his hands resting on the boardroom table. ‘Abel never liked throwing good money after bad, whatever his personal involvement. He used to say that anyone could talk about future profits and start spending money they hadn’t yet earned. Have you considered that we might both end up going under?’

‘The sum involved is not that large to the Baron Group,’ said Richard.

‘Abel always considered any loss to be ten times the problem of any profit,’ George told him. ‘And what outstanding loans do you have to other countries around the world which could be taken over while we are asleep in bed?’

‘Only one outside the EEC, and that’s a loan of two hundred million to the Shah of Iran. Again we are the lead bank with a commitment of thirty million, but Iran has never missed an interest payment by so much as an hour.’

‘When is their final payment due?’ asked George.

Richard flicked through a bulky file that lay on the table in front of him and ran his forefinger down a column of figures. Although nettled by George’s attitude, he was pleased to be well prepared for any query that might arise.

‘June nineteen, 1978.’

‘Then I want an assurance you won’t involve the bank again when the loan comes up for renewal,’ said George firmly.

‘What?’ said Richard. ‘The Shah is as safe as the Bank of England—’

‘Which hasn’t proved to be so solid lately.’

Richard was beginning to look angry and was about to respond when Florentyna interrupted.

‘Hold on, Richard. If Lester’s agrees not to renew its loan with the Shah in 1978, or involve itself in any further Third World commitments, George, will you in turn agree to the Baron Group’s underwriting the forty-five million loss on the Nambawe contract?’

‘No, I’d still need some more convincing.’

‘Like what?’ Richard demanded.

‘Richard, you don’t have to raise your voice. I am still the president of the Baron Group. Abel gave thirty years of his life to building the company up to its present position, and I don’t intend to see that achievement demolished in thirty minutes.’

‘I’m sorry,’ said Richard. ‘I haven’t had much sleep for the last four days. What would you like to know, George?’

‘Other than the agreement with the Shah, is Lester’s committed to any other loans over ten million?’

‘No,’ said Richard. ‘Most major country-to-country loans are serviced by the prime banks like Chase or Chemical and we end up with only a tiny percentage of the capital sum. Obviously, Jake Thomas felt that Nambawe, which is rich in copper and manganite, was as sure a bet as he could hope to find.’

‘We already know, to our cost, that Mr. Thomas is fallible,’ said George. ‘So, what other loans above five million remain outstanding at the bank?’

‘Two,’ replied Richard. ‘One with General Electricity in Australia for seven million, which is secured by the government, and one with ICI in London. Both are five-year loans with set payment dates and so far repayments have been met on schedule.’

‘So if the Group wrote off the forty-five million, how long would it take Lester’s to recoup the loss?’

‘That would depend on the percentage any lender required and over what period of time the money was loaned.’

‘Fifteen percent over five years.’

‘Fifteen percent?’ repeated Richard, shocked.

‘The Baron Group is not a charity, Richard, and as long as I am president it is not in business to prop up ailing banks. We are hoteliers by trade and have shown a seventeen percent return on our money over the past thirty years. If we loaned you forty-five million, could you pay it back in five years at fifteen percent?’

Richard hesitated, scribbled some figures on the pad in front of him and checked his file before he spoke. ‘Yes, I am confident we could repay every penny in five years, even assuming the African contract is a total write-off,’ he said quietly.

‘I think we must treat the contract precisely that way,’ said George. ‘My informants tell me that the former head of state, King Erobo, has escaped to London and taken up residence at Claridge’s and is looking at a house that’s for sale in Chelsea Square. It appears he has more money stashed away in Switzerland than anyone other than the Shah, so I feel he’s unlikely to return to Africa in a hurry — and I can’t say I blame him.’ Richard tried to smile as George continued. ‘Subject to all you have told us being confirmed by the Baron’s auditors, I agree to covering the African loan on the terms stated, and I wish you luck, Richard. I’ll also let you in on a little secret: Abel didn’t like Jake Thomas any more than you do, which is what tipped the balance for me.’ George closed his file. ‘I hope you will both excuse me now as I have a lunch appointment with Conrad Hilton and he has never once been late in thirty years.’

When George had closed the door behind him, Richard turned to Florentyna. ‘Jesus, whose side does he think he’s on?’

‘Ours,’ replied Florentyna. ‘Now I know why my father happily trusted him to run the Group while he went off to fight the Germans.’

A statement in The Wall Street Journal the following day confirming that the Baron Group had underwritten Lester’s loans caused the bank’s stocks to rise again, and Richard settled down to what he called ‘my five years of drudgery.’

‘What are you going to do about Jake Thomas?’

‘Ignore him,’ said Richard. ‘Time is on my side. No bank in New York will employ him once it’s known he is willing to run to the press whenever he has a disagreement with his past employers.’

‘But how will anyone ever find out?’

‘Darling, if The Wall Street Journal knows, everybody knows.’

Richard turned out to be right; the whole story was repeated back to him over a lunch he had with a director of Bankers Trust only a week later. The director went on to remark, ‘That man’s broken the golden rule of banking. From now on, he’ll find it hard to open a checking account.’

William recovered from his burns far more quickly than Florentyna had expected and returned to school a few days later with a scar on his hand too small to impress his friends. For the first few days after the accident Annabel looked away every time she saw the scar and seemed genuinely contrite.

‘Do you think he’s forgiven me?’ she asked her mother.

‘Of course, my darling. William is just like his father — forgets any quarrel by the next morning.’

Florentyna considered that the time had come for her to make a tour of the Baron hotels in Europe. Her staff worked out a detailed itinerary that took in Rome, Paris, Madrid, Lisbon, West Berlin, Amsterdam, Stockholm, London and even Warsaw. She felt a new confidence in leaving George in control, she told Richard as they were driven to the airport. He agreed and then reminded Florentyna that they had never been apart for as long as three weeks since the day they had met.

‘You’ll survive, darling.’

‘I’ll miss you, Jessie.’

‘Now, don’t you get all sentimental. You know that I have to work for the rest of my life to make sure that my husband can continue posing as chairman of a New York bank.’

‘I love you,’ said Richard.

‘I love you too,’ said Florentyna. ‘But you still owe me forty-five million and fifty-six dollars.’

‘Where does the fifty-six come from?’ said Richard.

‘From our days in San Francisco. You’ve never repaid me that fifty-six dollars I lent you before we were married.’

‘You said it was a dowry.’

‘No, you said it was a dowry. I said it was a loan. I think I’ll have to take George’s advice about how it should be repaid as soon as I return. Perhaps fifteen percent over five years would seem reasonable, Mr. Kane, which means you must now owe me around four hundred dollars.’ She leaned up and kissed him goodbye.

Richard was driven back to New York by the chauffeur and on arrival at his office he immediately phoned Cartier’s in London. He gave clear instructions as to what he required and said it had to be ready in eighteen days.

When the time had come for Richard to prepare his annual general report for the bank, the red African figure maddened him. Without it, Lester’s would have shown a healthy profit: so much for hoping he would beat Jake Thomas’s figures in his first year. All that the stockholders would remember was a thumping loss compared with 1970.

Richard followed Florentyna’s detailed schedule with interest every day and made sure he caught up with her by phone at least once in every capital. She seemed pleased by most of what she had seen, and although she had a few ideas for changes, she had to admit that the hotels on the Continent were well run by the Group’s European directors. Any excess expenditure had been caused by her own demands for higher standards of architecture. When she phoned from Paris, Richard passed on the news that William had won the class mathematics prize and that he was now confident that his son would be accepted by St. Paul’s. And since the hot water incident Annabel had tried a little harder at school and had even scraped herself off the bottom of the class. It was the best news Richard had given her.

‘Where’s your next stop?’ Richard asked.

‘London,’ she replied.

‘Great. I’ve got a feeling I know someone you’ll want to call when you’re there,’ he said with a chuckle, and went to bed feeling better than he had for some days.

He heard from Florentyna much earlier than he had expected. Around six o’clock the next morning, Richard was in a deep sleep, dreaming that he and Major Abanjo were having a shoot-out: Richard pulled the trigger, the bullet fired off. Then the phone rang. He woke up and lifted the receiver, expecting to hear Major Abanjo’s last words.

‘I love you.’

‘What?’ he said.

‘I love you.’

‘Jessie, do you know what time it is?’

‘A few minutes after twelve.’

‘It’s eight minutes past six in New York.’

‘I only wanted to tell you how much I love my diamond brooch.’

Richard smiled.

‘I’m going to wear it to lunch with Sir Colin and Lady Emson. They’re due any minute to take me to the Mirabelle, so I must say goodbye. Talk to you tomorrow — my today.’

‘You’re a nut.’

‘By the way, I don’t know if it’s of any interest to you, but there’s a reporter on the midday news here in England saying something about a certain Major Abanjo being killed in a countercoup in some Central African state and the old king returning home tomorrow to a hero’s welcome.’

‘What?’

‘The king is just being interviewed now so I’ll repeat what he’s saying. “My government intends to honor all the debts it has incurred with our friends in the Western world.” ’

‘What?’ repeated Richard, once again.

‘He looks like such a nice fellow now that he’s got the crown back on his head. Good night, Mr. Kane. Sleep well.’

As Richard was leaping up and down on his bed, there was a knock on Florentyna’s door, and Sir Colin and Lady Emson came into her suite.

‘Are you ready, young lady?’ asked Sir Colin.

‘I am,’ said Florentyna.

‘You look very pleased with yourself. No doubt the reinstatement of King Erobo has brought the roses back to your cheeks.’

‘Well informed as you are, Sir Colin, that is not the reason,’ said Florentyna as she glanced down at the card that lay on the table in front of her and read the words again.

‘What a lovely brooch you’re wearing,’ said Lady Emson. ‘It’s a donkey, isn’t it? Does that signify anything in particular?’

‘It certainly does, Lady Emson. It means the giver intends to vote for Nixon again.’

‘Then you have to give him elephant cuff links in return,’ said Sir Colin.

‘You know, Richard was right: it doesn’t pay to underestimate the British,’ said Florentyna.

After lunch, Florentyna phoned Miss Tredgold at her school. The school secretary put her through to the staff room. Miss Tredgold, it turned out, did not need to be informed about the late Major Abanjo but seemed more interested in all the news about William and Annabel. Florentyna’s second call was to Sotheby’s — this time in person. On arrival she asked to see one of the department heads.

‘It may be many years before such an item will come under the hammer, Mrs. Kane,’ the expert told her.

‘I understand,’ said Florentyna. ‘But please let me know the moment it does.’

‘Certainly, madam,’ said the expert as he wrote down Florentyna’s name and address.

When Florentyna returned to New York after her three weeks she settled down to implementing the changes she had been considering on her European tour. By the end of 1972, with her energy, George’s wisdom and Gianni di Ferranti’s genius, she was able to show an increased profit. Thanks to King Erobo, who proved as good as his word, Richard was not far behind her.

On the night of the annual stockholders’ meeting, Richard, Florentyna and George went out for a celebration dinner. Even though George had officially retired on his sixty-fifth birthday, he still came into the office every morning at eight o’clock. It had taken only twenty-four hours for everyone at the Baron to realize that ‘retirement party’ had been a misnomer. Florentyna began to appreciate how lonely George must be now that he had lost most of his contemporaries and how close he had been to her father. She never once suggested that he should slow down, because she knew it was pointless, and it gave her particular happiness whenever George took Annabel and William on an outing. Both the children called him ‘Grandpapa,’ which brought tears to his eyes and always guaranteed them a double-scoop ice cream cone.

Florentyna thought she knew how much George did for the Group, but the truth came home to her only after his retirement could no longer be postponed. George died peacefully in his sleep in October 1973. In his will, he left everything to the Polish Red Cross and a short note addressed to Richard, asking him to act as his executor.

Richard carried out George’s every wish to the letter and even traveled to Warsaw accompanied by Florentyna to meet the president of the Polish Red Cross and discuss how George’s donation could best be put to use. When they returned to New York, Florentyna sent a directive to all managers in the Group that the finest suite in each hotel was no longer to be the Presidential Suite but was to be renamed the ‘George Novak Suite.’

When Richard woke the morning after they had returned from Warsaw, Florentyna, who had been waiting impatiently for him to open his eyes, told her husband that although George had taught her so much in life, he had now added to her learning even in death.

‘What are you talking about?’

‘George left everything he had to charity but never once referred to the fact that my father rarely made charitable contributions other than the occasional gift to Polish or political causes. I’m every bit as remiss myself, and if you hadn’t added a footnote to the Group’s annual general report concerning tax relief for charitable donations, I would never have given the matter a second thought.’

‘Well, I’m sure you’re not planning for something after your death. What do you have in mind?’

‘Why don’t we set up a foundation in memory of both our fathers? Let’s bring the two families together. What they failed to do in their lifetime, let us do in ours.’

Richard sat up and stared at his wife as she got out of bed and continued to talk as she walked toward the bathroom.

‘The Baron Group should donate two million dollars a year to the foundation,’ she said.

‘Spending only the income, never the capital,’ he interjected.

Florentyna closed the bathroom door, which gave Richard a few moments to consider her proposal. He could still be surprised by her bold, sweeping approach to any new venture, even if, as he suspected, she had not thought through who would handle the day-to-day administration of such a vast enterprise once it had taken off. He smiled to himself when the bathroom door reopened.

‘We could spend the income derived from such a trust on first-generation immigrants who are not getting the chance of a decent education.’

‘And also create scholarships for exceptionally gifted children whatever their background,’ said Richard, getting out of bed.

‘Brilliant, Mr. Kane, and let us hope that occasionally the same person will qualify for both.’

‘You father would have,’ said Richard as he disappeared into the bathroom.

Thaddeus Cohen insisted on coming out of retirement to draw up the deeds of the foundation to cover the wishes of both Kanes. It took him over a month. When the trust fund was launched, the national press welcomed the financial commitment as another example of how Richard and Florentyna Kane were able to combine bold originality with common sense.

A reporter from the Chicago Sun-Times phoned Thaddeus Cohen to inquire why the foundation was so named. Cohen explained that the choice of ‘Remagen’ arose because it was the battlefield on which Colonel Rosnovski had unknowingly saved the life of Captain Kane.

‘I had no idea they had met on a battlefield,’ said a young voice.

‘Neither did they,’ said Thaddeus Cohen. ‘It was only discovered after their deaths.’

‘Fascinating. Tell me, Mr. Cohen, who is going to be the first director of the Remagen Foundation?’

‘Professor Luigi Ferpozzi.’

Both Lester’s Bank and the Baron Group set new records the following year as Richard established himself as a force on Wall Street and Florentyna visited her hotels in the Middle East and Africa. King Erobo held a banquet in Florentyna’s honor when she arrived in Nambawe, and although she promised to build a hotel in the capital city she wouldn’t be drawn into an explanation of why Lester’s had not been among the banks involved with the king’s latest international loan.

William had a good first year at St. Paul’s, showing the same flair for math which his father had before him. As they had been taught by the same master, both father and son avoided asking for any comparison. Annabel did not progress as quickly as William, although her teacher had to admit she had improved even if she had fallen in love with Bob Dylan.

‘Who’s he?’ asked Florentyna.

‘I don’t know,’ said Richard, ‘but I’m told he’s doing for Annabel what Sinatra did for you twenty-five years ago.’

When Florentyna started her sixth year as chairman of the Group she found she was beginning to repeat herself. Richard seemed to find new challenges all the time, while Gianni di Ferranti appeared to be well in control of the chain of shops without bothering to ask her anything other than where to send the checks. The Baron Group was now so efficient, and her management team so competent, that no one showed a great deal of concern one morning when Florentyna didn’t come into the office.

That evening, when Richard was sitting in the crimson leather chair by the fire reading The Billion Dollar Sure Thing, she expressed her thoughts out loud.

‘I’m bored.’

Richard made no comment.

‘It’s time I did something with my life other than build on my father’s achievements,’ she added.

Richard smiled but didn’t look up from his book.

Chapter twenty-five

‘You’re allowed three guesses who this is.’

‘Am I given any clues?’ asked Florentyna, annoyed that she knew the voice but couldn’t quite place it.

‘Good-looking, intelligent and a national idol.’

‘Paul Newman.’

‘Feeble. Try again.’

‘Robert Redford.’

‘Worse still. One more chance.’

‘I need another clue.’

‘Appalling at French, not much better at English and still in love with you.’

‘Edward. Edward Winchester. A voice from the past — only you don’t sound as if you’ve changed a bit.’

‘Wishful thinking. I’m over forty, and by the way, so will you be next year.’

‘How can I be when I’m only twenty-four this year?’

‘What, again?’

‘No, I have been on ice for the last fifteen years.’

‘Not from what I’ve read about you. You go from strength to strength.’

‘And how about you?’

‘I’m a partner in a law firm in Chicago, Winston and Strawn.’

‘Married?’

‘No, I’ve decided to wait for you.’

Florentyna laughed. ‘If you’ve taken this long to phone and propose, I should warn you that I’ve been married for fifteen years and I have a son of fourteen and a daughter of twelve.’

‘All right then, I won’t propose, but I would like to see you. It’s a private matter.’

‘A private matter? Sounds intriguing.’

‘If I were to fly to New York one day next week, would you have lunch with me?’

‘I’d enjoy that.’ Florentyna flicked over the pages of her calendar. ‘How about next Tuesday?’

‘Suits me. Shall we say the Four Seasons, one o’clock?’

‘I’ll be there.’

Florentyna put down the phone and sat back in her chair. Other than Christmas cards and the odd letter, she hadn’t had much contact with Edward for sixteen years. She walked across to the mirror and studied herself. A few small lines were beginning to appear around the eyes and mouth. She turned sideways to confirm that she had kept her slim figure. She didn’t feel old. There was no denying that she had a daughter who could already make young men stop in the street for a second glance, and a teenage son she now had to look up to. It wasn’t fair; Richard didn’t look forty: a few white tufts appearing at the sides of the temples and the hair perhaps a shade thinner than it had been, but he was every bit as slim and vigorous as the day they had met. She admired the fact that he still found time to play squash at the Harvard Club twice a week and practice the cello most weekends. Edward’s phone call made her think of middle age for the first time; how morbid. She would be thinking of death next. Thaddeus Cohen had died the previous year; only Kate Kane and Zaphia remained of that generation.

Florentyna tried to touch her toes and couldn’t, so she returned to the monthly statements of the Baron Group for reassurance. London was still not paying its way, even though the hotel occupied one of the finest sites in Mayfair. Somehow the English seemed to combine impossible wage demands with high unemployment and staff shortages all at the same time. In Riyadh they had had to clear out almost the entire management because of theft, and in Poland the government would still not allow the Group to take any exchangeable currency out of the country. But despite these minor problems, all of which could be ironed out by her management team, the company was in good shape.

Florentyna had confidently assured Richard that the Baron Group profits would be over forty-one million for 1974, whereas Lester’s would be lucky to touch eighteen million. Richard, however, had predicted that Lester’s profits would pass the Baron Group’s by 1974. She feigned disdain but knew that when it came to financial forecasts he was rarely wrong.

Her thoughts floated back to Edward when the phone rang. Gianni di Ferranti wondered if she would like to see his new collection for the Paris show, which put her old classmate out of her mind until one o’clock the following Tuesday.

Florentyna arrived at the Four Seasons a few minutes after one, wearing one of Gianni’s new dresses in midi-length bottle-green silk with a sleeveless jacket over it. She wondered if she would still recognize Edward. She walked up the wide staircase to find him waiting for her on the top step. She privately hoped she had aged as well as he had.

‘Edward,’ she cried, ‘you haven’t changed a bit.’ He laughed. ‘No, no,’ mocked Florentyna, ‘I’ve always liked gray hair and the extra weight suits you. I wouldn’t expect anything less of a distinguished lawyer from my home town.’

He kissed her on both cheeks like a French general and then she put her arm through his and they followed the maitre d’ through to their table. A bottle of champagne awaited them.

‘Champagne. How lovely. What are we celebrating?’

‘Just being with you again, my dear.’ Edward noticed that Florentyna seemed to be lost in thought. ‘Is something wrong?’ he inquired.

‘No. I was just remembering myself sitting on the floor at Girls Latin, crying, while you tore the arm off Franklin D. Roosevelt and then poured royal-blue ink over his head.’

‘You deserved it — you were a dreadful little show-off. FDR didn’t. Poor little bear, is he still around?’

‘Oh, yes. He’s taken up residence in my daughter’s bedroom and as he has managed to keep his remaining arm and both legs I can only reluctantly conclude that Annabel handles young men better than I did.’

Edward laughed. ‘Shall we order? I have so much to talk to you about. It’s been fun following your career on the television and in the papers, but I wanted to see if you’ve changed.’

Florentyna ordered salmon and a salad while Edward chose the prime rib with asparagus.

‘I’m intrigued.’

‘By what?’ asked Edward.

‘Why a Chicago lawyer would fly all the way to New York just to see an hotelier.’

‘I do not come as a Chicago lawyer and I have no interest in talking to an hotelier. I come as treasurer of the Cook County Democratic Party.’

‘I gave one hundred thousand dollars to the Chicago Democrats last year,’ said Florentyna. ‘Mind you, Richard donated one hundred thousand to the New York Republicans.’

‘I don’t want your money, Florentyna, although I know you have supported the Ninth District at every election. It’s you I want.’

‘That’s a new line,’ she said, grinning. ‘Men have stopped saying that to me lately. You know, Edward,’ she continued, her tone changing, ‘I’ve been so overworked during the last few years, I’ve barely had time to vote, let alone become personally involved. What’s more, since Watergate I found Nixon detestable, Agnew worse, and with Muskie a nonrunner, I was only left with George McGovern, who didn’t exactly inspire me.’

‘But surely—’

‘I also have a husband, two young children and a five hundred million dollar company to run.’

‘And what are you going to do for the next twenty years?’

She smiled to herself. ‘Turn it into a billion dollar company.’

‘In other words, just repeat yourself. I agree with you that McGovern and Nixon — one was too good and the other too bad — and I don’t see anyone on the horizon who excites me.’

‘So now you want me to run for President in ’seventy-six?’

‘No, I want you to run for Congress as the representative of the Ninth District of Illinois.’

Florentyna dropped her fork. ‘If I remember the job specification correctly, it’s an eighteen-hour day, forty-two thousand five hundred dollars a year, no family life, and your constituents are allowed to be as rude to you as they like. Worst of all, you are required to live in the Ninth District of Illinois.’

‘That wouldn’t be so bad. The Baron is in the Ninth District, and besides, it’s just a stepping-stone.’

‘To what?’

‘To the Senate.’

‘When the whole state can be rude to you.’

‘And then the Presidency.’

‘When the rest of the world can join in. Edward, this is not Girls Latin and I don’t have two lives, one which can run my hotels and one—’

‘And one in which you can give back some of what you have taken from others.’

‘That was a bit rough, Edward.’

‘Yes, it certainly was. I apologize. But I have always believed you could play a role in national politics, as you did once yourself, and I feel the time is right, especially as I’m convinced that you haven’t changed.’

‘But I haven’t been involved in politics at a grass-roots level, let alone a national level, for years.’

‘Florentyna, you know as well as I do that most people in Congress have neither your varied experience nor your intelligence. That goes for most Presidents, come to think of it.’

‘I’m flattered, Edward, but not convinced.’

‘Well, I can tell you that a group of us in Chicago want you to come home and run for the Ninth District.’

‘Henry Osborne’s old seat?’

‘Although the Democrats won it back in ’fifty-four, we have never had a large enough majority to feel confident when we had to select a new candidate to ward off any strong Republican challenge.’

‘Daley wants a Polish woman?’

‘Daley wants the woman Time said ran behind only Jackie Kennedy and Margaret Mead in the nation’s esteem. Daley likes winning.’

‘You’re mad, Edward. Who needs it?’

‘I suspect you do, Florentyna. Just give me one day in your life; come to Chicago and meet the people who want you. Express in your own words how you feel about the future of our country. Won’t you at least do that for me?’

‘All right, I’ll consider it and call you in a few days. But I warn you, Richard will think I’m nuts.’

On that count Florentyna turned out to be wrong. Richard had arrived home late that night after a trip to Boston and he told her over breakfast the next morning that she had been talking in her sleep.

‘What did I say?’

Richard stared at her. ‘Something I have always suspected,’ he replied.

‘And what was that?’

‘ “I want to run.” ’

Florentyna made no reply.

‘Why did Edward want to see you for lunch so urgently?’

‘He wants me to return to Chicago and run for Congress.’

‘So that’s what brought it on. Well, I think you should consider the offer seriously, Jessie. For a long time you’ve been critical of the fact that competent women don’t go into politics. And you’ve always been outspoken about the abilities of those who do enter public life. Now you can stop complaining and do a little more about it other than when elections come around.’

‘But what about the Baron Group?’

‘The Rockefeller family managed to survive; no doubt the Kane family will get by somehow. In any case, the Group now employs twenty-seven thousand people, so I imagine we can find ten men to take your place.’

‘Thank you, Mr. Kane. But how do I live in Illinois while you’re in New York?’

‘That’s easily solved. I’ll fly to Chicago every weekend. Wednesday nights you can fly to New York and now that we know that Carol will never leave us, it shouldn’t be too unsettling for the children. When you’re elected, I’ll take the shuttle down to Washington Wednesday nights.’

‘You sound as though you’ve been thinking about this for some time, Mr. Kane.’

Florentyna flew out to Chicago a week later and was met at O’Hare Airport by Edward. It was pouring and the wind was so strong that Edward, tightly clutching a large umbrella with both hands, could not protect her from the rain.

‘Now I know why I wanted to come back to Chicago,’ she said as she scampered into the car, cold and wet. They were driven into the city while Edward briefed her on the people she would meet.

‘They’re all party workers and faithful stalwarts who have only read about you or have seen you on television. They’ll be surprised to find that you only have two arms, two legs and a head like any of them.’

‘How many do you expect to be at the meeting?’

‘Around sixty. Seventy would be exceptional.’

‘And all you want me to do is meet them and then say a few words about my feelings on national affairs?’

‘Yes.’

‘Then I can return home?’

‘If that’s what you want to do.’

The car came to a halt outside the Cook County Democratic headquarters on Randolph Street. Florentyna was greeted by a Mrs. Kalamich, a plump, homely woman who led her to the main hall. Florentyna was shocked to find that it was packed with people, some standing at the back. As she walked in, they began to applaud.

‘You told me there would only be a few people, Edward,’ she whispered.

‘I’m as surprised as you are. I expected about seventy, not over three hundred.’

Florentyna suddenly felt nervous as she was introduced to the members of the selection committee and then led on to the stage. She sat next to Edward, aware of how cold the room was and how the hall was full of people with hope in their eyes, people who enjoyed so few of the privileges she experienced everyday. How different this room was from her own boardroom, full of men in Brooks Brothers suits who ordered martinis before dinner. For the first time in her life she felt embarrassed by her wealth and hoped it didn’t show.

Edward rose from his chair in the center of the platform.

‘Ladies and gentlemen, it is my privilege tonight to introduce a woman who has gained the respect and admiration of the American people. She has helped build one of the largest financial empires in the world and I believe she could now build a political career of the same dimensions. I hope she will launch that career in this room tonight. Ladies and gentlemen, Mrs. Florentyna Kane.’

Florentyna rose nervously to her feet. She began to wish she had spent more time preparing her speech.

‘Thank you, Mr. Winchester, for your kind words. It’s wonderful to be back in Chicago, my home town, and I appreciate so many of you turning out for me on this cold, wet night.

‘I, like you, feel let down by the political leaders of the day. I believe in a strong America and if I were to enter the political arena I would dedicate myself to those words Franklin D. Roosevelt said in this city over thirty years ago: “There can be no greater calling than public service.”

‘My father came to Chicago as an immigrant from Poland and only in America could he have achieved the success he did. Each of us must play our role in the destiny of the country we love and I shall always remember your kindness in inviting me to be considered as your candidate. Be assured that I shall not make my final decision lightly. I have not come with a long prepared speech as I would prefer to answer any questions you consider important.’

She sat down and three hundred people applauded enthusiastically. When the noise had died down, Florentyna answered questions on subjects ranging from the U.S. bombing of Cambodia to legalized abortion, from Watergate to the energy crisis. It was the first time she had attended any meeting without all the facts and figures at her fingertips and she was surprised to find how strongly she felt on so many issues. After she had answered the final question, over an hour later, the crowd rose and started chanting ‘Kane for Congress,’ refusing to stop until she left the platform. It was one of those rare moments in her life when she wasn’t sure what to do next. Edward came to her rescue.

‘I knew they would love you,’ said Edward, obviously delighted.

‘But I was awful,’ she shouted back above the noise.

‘Then I can’t wait to find out what you’re like when you’re good.’

Edward led her off the platform as the crowd surged forward. A pale man in a wheelchair managed to touch her arm. She turned.

‘This is Sam,’ said Edward. ‘Sam Hendrick. He lost both his legs in Vietnam.’

‘Mrs. Kane,’ he said. ‘You won’t remember me; we once licked envelopes together in this hall for Stevenson. If you decide to run for Congress, my wife and I will work night and day to see you are elected. Many of us in Chicago have long believed you would come home and represent us.’ His wife, who stood behind the chair, nodded and smiled.

‘Thank you,’ said Florentyna. She turned and tried to walk to the exit, but it was blocked by the outstretched hands of the well-wishers. She was stopped again at the door, this time by a girl of about twenty-five who told her, ‘I lived in your old room in Whitman at Radcliffe and, like you, once stood in Soldier Field and listened to President Kennedy. America needs another Kennedy. Why shouldn’t it be a woman?’

Florentyna stared at the eager, intense young face. ‘I’ve graduated and work in Chicago now,’ the girl continued, ‘but the day you run, a thousand students from Illinois will be on the streets to see that you are elected.’

Florentyna tried to ask her her name but was pushed on by the crowd. At last Edward managed to bustle her through the throng and into a waiting car, which drove them back to the airport. She didn’t speak during the journey. When they arrived at O’Hare, the black chauffeur jumped out and opened the door for her. She thanked him.

‘It’s a pleasure, Mrs. Kane. I want to thank you for the stand you took on behalf of my people in the South. We won’t forget that you led our struggle for equal pay and every hotel group in the country had to follow you. I hope you’re now going to give me the chance to vote for you.’

‘Thank you again,’ said Florentyna, smiling.

Edward took her to the terminal and guided her to the departure gate.

‘Made your flight in good time. Thank you for coming, Florentyna. Please let me know when you’ve made up your mind.’ He paused. ‘If you feel you can’t go ahead with the nomination, I’ll always understand.’ He kissed her lightly on the cheek and left.

On the flight back, Florentyna sat alone thinking about what had happened that night and how unprepared she had been for such a demonstration of good will. She wished her father could have been in the hall to witness it.

A stewardess asked for her drink order.

‘Nothing, thank you.’

‘Is there anything else I can do for you, Mrs. Kane?’

Florentyna looked up, surprised that the young girl knew her name.

‘I used to work in one of your hotels.’

‘Which one?’ asked Florentyna.

‘The Detroit Baron. Barons would always be the most popular choice for stewardesses. If only America was governed the way you run your hotels, we wouldn’t be in the trouble we’re in now,’ she said before moving on down the aisle.

Florentyna flicked through a copy of Newsweek. Under the headline ‘How far does Watergate go?’ she studied the faces of Ehrlichman, Haldeman and Dean before closing the magazine. On the cover was a picture of Richard Nixon and the caption ‘When was the President told?’

A little after midnight, she arrived back at East Sixty-fourth Street. Richard was sitting up in the crimson chair by the fire. He rose to greet her.

‘Well, did they ask you to run for President of the United States?’

‘No, but how do you feel about Congresswoman Kane?’

Florentyna phoned Edward the next day. ‘I am willing to put my name forward as the Democratic candidate for Congress,’ she said.

‘Thank you. I ought to try and express my thoughts more fully, but for now — thank you.’

‘Edward, may I know who would have been the candidate if I had said no?’

‘They were pushing me to run myself. But I told them I had a better candidate in mind. As I’m certain this time around you’ll take advice, even if you become President.’

‘I never did become class president.’

‘I did, and I’ve still ended up serving you.’

‘Where do I start, coach?’

‘The primary is in three months, so you’d better reserve every weekend between now and the fall.’

‘I already have starting this weekend — and can you tell me who was the young woman from Radcliffe who stopped me at the door and talked about Kennedy?’

‘Janet Brown. In spite of her age, she’s already one of the most respected case workers in the city’s Human Services department.’

‘Do you have her phone number?’

During the week Florentyna informed the Baron board of directors of her decision. They appointed Richard co-chairman of the Group and elected two new directors.

Florentyna called Janet Brown and offered her a job as her full-time political assistant and was delighted by Janet’s immediate acceptance. She then added two new secretaries to her staff for political work only. Finally, she called the Chicago Baron and instructed them to leave the thirty-eighth floor free, warning them she would need the entire floor left at her disposal for at least a year.

‘Taking it seriously, aren’t we?’ said Richard later that evening.

‘Indeed I am, because I’m going to have to work very hard if you’re ever going to be the First Gentleman.’

Chapter twenty-six

‘Are you expecting much opposition?’

‘Nothing of real consequence,’ said Edward. ‘There may be a protest candidate or two, but as the committee is fully behind you, the real fight should be with the Republicans.’

‘Do we know who their candidate is likely to be?’

‘Not yet. My spies tell me it’s between two men, Ray Buck, who seems to be the choice of the retiring member, and Stewart Lyle, who served on the City Council for the past eight years. They’ll both run a good campaign, but that’s not our immediate problem. With so little time left, we must concentrate on the Democratic primary.’

‘How many people do you think will vote in the primary?’ asked Florentyna.

‘Can’t be certain. All we do know is that there are roughly a hundred and fifty thousand registered Democrats and that the turnout is usually between forty-five and fifty percent. So that would point to around seventy or eighty thousand.’

Edward unfolded a large map of Chicago and placed it in front of Florentyna.

‘The boundaries of the constituency are marked in red and run from East Chicago Avenue in the south to the Evanston border in the north, from Ravenswood and Northwest Highway in the west to the lake in the east.’

‘The district hasn’t changed since the days of Henry Osborne,’ said Florentyna, ‘so it should all come back to me very quickly.’

‘Let’s hope so, because our main task is to see that every Democrat in that area is aware of who you are through the press, advertising, television and public appearances. Whenever they open their newspaper, turn on the radio or watch TV Florentyna Kane must be with them. The voters must feel you are everywhere and they must believe your only interest is in them. In fact, there can be no major function in Chicago between now and March nineteenth at which you are not present.’

‘Suits me,’ said Florentyna. ‘I’ve already set up my campaign headquarters in the Chicago Baron, which my father had the foresight to build at the heart of the district. I propose to spend weekends here and any free days during the week at home with my family, so where do you want me to start?’

‘I’ve called a press conference for next Monday, to be held at Democratic headquarters. A short speech followed by a question-and-answer session and then we’ll serve them coffee so you can meet all the key people individually. As you enjoy thinking fast on your feet, you should relish meeting the press.’

‘Any particular advice?’

‘No, just be yourself.’

‘You may live to regret that.’

Edward’s judgment turned out to be right. After Florentyna had made a short opening statement the questions came thick and fast. Under his breath, Edward whispered the names of the various journalists as each rose to his feet.

The first was Mike Royko, of the Chicago Daily News.

‘Why do you think it appropriate that a New York millionairess should run for the Ninth District of Illinois?’

‘In this context,’ said Florentyna, standing to take the questions, ‘I am not a New York millionairess. I was born in St. Luke’s General Hospital and brought up on Rigg Street. My father, who came to this country with nothing but the clothes he wore, founded the Baron Group right here in the Ninth District. I believe we must always fight to ensure that any immigrant arriving on our shores today, whether he be from Vietnam or Poland, has the opportunity to achieve the same goals as my father did.’

Edward pointed to another journalist for the next question.

‘Do you consider it a disadvantage to be a woman when seeking public office?’

‘Perhaps to a limited or ill-informed person I would have so answer yes, but not with any intelligent voter who puts the issues before outdated prejudices. Which of you if involved in a traffic accident on the way home today would think twice if the first doctor on the scene turned out to be a woman? I hope the issue of sex will soon be as irrelevant as that of religion. It seems a century ago that people asked John F. Kennedy if he thought the Presidency might change because he was a Roman Catholic. I notice nowadays the question never arises with Teddy Kennedy. Women are already playing leading roles in other nations. Golda Meir in Israel and Indira Gandhi in India are just two examples. I consider it sad that in a nation of two hundred and thirty million people, women number not one of the hundred senators and only sixteen out of the four hundred and thirty-four members of Congress.’

‘What does your husband feel about you wearing the trousers in your family?’ demanded an unsolicited questioner. Laughter broke out in certain parts of the room and Florentyna waited for complete silence.

‘He’s far too intelligent and successful for such a pathetic question to occur to him.’

‘What is your attitude on Watergate?’

‘A sad episode in American political history which I hope will be behind us before too long but not forgotten.’

‘Do you feel President Nixon should resign?’

‘That’s a moral decision for the President to make himself.’

‘Would you resign if you were President?’

‘I wouldn’t have to break into any hotels. I already own one hundred and forty-three.’ A burst of laughter followed by applause gave Florentyna a little more confidence.

‘Do you think the President should be impeached?’

‘That’s a question Congress will have to decide based on the evidence the Judiciary Committee is considering, including the White House tapes if President Nixon ever releases them. But no American can fail to have been moved by the resignation of the Attorney General, Elliot Richardson, a man whose integrity has never been in question.’

‘Where do you stand on abortion?’

‘I shall not fall into the trap that Senator Mason did only last week when asked the same question, to which he replied, “Gentlemen, that one’s below the belt.” ’ Florentyna waited for the laughter to die down before saying in a more serious tone. ‘I am a Roman Catholic by birth and upbringing, so I feel strongly about the protection of the unborn child. However, I also believe there are situations in which it is either necessary and indeed morally correct for a qualified doctor to carry out an abortion.’

‘Can you give an example?’

‘Rape would be an obvious one, and also in a case where the mother’s health is in danger.’

‘Isn’t that against the teachings of your church?’

‘That is correct, but I have always believed in the separation of church and state. Any person who runs for public office must be willing to take stands on certain issues that will not please all of the people all of the time. I think Edmund Burke summed it up better than I could hope to do when he said, “Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment, and he betrays instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion.” ’

Edward sensed the effect of the last statement and promptly rose from his chair. ‘Well, ladies and gentlemen of the press, I think the time has come to adjourn for coffee, which will give you an opportunity to meet Florentyna Kane personally — although I am sure by now you know why we feel she is the right person to represent the Ninth District in Congress.’

For the next hour, Florentyna faced a further barrage of personal and political questions, some of which, had they been put to her in the privacy of her own home, she would have found objectionable, but she was quickly learning that one cannot be a public figure and hope to maintain a private stance on anything. When the last journalist had left, she collapsed into a chair, not even having had the time to drink one cup of coffee.

‘You were great,’ said Janet Brown. ‘Didn’t you think so, Mr. Winchester?’

Edward smiled. ‘Good, not great, but I blame myself for not warning you about the difference between being chairman of a private company and running for public office.’

‘What are you getting at?’ asked Florentyna, surprised.

‘Some of those journalists are very powerful and they talk to hundreds of thousands of people every day through their columns. They want to tell their readers that they know you personally and once or twice you were just a little too aloof. And with the man from the Tribune you were just plain rude.’

‘Was that the man who asked about who wore the trousers?’

‘Yes.’

‘What was I supposed to say?’

‘Turn it into a joke.’

‘It wasn’t funny, Edward, and it was he who was rude.’

‘Possibly, but he’s not the one who’s running for public office and you are, so he can say what he likes. And don’t ever forget his column is read by more than five hundred thousand people in Chicago every day including most of your constituents.’

‘So you want me to compromise myself?’

‘No, I want you to get elected. When you’re in the House, you can prove to everyone that they were right in voting for you. But just now you’re an unknown commodity with a lot going against you. You’re a woman, you’re Polish and you’re a millionairess. That combination is going to arouse just about every form of prejudice or jealousy in most ordinary people. The way to counter those feelings is always to appear humorous, kind and interested in people who do not share the privileges you have.’

‘Edward, it’s not me who should be running for public office, it’s you.’

Edward shook his head. ‘I know you’re the right person, Florentyna, but I realize now that it will take a little time for you to adjust to your new environment. Thank God you’ve always been a quick learner. By the way, I don’t disagree with the sentiments you voiced so vociferously, but as you seem to like quoting statesmen of the past, don’t forget Jefferson’s comment to Adams: “You can’t lose votes with a speech you didn’t make.” ’

Again Edward turned out to be right: the press the next day gave Florentyna a mixed reception, and the Tribune reporter called her the worst sort of opportunistic carpetbagger he had ever had the misfortune to come across on the political trail — surely Chicago could find a local person? Otherwise he would have to recommend for the first time that his readers vote Republican. Florentyna was horrified and adjusted quickly to the fact that a journalist’s ego was sometimes more sensitive than a politician’s. She settled down to working several days a week in Chicago, meeting people, talking to the press, appearing on television, fund raising and then going over it all again whenever she saw Richard. Even Edward was beginning to feel confident that the tide was turning her way, when the first blow came.

‘Ralph Brooks? Who on earth is Ralph Brooks?’ asked Florentyna.

‘A local lawyer, very bright and very ambitious. I’d always thought his sights were set on the State Attorney’s office en route to the federal bench, but it seems I’m wrong. I wonder who put him up to this?’

‘Is he a serious candidate?’ Florentyna asked.

‘He certainly is. A local boy, educated at the University of Chicago before going on to Yale Law School.’

‘Age?’ asked Florentyna.

‘Late thirties.’

‘And of course he’s good-looking?’

‘Very,’ said Edward. ‘When he rises in court every woman on the jury wants him to win. I always avoid opposing him if I can.’

‘Does this Olympian have any disadvantages?’

‘Naturally. Any man who has been a lawyer in this city is bound to have made a few enemies and I know for certain Mayor Daley won’t be overjoyed about his entry into the race, since Ralph Brooks is an obvious rival for his son.’

‘What am I expected to do about him?’

‘Nothing,’ said Edward. ‘When asked, you simply give the standard answer: say it’s democracy at work and may the best man — or woman — win.’

‘He’s left himself with only five weeks before the primary.’

‘Sometimes that’s a clever tactic; he’ll hope you’ve run out of steam. The one good thing to come out of this is that Mr. Brooks will have killed off any complacency among our workers. Everyone will now know they have a fight on their hands, which will be good training for when we face the Republicans.’

Florentyna was reassured that Edward still sounded confident, although he confided in Janet Brown later that it was going to be one hell of a fight. During the next few weeks Florentyna learned just how much of a fight. Everywhere she went, Ralph Brooks seemed to have been there just before her. Every time she made a press statement on a major issue, Brooks had given his opinion the night before. But as the day of the primary drew nearer, she learned to play Brooks at his own game, and beat him at it. However, just at the point when the opinion polls showed she was holding her lead, he played an ace that Florentyna hadn’t foreseen. She read the details on the front page of the Chicago Tribune.

‘Brooks Challenges Kane to Debate’ ran the headline. She knew that with all his court experience and practice at cross-examination he was bound to be a formidable opponent. Within minutes after the paper hit the streets, the phone in Florentyna’s headquarters was besieged with queries from the press. Would she accept the challenge? Was she avoiding Brooks? Didn’t the people of Chicago have the right to see both candidates debate the issues? Janet held them off while Florentyna held a hasty conference with Edward. It lasted for three minutes, during which Florentyna wrote out a statement for Janet to read to all inquirers.

‘Florentyna Kane is delighted to accept the invitation to debate Ralph Brooks and looks forward to the encounter.’

During the week, Edward appointed a representative to consult with Brooks’s campaign manager in determining the time and place for the debate.

The Thursday before the primary was the date agreed to by both sides; the venue was to be the Bernard Horwich Jewish Community Center on West Touhy. Once the local CBS-TV affiliate had agreed to cover the debate, both candidates knew that the outcome of the election might well depend on the confrontation. Florentyna spent days preparing her speech and answering questions shot at her by Edward, Janet and Richard. It brought back memories of Miss Tredgold and their preparation for the Woolson Prize Scholarship.

On the night of the debate every seat in the Community Center was taken. People were standing at the back while others sat on windowsills. Richard had flown in from New York and he and Florentyna arrived a half-hour before the debate was to begin. She then went through the ordeal of television makeup while Richard found himself a seat in the front row.

She was greeted by warm applause as she entered the room and took her seat on the stage. Ralph Brooks arrived moments later to equally enthusiastic applause. He pushed back his hair rather self-consciously as he strode across the floor. No woman in the hall took her eyes from him, including Florentyna. The chairman of the Ninth District Democratic Congressional Committee welcomed them both before taking them to one side to remind them that they would each make an opening speech, which would be followed by a question-and-answer session, and then they would be invited to make a closing statement. They both nodded; the chairman had only repeated what had been agreed to by the two candidates’ representatives days before. He then took a new half-dollar from his pocket, and Florentyna stared at the head of John Kennedy. The chairman spun the coin and she called heads. Kennedy looked up at her again.

‘I’ll speak second,’ she said, not even hesitating.

Without another word, they walked back onto the stage. Florentyna took a seat on the right of Edward, and Ralph Brooks sat on his left. At eight o’clock, the moderator banged the gavel and called the meeting to order. ‘Mr. Brooks will address you first and then Mrs. Kane will speak.’

Ralph Brooks rose and Florentyna stared up at the tall, handsome man. She had to admit it: if a film director had been casting for the role of President, Ralph Brooks would be given the part. From the moment he started to speak, Florentyna was in no doubt that she would not have to travel beyond Chicago to face a more formidable rival. Brooks was relaxed and assured, his delivery was professional without sounding glib.

‘Ladies and gentlemen, fellow Democrats,’ he began. ‘I stand before you tonight, a local man who has made his way in life right here in Chicago. My great-grandfather was born in this city and for four generations the Brooks family have practiced law from our offices on La Salle Street, always serving this community to the best of our ability. I offer myself today as your candidate for Congress in the belief that representatives of the people should always come from the grass roots of their community. I do not have the vast wealth that is at the disposal of my opponent, but I bring a dedication to and care for this district that I hope you will feel surpasses wealth.’ There was an outburst of applause, but Florentyna could see several people who were not joining in. ‘On the issues of crime prevention, housing, public transportation and health, I have for several years sought to promote public good in the courts of Chicago. I now seek the opportunity to promote your interests in the United States House of Representatives.’

Florentyna listened intently to each well-delivered word and was not surprised when Brooks sat down to applause that was loud and sustained. The chairman rose to make Florentyna’s introduction. And when he finished, she stood up — and wanted to run out of the hall. Richard smiled up at her from the front row and she regained her confidence.

‘My father came to America over fifty years ago,’ she began, ‘having escaped first from the Germans and then from the Russians. After educating himself in New York he came to Chicago, where he founded the hotel group of which I have the privilege of being chairman, right here in the Ninth District of this city. A group that now employs twenty-seven thousand people in every state in America. When that career was at its zenith, my father left this country to fight the Germans again and he returned to America with a Bronze Star. I was born in this city and went to high school not a mile from this hall, a Chicago education that made it possible for me to go to college. Now I have returned home wanting to represent the people who made my American dream possible.’

Loud applause greeted Florentyna’s words, but she noticed once again that several people did not join in. ‘I hope I will not be prevented from holding office because I was born with wealth. If that were to be a disqualification, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Kennedy would never have held office. I hope I will not be prevented because my father was an immigrant. If that were the case, then one of the greatest mayors this community has ever known, Anton Cermak, would never have worked in City Hall, and if I am to be prevented because I am a woman, then half the population of America must be disqualified along with me.’ This was greeted with loud applause from all parts of the hall. Florentyna drew a deep breath.

‘I do not apologize for being the daughter of an immigrant. I do not apologize for being wealthy. I do not apologize for being a woman and I will never be apologetic about wanting to represent the people of Chicago in the United States Congress.’ The applause was deafening. ‘If it is not my destiny to represent you, I shall support Mr. Brooks. If, on the other hand, I have the honor of being selected to be your candidate, you can be assured that I shall tackle the problems that Chicago faces with the same dedication and energy I put into making my company one of the most successful hotel groups in the world.’

Florentyna sat down to continuing applause and looked toward her husband, who was smiling. She relaxed for the first time and stared into the hall, where some people even stood to applaud although she was only too aware most of them were on her staff. She checked her watch: 8:28. She had timed it perfectly. That week’s ‘Laugh-In’ was due on TV and the Chicago Black Hawks would be warming up on another channel. There would be a lot of changing of channels in the next few minutes. Judging by the frown on Ralph Brooks’s face, he was equally aware of the scheduling.

After questions — which brought no surprises — and the closing statements, Florentyna and Richard left the hall surrounded by well-wishers and returned to their room at the Baron. They waited nervously for a bellboy to deliver the first edition of the papers. The overall verdict was in favor of Florentyna. Even the Tribune said it had been a very close-run affair.

During the last three days of the campaign before the primary, Florentyna pounded pavement, pressed flesh and walked the entire length of Michigan Avenue. She collapsed into a hot bath every night. She was wakened by Richard each morning with a hot cup of coffee, after which she started the whole mad process over again.

‘The great day has at last arrived,’ said Richard.

‘Not a moment too soon,’ said Florentyna. ‘I’m not sure my legs can go through anything like this ever again.’

‘Have no fear. All will be revealed tonight,’ said Richard from behind a copy of Fortune.

Florentyna rose and dressed in a simple blue suit of a noncreasable fabric — although she would feel crumpled at the end of the day. She put on what Miss Tredgold would have called sensible shoes, having already worn out two pairs on the campaign trail. After breakfast, she and Richard walked down to the local school. She cast her vote for Florentyna Kane. It felt strange. Richard as a registered New York Republican remained outside.

In a heavier turnout than Edward had predicted, 49,132 other people voted for Florentyna that day, while 42,972 had voted for Ralph Brooks.

Florentyna Kane had won her first election.

The GOP candidate turned out to be Stewart Lyle, who was an easier opponent than Ralph Brooks. He was an old-fashioned Republican who was always charming and courteous and who did not believe in personal confrontation. Florentyna liked him from the day they met and had no doubt that, if elected, he would have represented the district with compassion, but after Nixon had resigned on August 9 and Ford had pardoned the ex-President, the Democrats looked set for a landslide win.

Florentyna was among those elected on the bandwagon. She captured the Ninth District of Illinois with a plurality of over 27,000 votes. Richard was the first to congratulate her.

‘I’m so proud of you, my darling.’ He smiled mischievously. ‘Mind you, I’m sure Mark Twain would have been as well.’

‘Why Mark Twain?’ asked Florentyna puzzled.

‘Because it was he who said: “Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.” ’

Chapter twenty-seven

William and Annabel joined their father and mother for Christmas at the Kane family house on Cape Cod. Florentyna enjoyed having the children around her for the festivities and quickly they recharged all her human batteries.

William, nearly fifteen, was already talking about going to Harvard and spent every afternoon poring over math books that even Richard didn’t understand. Annabel spent most of her holiday on the phone talking long distance about boys to different school friends until Richard finally had to explain to her how the Bell Telephone Company made its money. Florentyna read James Michener’s Centennial and under pressure from her daughter listened to Roberta Flack singing ‘Killing Me Softly with His Song’ loudly, again and again. Richard got so sick of the record he begged Annabel to turn the damn thing over. She did, and for the first time Richard listened to a popular record he knew he would enjoy for the rest of his life. Annabel was puzzled when she saw her mother smile at the lyrics her father seemed entranced by:

When the Christmas vacation came to an end, Florentyna flew back to New York with Richard. It took her a week of going over reports on the Baron Group and being briefed by the heads of each department before she felt she had been brought up to date.

During the year the Group had completed hotels in Brisbane and Johannesburg and had begun refurbishing old Barons in Nashville and Cleveland. In Florentyna’s Richard had slowed the forward planning program down a little but had still managed to increase the profits to a record $31 million for the year. Florentyna was in no position to complain as Lester’s was on target to show a massive increase in the profit column that year.

Florentyna’s only anxiety was that Richard, for the first time in his life, was beginning to look his age: lines were appearing on his forehead and around his eyes which could have resulted only from continual and considerable stress. Even his cello practice seemed less frequent. When she taxed him with working uncivilized hours, he chided her that it was a hard road to toil when one wanted to be First Gentleman.

Congresswoman Kane flew into Washington in early January. She had sent Janet Brown on to the capital in December to head up her congressional staff, and when Florentyna joined her, everything seemed to be organized, down to the George Novak Suite at the Washington Baron. Janet had made herself indispensable during the last months and Florentyna was well prepared when the first session of the 94th Congress was ready to open. Janet had allocated the $227,-270 a year each House member was permitted for the staffing of an office. She chose carefully from the many applicants, keeping the emphasis on competence whatever a person’s age. She had appointed a personal secretary for Florentyna named Louise Drummond, a legislative assistant, a press secretary, four legislative correspondents to research issues as well as to handle mail, two secretaries and a receptionist. In addition, Florentyna had left three staff workers in her district office under a capable Polish field representative.

Florentyna had been assigned rooms on the seventh floor of the Longworth Building, the oldest and middle of the three House buildings. Janet told her that her office had been occupied in the past by Lyndon Johnson, John Lindsay and Pete McCloskey. ‘ “Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil,” ’ she commented. Florentyna’s office suite was only two hundred yards from the Capitol and she could always go directly to the chamber on the little subway if the weather was inclement or if she wished to avoid the ubiquitous herded groups of Washington sightseers.

Florentyna’s personal office was a modest-sized room already cluttered with massive brown congressional furniture, a wooden desk, a large brown leather sofa, several dark, uncomfortable chairs and two glass-fronted cabinets. From the way the office had been left, it was easy to believe that the previous occupant had been male.

Florentyna quickly filled the bookcases with her copies of the U.S. Code, the Rules of the House, the Hurd Annotated Illinois Revised Statutes and Carl Sandburg’s three-volume biography of Lincoln, one of her favorite works despite his party. She then hung some water colors of her own choice on the drab cream walls in an effort to cover the nail holes left by the previous tenant. On her desk she placed a family photograph taken outside her first store in San Francisco and when she discovered that each member of Congress was entitled to plants from the Botanic Gardens, she instructed Janet to claim their maximum allotment as well as arranging for fresh flowers on her desk every Monday.

Florentyna disliked the way most of her colleagues filled their reception areas with self-laudatory memorabilia. She asked Janet to decorate the front office in a way that was both welcoming and dignified; under no circumstance were there to be any portraits of her on view. She reluctantly agreed to place the flag of Illinois and the United States flag behind her desk.

On the afternoon before Congress convened, Florentyna held a reception for her family and campaign workers. Richard and Kate flew down with the children and Edward accompanied Florentyna’s mother and Father O’Reilly from Chicago. Florentyna had sent out nearly one hundred invitations to friends and supporters all over the country and to her surprise more than seventy people turned up.

During the celebration she took Edward aside and invited him to join the board of the Baron Group; full of champagne, he accepted and then forgot about the offer until he received a letter from Richard confirming the appointment and adding that it would be valuable for Florentyna to have two boardroom views to consider while she concentrated on her political career.

When Richard and Florentyna climbed into yet another Baron king-size bed the night of the reception, he told her once again how proud he was of her achievement.

‘I couldn’t have done it without your support, Mr. Kane.’

‘There was no suggestion that I supported you, Jessie, though I reluctantly admit to gaining considerable pleasure from your victory. Now I must catch up with the Group’s European forecasts before I switch off the light on my side of the bed.’

‘I do wish you would slow down a bit, Richard.’

‘I can’t, my darling. Neither of us can. That’s why we’re so good for each other.’

‘Am I good for you?’ asked Florentyna.

‘In a word, no. If I could have it all back, I would have married Maisie and saved the money on several pairs of gloves.’

‘Good God, I wonder what Maisie is up to nowadays.’

‘Still in Bloomingdale’s. Having given up any hope of catching me, she married a traveling salesman, so I suppose I’m stuck with you. Now can I get down to reading this report?’

She took the report out of his hand and dropped it on the floor.

‘No, darling.’

When the first session of the 94th Congress opened, Speaker Carl Albert, dressed somberly in a dark suit, took his place on the podium and banged his gavel as he gazed down into the semicircle of members seated in their green leather chairs. Florentyna turned in her seat and smiled up at Richard and her family, who had been allocated places in the gallery above. When she looked around the chamber at her colleagues, she couldn’t help thinking that they were the worst-dressed group of people she had ever seen in her life. Her bright-red wool suit, in the latest midi fashion, made her conspicuous by exception.

The Speaker asked the House chaplain, the Reverend Edward Latch, to pronounce the benediction. This was followed by an opening speech by the leaders of both parties and an address by the Speaker. Mr. Albert reminded all the congressmen that they should keep their speeches brief and to refrain from making too much noise in the chamber while others were on the podium. He then adjourned the session and everyone broke to attend some of the dozens of receptions given on the opening day.

‘Is that all you have to do, Mummy?’ asked Annabel.

Florentyna laughed. ‘No, darling, that’s just the opening session. The real work starts tomorrow.’

Even Florentyna was surprised the next morning. Her mail contained one hundred and sixty-one items, including out-of-date Chicago papers, six ‘Dear Colleague’ letters, from congressmen she had yet to meet, fourteen invitations to trade association receptions, seven letters from special-interest groups, several invitations to address meetings — some out of Chicago and Washington — three dozen letters from constituents, two requests to be placed on her mailing list, fifteen résumés from hopeful job-seekers and a note from Carl Albert to say that she had been placed on the Appropriations and Small Business committees.

The mail looked manageable compared with the ceaseless telephone demands for everything from Florentyna’s official photograph to press interviews. The Washington reporters from the Chicago papers called regularly and Florentyna was also contacted by the local Washington press, who were always intrigued by new female additions to Congress, especially those who did not resemble a heavyweight boxer. Florentyna quickly learned the names she should know, including Maxine Cheshire and Betty Beale, David Broder and Joe Alsop. Before the end of March she had been the subject of a front-page ‘Style’ interview in the Post and had appeared in Washingtonian Magazine’s ‘New Stars on the Hill.’ She turned down continual invitations to appear on ‘Panorama’ and began to question where the proper balance lay between gaining visibility, which would be of use in influencing issues, and losing all her free time to the media.

During those first weeks, Florentyna seemed to do nothing except run very fast trying to remain on the same spot. She considered herself fortunate to be the Illinois delegation’s choice for a vacancy on the powerful Appropriations Committee, the first freshman in years to be so honored, but discovered nothing had been left to chance when she opened a scrawled note from Mayor Daley which simply read, ‘You owe me one.’

Florentyna found her new world fascinating, but it felt rather like being back at school as she searched the corridors for committee rooms, sprinted to the subway to the Capitol to record her vote, met with lobbyists, studied briefing books and signed dozens of letters. The idea of getting a signature machine grew increasingly appealing.

An elderly Democratic colleague from Chicago advised her on the wisdom of sending out a constituent newsletter to her 180,000 households every two months. ‘Remember, my dear,’ he added, ‘it may appear as though you are doing nothing more than papering the Ninth District, but there are only three ways of assuring your re-election: the frank, the frank and the frank.’

He also advised Florentyna to assign two of her district staffers to clip every article from the local newspapers that referred to a constituent. Voters began receiving congratulations on their weddings, births, community achievements — and even basketball victories now that eighteen-year-olds had the vote. Florentyna always added a personal word or two in Polish where appropriate, thankful that her mother had not always obeyed her father’s every word.

With the help of Janet, who was always in the office before her and still there when she left, Florentyna slowly got on top of the paper work, and by the July 4 recess she was almost in control. She had not yet spoken on the floor and had said very little in any committee hearings. Sandra Read, a House colleague from New York, had advised her to spend the first six months listening, the second six months thinking and the third six months speaking occasionally.

‘What about the fourth six months?’ asked Florentyna.

‘You’ll be campaigning for re-election,’ came the reply.

On weekends she would regale Richard with stories of the bureaucratic waste of the taxpayers’ money and the lunatic way America’s democratic system was conducted.

‘I thought you had been elected to change all that,’ he said, looking down at his wife, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of him, clutching her knees.

‘It will take twenty years to change anything. Are you aware that committees make decisions involving millions of dollars but half the members haven’t the slightest idea what they’re voting on and the other half don’t even attend but vote by proxy.’

‘Then you will have to become chairman of a committee, and see to it that your members do their homework and attend hearings.’

‘I can’t.’

‘What do you mean, you can’t?’ asked Richard, finally folding his morning newspaper.

‘You can only become the chairman of a committee by seniority, so it’s irrelevant when you reach the peak of your mental prowess. If there is someone who has been on the committee longer than you, he automatically gets the job. At this moment, of twenty-two standing committees, there are three committee chairmen in their seventies, thirteen in their sixties, which leaves only six under sixty. I’ve worked out that I will become chairman of the Appropriations Committee on my sixty-eighth birthday, having served twenty-eight years in the House. That is if I win the thirteen elections in between, because if you lose one, you start over. It’s taken me only a few weeks to work out why so many southern states elect freshmen to Congress who are under thirty. If we ran the Baron Group the way Congress is run, we’d have been bankrupt long ago.’

Florentyna was slowly coming to accept the fact that it would take years to reach the top of the political tree, and the truth was that the climb consisted of a long, hard grind, known as ‘serving your time.’ ‘Go along and get along,’ was the way her committee chairman put it. She decided that if it was going to be any different for her, she would have to turn the disadvantage of being a freshman into the advantage of being a woman.

It happened in a way she could never have planned. She did not speak on the House floor for the first six months, although she had sat in her seat for hours watching how the debates were conducted and learning from those who used their limited speaking time with skill. When a distinguished Republican, Robert C. L. Buchanan, announced he would be proposing an anti-abortion amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill, Florentyna felt the time had come to deliver her maiden speech.

She wrote a letter to the chairman and asked for permission to speak against the motion. He sent back a courteous reply, reminding her she would be allowed only five minutes and wishing her luck.

Buchanan spoke with great emotion to a silent chamber and used his five minutes with the skill of a professional House man. Florentyna thought him the worst sort of backwoodsman and as he spoke added some notes to her carefully prepared speech. When Buchanan sat down, Sandra Read was recognized and she made a powerful case against the amendment although she was regularly interrupted by noisy comments from the floor. A third speaker added nothing to the debate, simply reiterating the words of Robert Buchanan, to be sure his views were on the record and in his local newspaper. Speaker Albert then recognized the distinguished gentlewoman from Illinois. Florentyna rose with some trepidation and made her way to the speaking rostrum in the well of the House, trying to keep her hands from trembling too noticeably.

‘Mr. Speaker, I must apologize to the House for rising for the first time to address members on a note of controversy, but I cannot support the amendment for several reasons.’ Florentyna started talking about the role of a mother who wanted to continue a professional career. She proceeded to outline the reasons why Congress should not adopt the amendment. She was aware of being nervous and unusually inarticulate and after a minute or so noticed that Buchanan and the other Republican who had spoken earlier were now holding a heated discussion which encouraged some of the other members in the chamber to talk among themselves while others left their seats to chat with colleagues. Soon the noise reached such a pitch that Florentyna could hardly hear the sound of her own voice. Suddenly in the middle of a sentence, she stopped and stood in silence.

The Speaker banged his gavel and asked if she had yielded her time to anyone.

She turned to Carl Albert and said, ‘No, Mr. Speaker, I do not intend to continue.’

‘But the distinguished member was in the middle of a sentence.’

‘Indeed I was, Mr. Speaker, but it has become obvious to me that the two gentlemen from the opposite side of the House are only interested in the sound of their own voices and not in anyone else’s views.’ Buchanan rose to object but was gaveled down as out of order by the Speaker. Uproar broke out and members who had never noticed her before stared at Florentyna.

She remained at the rostrum as the Speaker banged his gavel over and over. When the noise died down, Florentyna continued. ‘I am aware, Mr. Speaker, that it takes several years in this place before one can hope to get anything done, but I had not realized that it might take as many years before anyone would have the good manners to listen to what one had to say.’

Once again pandemonium broke out while Florentyna stood silently clutching on to the rostrum. She was now trembling from head to toe. Eventually the Speaker brought the chamber to order.

‘The honorable member’s point is well taken,’ he said, staring down at the two offenders, who looked more than a little embarrassed. ‘I have mentioned this problem to the House on several occasions. It has taken a new member to remind us how discourteous we have become. Perhaps the distinguished gentlewoman from Illinois would now like to resume.’ Florentyna checked the point she had reached in her notes. The House sat in expectant silence.

She was about to speak when a hand rested firmly on her shoulder. She turned to see a smiling Sandra Read. ‘Sit down. You’ve beaten them all. If you speak now it can only spoil the effect you’ve created. As soon as the next speaker rises, leave the chamber immediately.’ Florentyna nodded, yielded her time and returned to her seat.

Speaker Albert recognized the next speaker and Florentyna walked toward the Speaker’s gallery exit with Sandra Read. When they reached the doors Sandra left her with the words, ‘Well done. Now you’re on your own.’

Florentyna did not understand what Sandra meant until she walked into the lobby and found herself surrounded by reporters.

‘Can you step outside?’ asked an interviewer from CBS. Florentyna followed him to where she was met by television cameras, reporters and flash bulbs.

‘Do you think the Congress is a disgrace?’

‘Will your stand help the pro-choice advocates?’

‘How would you change the procedure?’

‘Did you plan the whole exercise?’

Question after question came flying at Florentyna and before the evening was out, Senator Mike Mansfield, the Democratic Majority Leader in the Senate, had called to congratulate her and she had been asked by Barbara Walters to appear on the ‘Today’ show.

The next day the Washington Post’s version of events in the chamber made it sound as though Florentyna had caused a declaration of war. Richard called to read the caption underneath her photograph on the front page of The New York Times: ‘Woman of courage arrives in Congress,’ and as the morning wore on it became obvious that Congresswoman Kane had become famous overnight because she hadn’t made a speech. Phyllis Mills, a representative from Pennsylvania, warned her the following day that she had better choose her next subject carefully because the Republicans would be lying in wait for her with sharpened knives.

‘Perhaps I should quit while I’m ahead,’ said Florentyna.

When the initial furor had subsided and her mail had dropped from a thousand letters per week back to the usual three hundred, Florentyna began to settle down to building a serious reputation. In Chicago, that reputation was already growing, which she learned from her biweekly visits. Her constituents were coming to believe that she could actually influence the course of events. This worried Florentyna because she was quickly discovering how little room a politician had for maneuvering outside the established guidelines. At a local level, however, she felt that she was able to help people who were often simply overwhelmed by a bureaucratic system. She decided to add another staff member to the Chicago office to handle the heavy load of work.

Richard was delighted to see how rewarding Florentyna found her new career and tried to take as much pressure off her as possible when it came to the day-to-day business of the Baron Group. Edward Winchester helped considerably by assuming some of the responsibilities, both in New York and Chicago, which otherwise would have fallen on her. In Chicago, Edward had gained considerable sway in the smoke-filled rooms as Mayor Daley recognized the need for a new breed of political operatives in the wake of the 1972 Presidential election. It seemed Daley’s old supporters were coming to terms with Florentyna’s future. Richard Kane was full of praise for Edward’s contribution as a member of the Baron board and was already considering inviting him to join Lester’s as well.

No sooner had Florentyna completed her first year in Congress than she complained to Richard that she would soon have to start campaigning again.

‘What a crazy system that sends you to the House for only two years; no sooner have you settled into the place than you have to recycle the campaign bumper stickers.’

‘How would you change it?’ asked Richard.

‘Well, senators are in a far better position, coming up for election only every six years, so I think I would make congressional terms at least four years in length.’

When she repeated her grouse to Edward in Chicago, he was sympathetic but pointed out that in her case she didn’t look as if she would have any real opposition from the Democrats or the Republicans.

‘What about Ralph Brooks?’

‘He seems to have his eye firmly set on the State’s Attorney’s office since his recent marriage. Perhaps with his wife’s social background she doesn’t want to see him in Washington politics.’

‘Don’t believe it,’ said Florentyna. ‘He’ll be back.’

In September, Florentyna flew to New York and, together with Richard, drove William up to Concord, New Hampshire, to start his fifth-form year at St. Paul’s. The car was packed with more stereo equipment, Rolling Stones records and athletic gear than books. Annabel was now in her first year at the Madeira School, just outside Washington, so she could be near her mother but still showed no interest in wanting to follow Florentyna to Radcliffe.

Florentyna was disappointed that Annabel’s sole interests always seemed to center on boys and parties. Not once during the holidays did she discuss her progress at school or even open a book. She avoided her brother’s company and would even change the subject whenever William’s name came up in conversation. It became more obvious every day that she was jealous of her brother’s achievements.

Carol did the best she could to keep her occupied, but on two occasions Annabel disobeyed her father and once returned home from a date hours after she had agreed.

Florentyna was relieved when the time came for Annabel to return to school as she decided not to overreact to her daughter’s holiday escapades. She hoped it was nothing more than an adolescent stage Annabel was passing through.

Struggling to survive in a man’s world was nothing new for Florentyna and she began her second year in Congress with considerably more confidence than a year earlier. Life at the Baron had been a little sheltered in comparison with politics. After all, she had been the chairman of the Group and Richard had always been there by her side. Edward was quick to point out that perhaps having to fight a little harder than any man was no bad preparation for the time when she would have to face new rivals. When Richard asked her how many of her colleagues she considered capable of holding down a place on the board of the Baron Group, she had to admit that there were very few.

Florentyna enjoyed her second year far more than her first, and there were many highlights: in February she successfully sponsored a bill which exempted from any taxation scientific publications selling fewer than ten thousand copies per issue. In April she fought several provisions in the President’s budget proposals and in May she and Richard received an invitation to a reception at the White House for Queen Elizabeth II of England. But the most pleasing aspect of the whole year was the feeling that she was actually influencing issues that affected her constituents’ lives.

The invitation that gave her the most pleasure that year came from Transportation Secretary William Coleman to see the tall ships entering New York Harbor in honor of the Bicentennial. It reminded her that America also had a history she could be proud of.

In all, it was a memorable year for Florentyna, the only sad event, the death of her mother, who had been afflicted with respiratory trouble for many months. More than a year earlier, Zaphia had dropped out of Chicago life, at the very moment when she had been dominating the society columns. She had told Florentyna as far back as 1968, when she had brought the revolutionary Saint-Laurent show to the Windy City, ‘These new fashions simply don’t compliment a woman of my age.’ After that she was rarely seen at any of the major charity events and her name soon began to disappear from the embossed note paper used for such galas. She was happy to spend hours listening to stories about her grandchildren and she often offered a word of motherly advice that her daughter had grown to respect.

Florentyna had wanted a quiet funeral. As she stood by the grave with her son and daughter on each side of her, listening to the words of Father O’Reilly, she realized that she could no longer hope for privacy, even in death. As the coffin was lowered into the grave the flash bulbs continued to pop until the earth had completely covered the wooden casket and the last of the Rosnovskis was buried.

During the final few weeks before the Presidential election, Florentyna spent more of her time in Chicago, leaving Janet in Washington to run the office. After Representative Wayne Hays admitted paying a member of his staff $14,000 a year in salary even though she could not type a word and did not answer the phone, Janet and Louise asked for a raise.

‘Yes, but Miss Ray is supplying a service for Mr. Hays that I have not yet found necessary in my office,’ said Florentyna.

‘But the problem in this office is the other way around,’ said Louise.

‘What do you mean?’ asked Florentyna.

‘We spend our life being propositioned by members who think we’re a Capitol Hill perk.’

‘How many members have propositioned you, Louise?’ said Florentyna, laughing.

‘Over a hundred,’ said Louise.

‘And how many did you accept?’

‘Three,’ said Louise, grinning.

‘And how many propositioned you?’ said Florentyna, turning to Janet.

‘Three,’ said Janet.

‘And how many did you accept?’

‘Three,’ said Janet.

When the three women had stopped laughing, Florentyna said, ‘Well, perhaps Joan Mondale was right. What the Democrats do to their secretaries, the Republicans do to the country. You both get a raise.’

Edward turned out to be accurate about her selection; she had been unopposed as the Democratic candidate, and the primary for the Ninth District was virtually a steal. Stewart Lyle, who ran again as the Republican candidate, admitted privately to her that he now had little chance. ‘Re-elect Kane’ stickers seemed to be everywhere.

Florentyna looked forward to a new session of Congress with a Democratic President in the White House. The Republicans had selected Jerry Ford after a tough battle with Governor Reagan, and the Democrats had chosen Jimmy Carter, a man she had barely heard of until the New Hampshire primary.

Ford’s primary battle against Ronald Reagan did not enhance the President’s cause and the American people had still not forgiven him for pardoning Nixon. On the personal front, Ford seemed incapable of avoiding naïve mistakes such as bumping his head on helicopter doors and falling down airplane steps. And during a television debate with Carter, Florentyna sat horrified when he suggested that there was no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe. ‘Tell the Polish people that,’ Florentyna said indignantly to the small screen.

The Democratic candidate committed his share of mistakes as well, but in the end, it seemed to Richard that Carter’s image as an anti-Washington evangelical Christian, when viewed against the problems Ford had inherited from his links with Nixon, would be enough to give Carter the election by a small margin.

‘Then why was I returned with an increased majority?’ Florentyna demanded.

‘Because many Republicans voted for you but not for Carter.’

‘Were you among them?’

‘I plead the Fifth Amendment.’

Chapter twenty-eight

Richard wore a smart dark suit but was sorry the President had insisted that no one wear a cutaway. The Kane family watched the new President deliver a speech that lacked the charisma of Kennedy or the wisdom of Roosevelt, but its simple message of Christian honesty above all else captured the mood of the moment. America wanted a decent, homespun man in the White House and everyone was willing him to succeed. President Ford sat on his immediate left and President Nixon was conspicuously absent. Florentyna felt the tone for Carter’s Administration was set with the words:

‘I have no dream to set forth today, but rather urge a fresh faith in the old dream. We have learned that “more” is not necessarily “better” that even our great nation has recognized limits, and that we can neither answer all questions nor solve all problems.’

The Washington crowds were delighted when the new President, the First Lady and their daughter Amy walked down Pennsylvania Avenue hand in hand to the White House, and it was obvious that the Secret Service was quite unprepared for such a break with tradition.

‘Dancer is on the move,’ said one of them over his two-way radio. ‘God help us if we are going to have four years of spontaneous gestures.’

That evening the Kanes attended one of the seven People’s Parties, as Carter had named them, to commemorate the inauguration. Florentyna was dressed in a new Gianni di Ferranti gown of white faintly threaded with gold, keeping the camera bulbs flashing. During the evening she and Richard were both introduced to the President, who seemed to Florentyna to be as shy in person as he was in public.

When Florentyna took her seat on the floor of the chamber for the start of the 95th Congress, it felt like returning to school, with all the backslapping, handshaking, hugging and noisy discussion about what the members had done during the recess.

‘Glad to see you won again.’

‘Was it a hard campaign?’

‘Don’t imagine you’ll be able to select your own committees now that Mayor Daley is dead.’

‘What did you think of Jimmy’s address?’

The new Speaker, Tip O’Neill, took his place in the center of the podium, banged his gavel, called everyone to order and the whole process began again.

Florentyna had moved up two places on the Appropriations Committee, following one retirement and one defeat since the last election. She now understood how the committee system worked but still feared it would be many years and many elections before she made any real headway for the causes she espoused. Richard had suggested she concentrate on a field in which she could gain more public recognition and she had wavered between abortion and tax reform. Richard counseled against too close an association with abortion and reminded her of how her colleagues referred to Elizabeth Holtzman as ‘Congressperson Holtzperson.’ Florentyna agreed in principle but was no nearer deciding what her special subject should be when the subject chose itself.

A debate of the Defense Appropriations bill was taking place on the floor of the House, and Florentyna sat listening as the chamber casually discussed the allocation of billions of dollars on defense spending. She did not sit on the Defense Subcommittee on which Robert C. L. Buchanan was the ranking Republican, but she was deeply interested in his opinions. Buchanan was reminding the House that Defense Secretary Brown had recently asserted that the Russians now had the capability to destroy American satellites in space. Buchanan went on to demand that the new President spend more money on defense and less in other areas. Florentyna still considered Buchanan the worst sort of conservative fool and in a moment of anger rose to challenge him. Everyone in the chamber remembered their last confrontation and knew that Buchanan would have to allow her to put her case.

‘Would the congressman yield for a question?’

‘Of course.’

‘I am grateful to the distinguished gentleman and would like to ask him where he imagines the extra money for his grandiose military schemes would come from?’

Buchanan rose slowly to his feet. He wore a three-piece tweed suit, and his silver hair was parted neatly to the right. He rocked from leg to leg like a cavalry officer on a cold parade ground. ‘My grandiose schemes are no more and no less than those requested by the committee on which I serve and, if I remember correctly, that committee still has a majority from the party which the distinguished member from Illinois represents.’ Loud laughter greeted Buchanan’s remarks. Florentyna stood up a second time; Buchanan immediately gave way again.

‘I am still bound to inquire of the distinguished gentleman from Tennessee where he intends to take the money from. Education, hospitals, welfare, perhaps?’ The chamber was silent.

‘I would not take it from anyone, ma’am, but I would warn Mrs. Kane that if there is not enough money for defense we may not need any money for education, hospitals or welfare.’

Congressman Buchanan picked up a document from his table and informed the House of the exact figures spent in the previous year’s budget, in all the departments Florentyna had mentioned. They showed that in real terms, defense spending had dropped more than all the others. ‘It’s members like the distinguished lady who come to the chamber without facts, equipped with nothing more than a vague feeling that defense expenditure is too high, that make the Kremlin leaders rub their hands with glee while the reputation of the House is at the same time diminished. It is the type of ill-informed attitude being expressed by the lady from Illinois that tied the hands of President Roosevelt and left us so little time to come to terms with the menace of Hitler.’

Florentyna wished she had never entered the chamber that afternoon as members from both sides echoed their agreement. As soon as Buchanan had finished his remarks, she left the floor and returned quickly to her office.

‘Janet, I want all the committee reports from the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense for the last ten years and ask my legislative researchers to join us immediately,’ she said even before she reached her desk.

‘Yes, ma’am,’ said Janet, somewhat surprised, as Florentyna had never mentioned defense in the three years she had known her. The staffers filed in and sank into Florentyna’s old sofa.

‘For the next few months I plan to concentrate on defense matters. I need you to go over the reports of the subcommittee during the last ten years and mark up any relevant passages. I am trying to get a realistic appraisal of America’s military strength if we were called upon to defend ourselves against an attack from the Soviets.’ The four staffers were writing furiously. ‘I want all the major works on the subject including the CIA Team A and Team B evaluations and I want to be briefed when lectures or seminars on defense or related matters take place in Washington. I want all press comments from the Washington Post, The New York Times, Newsweek and Time put in a file for me every Friday night. No one must be able to quote something I haven’t had a chance to consider.’

The staffers were as surprised as Janet because they had been concentrating their efforts on small business and tax reform for over two years. They were not going to have many free weekends during the coming months. Once they had departed, Florentyna picked up the phone and dialed five digits. When a secretary answered, she requested an appointment with the Majority Leader.

‘Of course, Mrs. Kane. I will ask Mr. Chadwick to call you later today.’

Florentyna was ushered into the Majority Leader’s office at ten o’clock the next morning.

‘Mark, I want to be put on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.’

‘I wish it were that easy, Florentyna.’

‘I know. Mark, this is the first favor I’ve asked for.’

‘There is only one slot open on that subcommittee and so many members are twisting my arm it’s amazing I’m not permanently in splints. Nevertheless, I’ll give your request my serious consideration.’ He made a note on the pad in front of him. ‘By the way, Florentyna, the League of Women Voters is holding its annual meeting in my district and they’ve invited me to make the keynote speech on opening day. I know how popular you are with the League and I was hoping you might find it possible to fly up and do the introduction speech.’

‘I’ll give your request my serious consideration,’ said Florentyna, smiling.

She received a note from the Speaker’s office two days later informing her of her appointment as the junior member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. Three weeks later she flew to Massachusetts and told the League of Women Voters that as long as there were men like Mark Chadwick in Congress, they need have no fears for America’s well-being. The women applauded loudly while Florentyna turned to find Mark with a pained expression on his face and one arm behind his back.

During the summer vacation, the whole family went to California. They spent the first ten days in San Francisco with Bella and her family in their new home, high up on the hill, now overlooking the bay.

Claude had become a partner in the law firm, and Bella had been appointed assistant headmistress. If anything, Richard decided, Claude was a little thinner and Bella a little larger than when they had last seen them.

The holiday would have been enjoyed by everyone if Annabel hadn’t frequently disappeared off on her own. Bella’s gripping of a hockey stick firmly in her hand left Florentyna in no doubt how she would have dealt with the girl.

Florentyna tried to keep harmony between the two families, but a confrontation was unavoidable when Bella found Annabel in the attic smoking pot.

‘Mind your own business,’ she told Bella as she inhaled once more.

When Florentyna lost her temper with Annabel, Annabel informed her mother that if she took more interest in her welfare and less in her precious career, perhaps she could have expected a little criticism from her.

When Richard heard the story he immediately accompanied Annabel back to the East Coast while Florentyna and William traveled on to Los Angeles for the rest of their holiday.

Florentyna spent an unhappy time phoning Richard twice a day to find out how Annabel was. She and William returned home a week early.

In September, William entered his freshman year at Harvard, taking up residence in the Yard, on the top floor of Grays Hall, making the fifth generation of Kanes that had been educated at Cambridge. Annabel returned to the Madeira School, where she seemed to be making little progress despite the fact that she spent most weekends under her parents’ watchful eyes in Washington.

During the next session, Florentyna allocated a considerable part of her time to reading the defense papers and books her staffers recommended. She became engrossed in the problems the nation faced if it wished to remain strategically safe. She read papers by experts, spoke to assistant secretaries at the Defense Department and studied the major U.S. treaties with her NATO allies. She visited the Air Force SAC headquarters, toured U.S. bases in Europe and the Far East, observed army maneuvers in North Carolina and California, even spent a weekend submerged in a nuclear submarine. She sought meetings with admirals and generals, as well as having discussions with enlisted men and noncommissioned officers, but she never once raised her voice in the House chamber and only asked questions in committee hearings, where she was often struck by the fact that the most expensive weapons were not always the most effective. She began to realize that the military had a long way to go in improving its readiness if a national security crisis was to be handled effectively. This had not been tested fully since the Cuba confrontation. After a year of listening and study she came to the conclusion that Representative Buchanan had been right and it was she who had been the fool. She was surprised to find how much she enjoyed her new discipline and realized how her views must have changed when a colleague openly referred to her as a hawk. America had no choice but to increase defense spending while Russia remained so openly aggressive.

She studied all the papers on the MX missile system, which came under the jurisdiction of the House Armed Services Committee. When the so-called Simon Amendment to hold up the authorization of the system came on the calendar she asked Chairman Galloway to be recognized during the debate. She told Richard. He agreed.

Florentyna listened intently as other members gave their views for and against the amendment. Robert Buchanan gave a considered speech against it. When he took his seat, Florentyna was surprised the Speaker called on her next. She rose to a packed house. Representative Buchanan said in a voice loud enough to carry, ‘We are about to hear the views of an expert.’ One or two Republicans seated near him laughed as Florentyna walked to the podium. She placed her notes on the lectern in front of her.

‘Mr. Speaker, I address the House as a convinced supporter of the MX missile. America cannot afford to delay any further the defense of this country because a group of congressmen claim they want more time to read the relevant documents. Those papers have been available to every member of the House for over a year. It hardly needs a course in speed reading for members to have done their homework for today. The truth is that this amendment is nothing more than a delaying tactic for members who are opposed to the MX missile system. I condemn those members as men with their heads in the sand, heads that will remain in the sand until the Russians have made their first pre-emptive strike. Don’t they realize America must also have a first-strike capability?

‘I approve of the Polaris submarine system, but we cannot hope to push all our nuclear problems out to sea, especially now that navy intelligence informs us that the Russians have a submarine that can travel at a speed of forty knots and remain underwater for four years — four years, Mr. Speaker — without returning to base. The argument that the citizens of Nevada and Utah are in more danger from the MX system than anyone else is spurious. The land where the missiles would be deployed is already owned by the government and is at present occupied by nineteen hundred and eighty sheep and three hundred and seventy cows.

‘I don’t believe the American people need to be mollycoddled on the subject of the nation’s safety. They have elected us to carry out long-term decisions, not to go on talking while we become weaker by the minute. Some members of Congress would make Nero appear to the American people as a man who was giving a violin concert in aid of the Rome fire brigade.’

When the laughter had diminished, Florentyna became very grave. ‘Have members so quickly forgotten that in 1935 more people worked for the Ford Motor Company than were in the entire United States armed forces? Have we also forgotten that in the same year we had a smaller army than Czechoslovakia, a country since trampled on by Germany and Russia in turn? We had a navy half the size of that of France, a country humiliated by the Germans while we sat and watched, and an air force that even Hollywood didn’t bother to hire for war movies. When the threat of Hitler first arose we could not have rattled a saber at him. We must be certain such a situation can never rise again.

‘The American people have never seen the enemy on the beaches of California or on the dockside of New York, but that does not mean that the enemy does not exist. As late as 1950, Russia had as many combat planes as the United States, four times as many troops and thirty tank divisions to America’s one. We cannot allow ourselves to be at such a disadvantage again. Equally I pray that our great nation will never be involved in another debacle such as Vietnam and that none of us will live to see another American die in combat. But our enemies must always be aware that we will meet aggression head-on. Like the eagle that bestrides our standard, we will hover always alert to the defense of our friends and the protection of our citizens.’

Some members on the floor of the House started to applaud.

‘To each American who says our defense expenditure is too costly, I reply let them look to the countries behind the Iron Curtain and see that no price is too high to pay for the democratic freedom we take for granted in this country. The Iron Curtain is drawn across East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland, with Afghanistan and Yugoslavia guarding their borders in daily expectation of that curtain being drawn still further, perhaps even reaching the Middle East. After that the Soviets will not be satisfied until it encircles the entire globe.’ The House was so silent that Florentyna dropped her voice before she continued. ‘Many nations have through history played their role in the protection of the free world. That responsibility has now been passed to the leaders of this commonwealth. Let our grandchildren never say we shirked that responsibility in exchange for popularity. Let us assure America’s freedom by being willing to make a sacrifice now. Let us be able to say to every American that we did not shirk our duty in the face of danger. Let there be in this House no Nero, no fiddler, no fire and no victory for our enemies.’

Members in the chamber cheered while Florentyna remained standing. The Speaker helplessly tried to gavel the meeting to order. When the last cheer had died she spoke almost in a whisper.

‘Let that sacrifice never again be the lives of America’s youth, or substituted for by the dangerous illusion that we can keep peace in the world without providing for its defense against aggression. Adequately protected, America can influence events without fear, govern without terror and still remain the bastion of the free world. Mr. Speaker, I oppose the Simon Amendment as irrelevant, and worse, irresponsible.’

Florentyna took her seat and she was quickly surrounded by colleagues from both sides who praised her speech. The press heaped further praise on her the next day and the networks included passages from her speech in their bulletins. Florentyna was shocked at how glibly they described her as an expert on defense. Two papers even talked of her as a future Vice President.

Once again Florentyna’s mail rose to over a thousand letters a week, but there were three letters that particularly moved her. The first was a dinner invitation from an ailing Hubert Humphrey. She accepted but, like the other invited guests, did not attend. The second came from Robert Buchanan, simply written in a bold hand:

‘I salute you, madam.’

The third was an anonymous scrawled note from Ohio:

‘How do you react to people like that?’ asked Janet, stunned.

‘You don’t bother. Repudiating that sort of mindless prejudice is beyond even your skillful hand. Let’s be thankful that ninety-nine percent of the letters are from fair-minded people who wish to express their views honestly. Though I confess if I knew his address I’d be tempted to reply for the first time in my life, “Up Yours.” ’

After a hectic week during which she seemed to be pursued by phone messages, Florentyna spent a quiet weekend with Richard. William was home from Harvard and was quick to show his mother a cartoon from the Boston Globe depicting her as a heroine with the head of an eagle, punching a bear on the nose. Annabel phoned from school to tell her mother that she wouldn’t be home that weekend.

Florentyna played tennis with her son that Saturday and it took her only a few minutes to realize how fit he was and what a dreadful state she was in. She couldn’t pretend walking around golf courses kept her fit. With each shot it became more obvious that William wasn’t trying very hard. She was relieved to be told that he couldn’t play another set because he had a date. She scribbled a note to Janet to order an Exercycle from Hammacher Schlemmer.

Over dinner that night, Richard told Florentyna that he wanted to build a Baron in Madrid and he was thinking of sending Edward to check the building sites.

‘Why Edward?’

‘He’s asked to go. He’s working almost full-time for the Group now and has even rented an apartment in New York.’

‘What can have happened to his law practice?’

‘He’s become counsel to the firm and says that if you can change your whole career at forty, why shouldn’t he. Since Daley’s death he hasn’t found it a full-time job proving that you’re worth a place in Congress. I must say he’s like a schoolboy who’s found himself locked up in a candy store. It’s taken a great load off my shoulders. He’s the only man I know who works as hard as you.’

‘What a good friend he has turned out to be.’

‘Yes, I agree. You do realize he’s in love with you, don’t you?’

‘What?’ said Florentyna.

‘Oh, I don’t mean he wants to leap into bed with you, not that I could blame him if he did. No, he simply adores you, but he would never admit it to anyone, although it wouldn’t take a blind man to see that.’

‘But I never—’

‘No, of course you haven’t, my darling. Do you think I would be considering putting him on the board of Lester’s if I thought I might lose my wife to him?’

‘I wish he would find himself a wife.’

‘He’ll never marry anyone as long as you are around, Jessie. Just be thankful that you have two men who adore you.’

When Florentyna returned to Washington after the weekend she was greeted with another pile of the invitations that had been coming in with increasing frequency. She sought Edward’s advice as to what she should do about them.

‘Select about half a dozen of the major invitations to places where your views can be expected to reach the maximum number of people, and explain to the others that your work load does not permit you to accept at the moment. But remember to end each letter of refusal with a personal handwritten line. One day when you are seeking a bigger audience than the Ninth District of Illinois, there will be people whose only contact with you will be that letter, and on that alone they will decide whether they are for or against you.’

‘You’re a wise old thing, Edward.’

‘Ah, but you mustn’t forget I’m a year older than you, my dear.’

Florentyna took Edward’s advice and spent two hours every night dealing with the letters prompted by her speech on defense. At the end of five weeks she had answered every one, by which time her mail had almost returned to normal proportions. She accepted invitations to speak at Princeton and the University of California at Berkeley. She also addressed the cadets of West Point and the midshipmen at Annapolis and was to be the guest of Max Cleland at a Washington lunch to honor Vietnam veterans. Everywhere she went Florentyna was introduced as one of America’s leading authorities on defense. She became so involved and fascinated by the subject that it terrified her how little she really knew which made her study the subject even more intensively. Somehow she kept up with her work in Chicago, but the more she became a public figure, the more she had to assign tasks to her staff. She appointed two more assistants to her Washington office and another in Chicago at her own expense. She was now spending over $100,000 a year out of her own pocket. Richard described it as reinvesting in America.

Chapter twenty-nine

‘Anything that can’t wait?’ asked Florentyna, glancing down at a desk full of correspondence that had arrived that morning. The 95th Congress was winding down and most members were once again more concerned about being reelected than about sitting in Washington working on legislation. At this stage of the session, staffers were spending almost all their time dealing with constituency problems rather than concentrating on national affairs. Florentyna disliked a system that made hypocrites of normally honest people as soon as another election loomed.

‘There are three matters that I ought to draw to your attention,’ said Janet in her customarily efficient manner. ‘The first is that your voting record can hardly be described as exemplary. It has fallen from eighty-nine percent to seventy-one percent this session and your opponents are bound to jump on that fact, claiming that you are losing interest in your job and should be replaced.’

‘But the reason I’ve been missing votes is that I’ve been inspecting defense bases, and accepting so many out-of-state engagements. I can’t help it if half my colleagues want me to speak in their districts.’

‘I am aware of that,’ said Janet, ‘but you can’t expect the voters of Chicago to be. They’re not pleased that you’re in California or Princeton when they expect you to be in Washington. It might be wise not to accept any more invitations — from other members or well-wishers — until the next session. If you make most of the votes during the last few weeks we may push you back above eighty percent.’

‘Keep reminding me, Janet. What’s second?’

‘Ralph Brooks has been elected State’s Attorney of Illinois, so he should be out of your hair for a while.’

‘I wonder,’ said Florentyna, scribbling a note on her pad to remind herself to write and congratulate him. Janet placed a copy of the Chicago Tribune in front of her. Mr. and Mrs. Brooks stared up at her. The caption said: ‘The new State’s Attorney attends charity concert in behalf of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.’

‘Doesn’t miss a trick, does he?’ commented Florentyna. ‘I bet his voting record would always be over eighty percent. And the third thing?’

‘You have a meeting with Don Short at ten A.M.’

‘Don Short?’

‘He’s a director of Aerospace Plan and Research, Inc.,’ said Janet. ‘You agreed to see him because his company has a contract with the government to build radar stations for tracking enemy missiles. They’re now bidding for the new navy contract to put their equipment into American warships.’

‘Now I remember,’ said Florentyna. ‘Somebody produced an excellent paper on the subject. Dig it out for me, will you?’

Janet passed over a brown manila file. ‘I think you’ll find everything in there.’

Florentyna smiled and flicked quickly through the papers. ‘Ah, yes, it all comes back. I shall have one or two pointed questions for Mr. Short.’

For the next hour, Florentyna dictated letters before reading through the briefing file. She found time to jot down several questions before Don Short arrived. Janet accompanied him into Florentyna’s office as ten o’clock struck.

‘Congresswoman, this is a great honor,’ said Don Short, thrusting out his hand. ‘We at Aerospace Plan look upon you as one of the last bastions of hope for the free world.’

It was very rare for Florentyna to dislike someone on first sight, but it was clear that Don Short was going to fall firmly into that category. Around five feet seven and twenty pounds overweight, he was a man in his early fifties and nearly bald except for a few strands of black hair which had been carefully combed over the dome of his head. He wore a checked suit and carried a brown leather Gucci briefcase. Before Florentyna had acquired her present hawkish reputation she had never been visited by the Don Shorts of the world since no one thought it worthwhile to lobby her. However, since she had been on the Defense Subcommittee Florentyna had received endless invitations to dinners and travel-free junkets, and had even been sent gifts ranging from bronze model F-15s to manganese nodules encased in lucite.

Florentyna had accepted only those invitations that were relevant to the issues she was working on at the time, and with the exception of a model of the Concorde she returned every gift she had been sent with a polite note. She kept the Concorde on her desk to remind everyone that she believed in excellence whichever country was responsible. She had been told that Margaret Thatcher had a replica of Apollo 11 on her desk in the House of Commons and she assumed it was there for the same reason.

Janet left the two of them alone and Florentyna ushered Don Short into a comfortable chair. He crossed his legs, giving Florentyna a glimpse of hairless skin where his trousers failed to meet his socks.

‘A nice office you have here. Are those your children?’ he asked, jabbing a pudgy finger at the photos on Florentyna’s desk.

‘Yes,’ said Florentyna.

‘Such good-looking kids — take after their mother.’ He laughed nervously.

‘I think you wanted to talk to me about the XR-108, Mr. Short?’

‘That’s right, but call me Don. We believe it’s the one piece of equipment the U.S. Navy cannot afford to be without. The XR-108 can track and pinpoint an enemy missile at a distance of over ten thousand miles. Once the XR-108 is installed on every American carrier, the Russians will never dare attack America, because America will always be sailing the high seas, guarding her people while they sleep.’ Mr. Short stopped almost as if he were expecting applause. ‘What is more, my company’s equipment can photograph every missile site in Russia,’ he continued, ‘and beam the picture straight onto a television screen in the White House Situation Room. The Russians can’t even go to the john without us taking a photo of them.’ Mr. Short laughed again.

‘I have studied the capabilities of the XR-108 in depth, Mr. Short, and I wonder why Boeing claims it can produce essentially the same piece of equipment at only seventy-two percent of your price.’

‘Our equipment is far more sophisticated, Mrs. Kane, and we have a proven record in the field, having already supplied the U.S. Army.’

‘Your company did not complete the tracking stations for the Army by the date specified in your contract and handed us a cost overrun of seventeen percent on the original estimate — or to be more precise — twenty-three million dollars.’ Florentyna had not once looked at her notes.

Don Short started to lick his lips. ‘Well, I’m afraid inflation has taken its toll on everyone, not least of all the aerospace industry. Perhaps if you could spare a little time to meet our board members, the problem would become clearer to you. We might even arrange a dinner.’

‘I rarely attend dinners, Mr. Short. I have long believed that the only person who makes any profit over dinner is the maitre d’.’

Don Short laughed again. ‘No, no, I meant a testimonial dinner in your honor. We would invite, say, five hundred people at fifty dollars a head, which you could add to your campaign fund, or to whatever you need the cash for,’ he added, almost in a whisper.

Florentyna was about to throw the man out when her secretary arrived with some coffee. By the time Louise left, Florentyna had controlled her temper and made a decision.

‘How does that work, Mr. Short?’

‘Well, my company likes to give a helping hand to its friends. We understand some of your bills for re-election can be pretty steep, so we hold a dinner to raise a little cash and if all the guests don’t turn up but still send their fifty dollars — well, who’s to know?’

‘As you say, Mr. Short, who’s to know?’

‘Shall I set that up then?’

‘Why don’t you, Mr. Short.’

‘I knew we could work together.’

Florentyna just managed a tight-lipped smile as Don Short offered a limp hand before Janet showed him out.

‘I’ll be in touch, Florentyna,’ he said, turning back.

‘Thank you.’

As soon as the door closed, the voting bells started to ring. Florentyna glanced up at the clock on which tiny white bulbs were flashing to show that she still had five minutes to reach the chamber. ‘Well, there’s one I can pick up,’ she said, and left to run to the elevator reserved for members of Congress. When she had reached the basement she jumped on the subway that went between Longworth and the Capitol and took a seat next to Bob Buchanan.

‘How are you going to vote?’ he asked.

‘Good heavens,’ said Florentyna, ‘I don’t even know what we’re voting for or against.’

Her thoughts were still focused on Don Short and what she was going to do about his dinner.

‘You’re okay this time. It’s lifting the retirement age cap from sixty-five to seventy, and on that one I’m sure we can both vote the same way.’

‘It’s only a plot to keep old men like you in Congress and see that I never get to chair any committees.’

‘Wait until you’re sixty-five, Florentyna. Then you might feel differently.’

The subway reached the basement of the Capitol and the two representatives took the elevator up to the chamber together. It pleased Florentyna that this diehard Republican now looked upon her as a full-fledged member of the club. When they reached the chamber they rested on the brass rail at the back, waiting for their names to be called.

‘I never enjoy standing on your side of the chamber,’ he said. ‘After all these years, it still feels strange.’

‘Some of us are quite human, you know, and I’ll let you in on a secret: my husband voted for Jerry Ford.’

‘Wise man, your husband,’ chuckled Buchanan.

‘Perhaps your wife voted for Jimmy Carter?’

The old man suddenly looked sad. ‘She died last year,’ he said quietly.

‘I am sorry,’ said Florentyna. ‘I had no idea.’

‘No, no, my dear. I realized that, but rejoice in your family because they are not always with you, and the one thing I’ve discovered is that this place can only be a poor substitute for a real family, whatever you imagine you achieve... They’ve started calling the B’s, so I’ll leave you to your thoughts. I’ll find standing on this side of the aisle more pleasant in the future.’

Florentyna smiled and reflected on how their mutual respect had been conceived in mutual mistrust. She was thankful that the party differences so crudely displayed on election platforms disappeared in the privacy of everyday work. A few moments later the K’s were called and once she had punched her card into the voting pocket she went back to her own office and phoned Bill Pearson, the majority whip, to ask for an immediate interview.

‘Must it be this minute?’

‘This minute, Bill.’

‘I suppose you want me to put you on the Foreign Affairs Committee.’

‘No, it’s far more serious than that.’

‘Then you had better come around right away.’

Bill Pearson puffed away at his pipe as he listened to Florentyna recount what had happened in her office that morning. Then he said, ‘We know a lot of this sort of thing goes on, but we’re rarely able to prove it. Your Mr. Short seems to have provided an ideal chance to catch someone with their radar scanner in the pie. Go through with the whole charade, Florentyna, and keep me briefed. The moment they hand over any money we’ll jump on Aerospace Plan like a ton of bricks, and if in the end we can’t prove anything, at least the exercise might make other members of Congress think twice before getting themselves involved in these sorts of shenanigans.’

Over the weekend Florentyna told Richard about Don Short, but he showed no surprise. ‘The problem’s a simple one. Some congressmen have only their salaries to live on, so the temptation to pick up cash must sometimes be overwhelming, especially if they are fighting for a seat they could lose and have no assured job to fall back on.’

‘If that’s the case, why did Short bother with me?’

‘That’s also easy to explain. I receive half a dozen personal approaches a year at the bank. The sort of people who offer bribes imagine no one can resist the chance to make a quick buck without Uncle Sam finding out, because that’s the way they would react themselves. You would be surprised how many millionaires would sell their mothers for ten thousand dollars in cash.’

Don Short phoned during the week and confirmed that a testimonial dinner had been arranged in Florentyna’s honor at the Mayflower Hotel. He expected about five hundred people to be present. Florentyna thanked him, then buzzed Louise on the intercom and asked her to write the date in the appointment book.

Because of the pressure Florentyna was under with congressional business and out-of-state trips over the next few weeks, she nearly missed Don Short’s testimonial dinner altogether. She was on the floor of the House supporting a colleague’s amendment to a small businesses bill when Janet hurried into the chamber.

‘Have you forgotten the Aerospace Plan dinner?’

‘No, but it’s not for a week,’ said Florentyna.

‘If you check your card you’ll find it’s tonight and you’re due there in twenty minutes,’ said Janet. ‘And don’t forget there are five hundred people waiting for you.’

Florentyna apologized to her colleague and quickly left the chamber and ran to the Longworth garage. She drove out into the Washington night well above the speed limit. She turned off Connecticut Avenue at De Sales Street and left her car in a lot before walking through the side entrance of the Mayflower. She was a few minutes late, her thoughts far from collected, and arrived to find Don Short, dressed in a tight-fitting dinner jacket, standing in the lobby waiting to greet her. Florentyna suddenly realized that she had not had time to change and hoped that the dress she was wearing did not look too casual.

‘We’ve taken a private room,’ he said as he led her toward the elevator.

‘I didn’t realize the Mayflower had a banquet room that could seat five hundred,’ she said as the elevator doors closed.

Don Short laughed. ‘That’s a good one,’ he said, and led his guest into a room that — had it been packed — would have held twenty people. He introduced her to everyone present, which took only a few moments: there were only fourteen guests.

Over dinner Florentyna listened to Don Short’s off-color stories and tales of Aerospace Plan’s triumphs. She wasn’t sure that she could get through the whole evening without exploding. At the end of the dinner Don rose from his seat, tapped a spoon on his empty glass and made a fulsome speech about his close friend Florentyna Kane. The applause when he sat down was as loud as one could hope for from fourteen people. Florentyna made a short reply of thanks and managed to escape a few minutes after eleven, at least grateful that the Mayflower had provided an excellent meal.

Don Short escorted her back to the parking lot and as she climbed into her car, he handed her an envelope. ‘I’m sorry so few people turned up, but at least all the absentees sent in their fifty dollars.’ He grinned as he closed the car door.

After Florentyna had driven back to the Baron, she tore open the envelope and studied the contents: a check for $24,300 made out to cash.

She told Bill Pearson the whole story the following morning and handed over the envelope. ‘This,’ he said, waving the check, ‘is going to open a whole can of worms.’ He smiled and locked the $24,300 away in his desk.

Florentyna left the city for the weekend, feeling she had carried out her part of the exercise rather well. Even Richard congratulated her. ‘Although we could have done with the cash ourselves,’ he said.

‘What do you mean?’ said Florentyna.

‘I think the Baron’s profits are going to take a big drop this year.’

‘Good heavens, why?’

‘A series of financial decisions implemented by President Carter which are harming the hotels while ironically helping the bank — we have inflation running at fifteen percent while the prime rate is at sixteen. I fear the expense account business trip is the first cutback for most companies that have discovered the telephone is cheaper. So we’re not filling all our rooms and we end up having to raise the prices — which only gives the business community even more reason to cut back on business travel. Into the bargain, food prices have rocketed while wages are trying to keep up with inflation.’

‘Every other hotel group must be faced with the same problem.’

‘Yes, but the decision to move the corporate offices out of the New York Baron last year turned out to be far more expensive than I budgeted for. Four fifty Park Avenue may be a good address, but we could have built two hotels in the South in exchange for having that address on our letterhead.’

‘But your decision released three floors in the New York hotel which allowed us to operate the new banquet rooms.’

‘And still the hotel only made a profit of two million while sitting on real estate worth forty million.’

‘But there has to be a Baron in the center of New York. You couldn’t think of selling our most prestigious hotel.’

‘Until it loses money.’

‘But our reputation—’

‘Your father was never sentimental about reputation when measured against profits.’

‘So what are we doing about it?’

‘I’m going to commission McKinsey and Company to carry out a detailed assessment of the whole Group. They’ll give us an interim report in three months and complete the study in one year if we still want it.’

‘But they’re the top management consultants in New York. Using them can only add to our cost.’

‘Yes, they’ll be expensive. But I wouldn’t be surprised if it saved us a considerable amount in the long run. We have to remember that modern hotels all around the world are serving different customers from those your father built the Barons for. I want to be sure we’re not missing something that’s staring us in the face.’

‘But can’t our senior executives give us that sort of advice?’

‘When McKinsey moved into Bloomingdale’s,’ said Richard, ‘they recommended that the store should change the location of seventeen of its counters from their traditional positions. Simple, you might say, but the profits were up twenty-one percent the following year and none of the executive staff had considered any changes necessary. Perhaps we face the same problem without realizing it.’

‘Hell, I feel so out of touch.’

‘Don’t worry, Jessie darling, nothing is going to be acted on that doesn’t meet with your full approval.’

‘And how is the bank surviving?’

‘Ironically, Lester’s is making more money on loans and overdrafts than at any time since the Depression. My decision to move into gold when Carter won the election has paid off handsomely. If Carter is re-elected I’ll buy more gold. If Reagan captures the White House, I’ll sell the next day. But don’t you worry. As long as you keep earning your fifty-seven five as a congresswoman, I’ll sleep easy knowing we have something to fall back on in bad times... Have you told Edward about Don Short and the twenty-four thousand?’

‘Twenty-four thousand three hundred. No, I haven’t spoken to him in days, and when I do, all he wants to talk about is how to run a hotel group.’

‘I’m inviting him to join Lester’s board at the annual meeting. So it could be the bank next.’

‘He’ll soon be running the whole show,’ said Florentyna.

‘That’s exactly what I’m planning for when I become the First Gentleman.’

When Florentyna arrived back in Washington, she was surprised to find that there was no message awaiting her from Bill Pearson. His secretary told her he was in California campaigning, which reminded her how close the election was. Janet was quick to point out that the legislature was sleeping on its feet again, waiting for the new session, and that perhaps it might be wise for Florentyna to spend more time in Chicago.

On Thursday, Bill Pearson phoned from California to tell Florentyna that he had spoken with the ranking Republican and the chairman of the Defense Subcommittee and they both felt it would cause more trouble than it was worth to raise the issue before the election. He asked her not to declare the donation, because his investigation would be hampered.

Florentyna strongly disagreed with his advice and even considered raising the whole issue with the ranking committee members herself, but when she phoned Edward he counseled against such a move on the ground that the whip’s office undoubtedly knew more about bribery than she did and it might look as if she had been working behind their backs. Florentyna reluctantly agreed to wait until after the election.

Somehow Florentyna — with continual reminders from Janet — managed to push her voting record up to over eighty percent by the end of the session, but only at the cost of turning down every invitation outside Washington that appeared on her desk and she suspected there had been a whole lot more that Janet had not passed on to her. When Congress adjourned, Florentyna returned to Chicago to prepare for another election.

She was surprised to find, during the campaign, that she spent a considerable part of her time sitting in the Cook County Democratic headquarters on Randolph Street. Although Carter’s first two years had not lived up to the expectations of the American voters, it was well known that the local Republicans were finding it hard to convince anyone to run against Florentyna. To keep her occupied, her staff sent her off to speak on behalf of other Democratic candidates in the state as often as possible.

In the end, Stewart Lyle agreed to run again but only after he had made it clear to his committee that he was not going to stomp around the district night and day or waste any more of his money. The GOP was not pleased with Lyle when he said in a private conversation — forgetting that nothing was private during an election campaign — ‘There is only one difference between Kane and the late Mayor Daley: Kane is honest.’

The Ninth District of Illinois agreed with Stewart Lyle and sent Florentyna back to Congress with a slightly increased majority, but she noted the loss of fifteen of her colleagues from the House and three from the Senate. Among the casualties was Bill Pearson.

Florentyna called Bill at his home in California several times to commiserate, but he was always out. Each time she left a message on the answering machine, but he did not return her calls. She discussed the problem with Richard and Edward, who both advised her to see the Majority Leader immediately.

When Mark Chadwick heard the story he was horrified and said he would be in touch with Bill Pearson at once and speak to her later that day. Mark was as good as his word and phoned Florentyna to report something that chilled her: Bill Pearson had denied any knowledge of the $24,300 and was claiming that he had never discussed a bribe case with Florentyna. Pearson had reminded Chadwick that if Florentyna had received $24,300 from any source, she was bound by law to report it either as a campaign contribution or as income. No mention of the money had been made on her campaign forms and, under House rules, she was not entitled to receive an honorarium of over $750 from anyone. Florentyna explained to the Majority Leader that Bill Pearson had asked her not to declare the money. Mark assured Florentyna that he believed her but was not quite clear how she was going to prove that Pearson was lying. It was common knowledge, he added, that Pearson had been in financial trouble since his second divorce. Two alimonies when you’re out of work would flatten most good men, he pointed out.

Florentyna agreed to let Mark make a full investigation while she remained silent on the matter. Don Short rang during the week to congratulate her on her victory and to remind her that the contract with the Navy for the missile program was up for discussion in the subcommittee that Thursday. Florentyna bit her lip after Don Short’s next statement: ‘I’m glad you cashed the check. I’m sure the money came in useful at election time.’

Florentyna immediately asked the Majority Leader to postpone the vote on the missile program until he had completed his inquiry on Bill Pearson. Mark Chadwick explained that he couldn’t comply with her request because the allocated funds would go elsewhere if the decision was held up. Although Defense Secretary Brown didn’t care which company was awarded the contract, he had warned them that all hell would break loose if a decision was postponed any longer. Finally, Chadwick reminded Florentyna of her own speech about members who held up defense contracts. She didn’t waste any time arguing.

‘Are you getting anywhere with your inquiries, Mark?’

‘Yes. We know the check was cashed at the Riggs National Bank on Pennsylvania Avenue.’

‘My bank, and my branch,’ said Florentyna in disbelief.

‘By a lady of about forty-five who wore dark glasses.’

‘Is there any good news?’ she asked.

‘Yes,’ replied Mark. ‘The manager considered the sum large enough to make a note of the bill numbers in case some query arose later. How about that for irony?’ She tried to smile. ‘Florentyna, in my opinion, you have two choices. You can blast the entire thing open at Thursday’s meeting or you can keep quiet until I have the whole messy business sorted out. One thing you can’t do is talk publicly about Bill Pearson’s involvement until I get to the bottom of it.’

‘What do you want me to do?’

‘The party would probably prefer you to keep quiet, but I know what I would do if the decision were left to me.’

‘Thank you, Mark.’

‘No one’s going to love you for it. But that has never stopped you in the past.’

When Defense Subcommittee Chairman Thomas Lee gaveled the hearing to order, Florentyna had already been in her seat for several minutes making notes. The radar satellite contract was the sixth item on the agenda and she did not speak on the first five items. When she looked toward the press table and the seats occupied by the public she could not avoid the smiling Don Short.

‘Item number six,’ said the chairman, stifling a slight yawn — each subject on the agenda was taking much too long in his opinion. ‘We must discuss today the three companies that have bid on the Navy’s missile project. The Defense Department’s Office of Procurement will make the final decision, but they are still waiting our considered opinion. Who would like to open the discussion?’

Florentyna raised her hand.

‘Congresswoman Kane.’

‘I have no particular preference, Mr. Chairman, between Boeing and Grumman, but under no circumstances could I support the Aerospace Plan bid.’ Don Short’s face turned ashen with disbelief.

‘Can you tell the committee why you feel so strongly against Aerospace Plan, Mrs. Kane?’

‘Certainly, Mr. Chairman. My reasons arise from a personal experience. Some weeks ago an employee of Aerospace Plan came to visit me in my offices in order to go over the reasons why his company should be awarded this contract. Later he attempted to bribe me with a check for twenty-four thousand three hundred dollars in exchange for my vote today. That man is now in this room and will no doubt have to answer to the courts for his actions later.’

When the chairman of the committee had finally brought the meeting back to order, Florentyna explained how the testimonial dinner had worked and she named Don Short as the man who had given her the money. She turned to look at him, but he had vanished. Florentyna continued her statement but avoided making any reference to Bill Pearson. She still considered that to be a party matter, but when she finished her story she couldn’t help noticing that two other members of the committee were as white as Don Short had been.

‘In view of this serious allegation made by my colleague, I intend to delay any decision on this item until a full inquiry has been carried out,’ Chairman Lee announced.

Florentyna thanked him and left for her office immediately. She walked down the corridor, surrounded by reporters, but made no reply to any of their insistent questions.

She talked to Richard on the phone that night and he warned her that the next few days were not going to be pleasant.

‘Why, Richard? I’ve only told the truth.’

‘I know. But now there are a group of people fighting for their lives on that committee and they only see you as the enemy, so you can forget the Marquis of Queensberry rules.’

When she read the papers the next morning, she found out exactly what Richard had meant.

‘Congresswoman Kane Accuses Aerospace Plan of Bribery,’ ran one headline, while another read, ‘Company Lobbyist Claims Member of Congress Took Money as Campaign Contribution.’ Once Florentyna had seen that most of the papers were running roughly the same story, she jumped out of bed, dressed quickly, went without breakfast and drove straight to the Capitol. When she reached her office she studied all the papers in detail, and without exception they all wanted to know where the $24,300 had disappeared. ‘And so do I,’ said Florentyna out loud. The headline in the Chicago Sun-Times was the most unfortunate: ‘Representative Kane Accuses Space Company of Bribery after Check Cashed.’ True, but misleading.

Richard called to say that Edward was already on his way down from New York and not to talk to the press until she had spoken with him. She would not have been able to in any case, because the FBI sent two senior agents to interview her at ten o’clock that morning.

In the presence of Edward and the Majority Leader, Florentyna made a complete statement. The FBI men asked her not to inform the press of Bill Pearson’s involvement until they had completed their own investigation. Once again, she reluctantly agreed.

During the day some members of the House went out of their way to congratulate her. Others conspicuously avoided her.

In the lead story in the Chicago Tribune that afternoon the paper wanted to know where the $24,300 had gone. They said it was their unfortunate duty to remind the public that Congresswoman Kane’s father had been tried and found guilty of bribery of a public official in the Chicago courts in 1962. Florentyna could almost hear Ralph Brooks calling from the State’s Attorney’s office to let them have all the salient details.

Edward helped Florentyna to keep her temper, and Richard flew down from New York every night to be with her. Three days and three nights passed while the papers kept the story running and Ralph Brooks made a statement from the State’s Attorney’s office saying: ‘Much as I admire Mrs. Kane and believe in her innocence, I feel it might be wise in the circumstances for her to step down from Congress until the FBI investigation is completed.’ It made Florentyna even more determined to stay put, especially when Mark Chadwick phoned to tell her not to give up. It could only be a matter of time before the guilty man was brought to justice.

On the fourth day with no more news from the FBI, Florentyna was at her lowest point when a reporter from the Washington Post phoned.

‘Mrs. Kane, may I ask how you feel about Congressman Buchanan’s statement on Aerogate?’

‘Has he turned against me as well?’ she asked quietly.

‘Hardly,’ said the voice from the other end of the line. ‘I’ll read what he said. I quote: “I have known Representative Kane for nearly five years as a bitter adversary and she is many things that drive me to despair, but as we say in Tennessee, you’ll have to swim to the end of the river to find anyone more honest. If Mrs. Kane is not to be trusted, then I do not know one honest person in either chamber of Congress.” ’

Florentyna phoned Bob Buchanan a few minutes later.

‘Now don’t you go thinking I’m getting soft in my old age,’ he barked. ‘You put a foot wrong in that chamber and I’ll cut it off.’ Florentyna laughed for the first time in days.

It was a cold December wind that whistled across the east front of the Capitol as Florentyna walked back alone to the Longworth Building after the last vote that day. The newsboy on the corner was shouting out the evening headlines. She couldn’t catch what he was saying — something, someone, arrested. She hurried toward the boy, fumbling in her pocket for a coin, but all she could find was a twenty-dollar bill.

‘I can’t change that,’ the boy said.

‘Don’t bother,’ said Florentyna as she grabbed the paper and read the lead story first quickly and then slowly. ‘Former Congressman Bill Pearson,’ she read aloud as if she wanted to be sure the newsboy could hear, ‘has been arrested by the FBI in Fresno, California, in connection with the Aerogate scandal. Over seventeen thousand dollars in cash was found hidden in the rear fender of his new Ford. He was taken to the nearest police station, questioned and later charged with grand larceny and three other misdemeanors. The young woman who was with him at the time was also charged, as an accomplice.’

Florentyna leaped up and down in the snow as the newsboy quickly pocketed the twenty dollars and ran to sell his papers on another corner. He had always been warned about those Hill types.

‘My congratulations on the news, Mrs. Kane.’ The maitre d’hotel of the Jockey Club was the first of several people to comment that evening. Richard had flown down from New York to take Florentyna to a celebration dinner. On her way into the oak-paneled room, other politicians and members of Washington society came over to say how pleased they were that the truth was at last out. Florentyna smiled at each one of them, a Washington smile that she had learned to develop after nearly five years in politics.

The next day the Chicago Tribune and the Sun-Times came out with glowing tributes to their representative’s ability to stay calm in a crisis. Florentyna gave a wry smile, determined to back her own judgment in the future. Any comment from Ralph Brooks’s office was conspicuously absent. Edward sent a large bunch of freesias, and William sent a telegram from Harvard: ‘SEE YOU TONIGHT IF YOU’RE NOT THE WOMAN IN FRESNO STILL BEING HELD FOR FURTHER QUESTIONING.’ Annabel arrived home seemingly unaware of her mother’s recent problems to announce she had been accepted at Radcliffe. Her headmistress at the Madeira School later confided to Florentyna that her daughter’s acceptance had turned out to be a very close thing, although it couldn’t have hurt that Mr. Kane had been at Harvard and that she herself was a Radcliffe graduate. Florentyna was surprised that her reputation was such that she could influence her daughter’s future without lifting a finger and confessed to Richard later what a relief it was that Annabel’s life was more settled.

Richard asked his daughter in what subject she planned to major.

‘Psychology and social relations,’ Annabel replied without hesitation.

‘Psychology and social relations are not real subjects but merely an excuse to talk about yourself for three years,’ Richard declared.

William, now a sophomore at Harvard, nodded in sage agreement with his father and later asked the old man if he could up his allowance to five hundred dollars a term.

When an amendment to the health bill, prohibiting abortions after six weeks, came up on the calendar, Florentyna spoke for the first time since the Aerogate scandal. As she rose from her place, she was greeted with friendly smiles and a ripple of applause from both sides of the aisle. Florentyna made a powerful plea for the life of the mother before the unborn child, reminding Congress that there were only eighteen other members who could even experience pregnancy. Bob Buchanan rose from his place and referred to the distinguished lady from Chicago as the worst sort of simpleton who would be claiming next that you could not discuss a future space program unless you had circled the moon, and he pointed out there was only one member in either house who had managed that.

Within a few days Don Short and his $24,300 seemed to be a thing of the past as Florentyna returned to her normal hectic congressional schedule. She had moved up two more notches on the Appropriations Committee and when she looked around the table, she began to feel like an old-timer.

Chapter thirty

When Florentyna returned to Chicago she found that Democrats were voicing aloud their fears that having Jimmy Carter in the White House might not necessarily help their chances. Gone were the days when an incumbent could take it for granted that he would be returned to the Oval Office, and take with him those of his party who were fighting marginal seats. Richard reminded Florentyna that Eisenhower was the last President to complete two terms in office.

The Republicans were also beginning to flex their muscles, and after the announcement that Jerry Ford would not seek the Presidency, George Bush and Ronald Reagan appeared to be the front-runners. In the corridors of Congress it was being openly suggested that Edward Kennedy should run against Carter.

Florentyna continued her daily work in the House and avoided being associated with either camp, although she received overtures from both campaign managers and more than her usual allocation of White House invitations. She remained noncommittal, as she wasn’t convinced that either candidate was right to lead the party in 1980.

While others spent their time campaigning, Florentyna put pressure on the President to take a stronger line when dealing with heads of state from behind the Iron Curtain and pressed for a firmer commitment to NATO, but she appeared to make little headway. When Jimmy Carter told an astonished audience that he was surprised the Russians could go back on their word, Florentyna said despairingly to Janet that any Pole in Chicago could have told him that.

But her final split with the President came when the so-called students took over the American Embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979, and held fifty-three Americans hostage. The President appeared to do little except make ‘Born Again’ speeches and say his hands were tied. Florentyna proceeded to bombard the White House by every means at her disposal, demanding that the President stand up for America. When eventually he did attempt a rescue mission, it aborted, resulting in a sad loss of reputation for the United States in the eyes of the rest of the world.

During a defense debate on the floor of the House soon after this humiliating exercise, Florentyna departed from her notes to deliver an off-the-cuff remark. ‘How can a nation that possesses the energy, genius and originality to put a man on the moon fail to land three helicopters safely in a desert?’ She had momentarily forgotten that the proceedings of the House were now televised and all three networks showed that part of her speech on their evening news bulletins.

She didn’t need to remind Richard of George Novak’s wisdom in insisting on not renewing Lester’s loan to the Shah and when the Russians marched over the Afghanistan border, Richard canceled their holiday to watch the Olympics in Moscow.

The Republicans went to Detroit in July and chose Ronald Reagan with George Bush as his running mate. A few weeks later the Democrats came to New York and the party confirmed Jimmy Carter with even less enthusiasm than they had showed for Adlai Stevenson. When the victorious Carter entered Madison Square Garden, even the balloons refused to come down from the ceiling.

Florentyna tried to continue her work in a Congress that was not certain which would be the majority party in a few months’ time. She pushed through amendments on the Defense Appropriations bill and the Paperwork Reduction Act. As the election drew nearer, she began to fear that the fight for her own seat might be close when the Republicans replaced Stewart Lyle with an enthusiastic young advertising executive, Ted Simmons.

With Janet prodding her, she once again pushed her voting record up to around eighty percent by only accepting invitations to speak in Washington or in Illinois during the last six months prior to the election.

Carter and Reagan seemed to be living in Chicago, flying in and out of Illinois like two cuckoos in one clock. The polls were declaring it was too close to call, but Florentyna was not convinced after she had seen the candidates debate in Cleveland in front of a television audience estimated at 100 million Americans. The next day Bob Buchanan told her that Reagan might not have won the debate, but he sure as hell hadn’t lost it, and for someone trying to remove the White House incumbent, that was all-important.

As Election Day drew nearer, the issue of the hostages in Iran became more and more a focal point in the minds of the American people, who began to doubt that Carter could ever resolve the problem. On the streets of Chicago, supporters told Florentyna that they would return her to Congress but they could not back Carter for a second term. Richard said he knew exactly how they felt and predicted that Reagan would win easily. Florentyna took his view seriously and spent the last few weeks of the campaign working as if she were an unknown candidate fighting her first election.

Her efforts were not helped by a torrential rainstorm in Chicago which poured down on the streets right up until Election Day.

When the last vote had been counted even she was surprised by the size of the Reagan victory, which took the Senate with him on his coattails and only just failed to capture the House for the Republicans.

Florentyna was returned to Congress with her majority cut to 9,031. She flew into Washington, battered but not beaten, a few hours before the hostages returned.

The new President lifted the spirit of the nation with his inaugural address. Richard, in a morning coat, smiled all the way through the speech and applauded loudly at the section he would quote to Florentyna for several years after.

After the speech had been enthusiastically received the President gave a final wave to the crowd in front of the main stand, and turned to leave the podium.

Two Secret Service men guided him through a human aisle created by the honor guard.

Once the Presidential party had reached the bottom of the steps, Mr. Reagan and the First Lady climbed into the back of a limousine, obviously unwilling to follow the example of the Carters and walk down Constitution Avenue to their new home. As the car moved slowly off, one of the Secret Service men flicked a switch on his two-way radio. ‘Rawhide returns to Crown’ was all he said, and then, staring through a pair of binoculars, he followed the limousine all the way to the White House gates.

When Florentyna returned to Congress in January 1981, it was a different Washington. Republicans no longer needed to beg support for every measure they espoused, because the elected representatives knew the country was demanding change. Florentyna enjoyed the new challenge of studying the program Reagan sent up to the Hill and was only too happy to support great sections of it.

She had become so occupied with amendments to the Reagan budget and defense program that Janet had to point out to her an item in the Chicago Tribune which might eventually remove her from the House.

Florentyna was sitting at her desk, taking in the significance of this statement, when the editor of the Chicago Sun-Times called to ask her if she would be entering the race for the Senate in 1982. Florentyna realized that it was only natural for the press to speculate on her candidacy after three and a half terms as a representative.

‘It doesn’t seem that long ago,’ she teased, ‘that your distinguished journal was suggesting I resign.’

‘There was an English prime minister who once said that a week was a long time in politics. So where do you stand, Florentyna?’

‘It’s never crossed my mind,’ she said, laughing.

‘That’s one statement no one is going to believe and I am certainly not going to print it. Try again.’

‘Why are you pushing me so hard when I still have over a year to decide?’

‘You haven’t heard?’

‘Heard what?’ she asked.

‘At a press conference held this morning at City Hall the State’s Attorney announced that he’s a candidate.’

‘Ralph Brooks to Run for Senate’ ran the banner headline across the afternoon editions of the newspapers of Illinois, Many reporters mentioned in their columns that Florentyna had not yet made a decision on whether she would challenge the State’s Attorney. Once again pictures of Mr. and Mrs. Brooks stared up at Florentyna. The damn man seems to get better-looking all the time, she grumbled. Edward called from New York to say he thought she should run but advised her to hold back until the Brooks publicity machine ran out of steam. ‘You might even be able to orchestrate your announcement so that it looks as if you are bowing to public pressure.’

‘Whom are the party faithful backing?’

‘My estimate is sixty-forty in your favor, but since I’m no longer even a committeeman it’s hard to predict. Don’t forget it’s over a year to the primary so there’s no need to rush in, especially now that Brooks has made his move. You can sit back and wait until the time suits you.’

‘Why do you think he announced so early?’

‘To try and frighten you off, I suppose. Maybe he figures you might hold back until 1984.’

‘Perhaps that’s a good idea.’

‘No, I don’t agree. Never forget what happened to John Culver in Iowa. He decided to wait because he felt it would be easier later when weaker opposition was around, so his personal assistant ran instead of him, won the seat and remains in the Senate till this day.’

‘I’ll think about it, and let you know.’

The truth was that Florentyna thought of little else during the next few weeks, because she knew that if she could beat Brooks this time, he would be finished once and for all. She was in no doubt that Ralph Brooks still had ambitions that stretched about sixteen blocks beyond the Senate. On Janet’s advice, she now accepted every major invitation to speak in the state and turned down almost all other outside commitments. ‘That will give you a chance to find out how the land lies,’ said Janet.

‘Keep nagging me, Janet.’

‘Don’t worry, I will. That’s what you pay me for.’

Florentyna found herself flying to Chicago twice a week for nearly six months and her voting record in Congress was barely above sixty percent. Ralph Brooks had the advantage of not living in Washington four days a week or having his record in court expressed in percentage terms. Added to that, Chicago had elected Jane Byrne mayor the previous year. There were those who said one woman in Illinois politics was quite enough. Nevertheless, Florentyna felt confident after she had covered most of the state that Edward had been right, that she did have a 60–40 chance of defeating Ralph Brooks. In truth, she believed that defeating Brooks might be harder than getting elected to the Senate because the midterm election traditionally ran against the White House incumbent.

One day Florentyna did leave clear in her diary was for the annual meeting of the Vietnam Veterans of America. They had chosen Chicago for their celebrations and invited Senator John Tower of Texas and Florentyna to be the keynote speakers. The Illinois press was quick to point out the respect with which outsiders treated their favorite daughter. The paper went on to say that the very fact that the vets could couple her with the chairman of the Senate’s Armed Services Committee was high praise indeed.

Florentyna was carrying a full load in the House. She successfully sponsored the ‘Good Samaritan’ amendment to the Superfund Act making it advantageous for companies that put forth genuine efforts to dispose of toxic wastes. To her surprise even Bob Buchanan supported her amendment.

While she was leaning on the rail at the back of the chamber waiting for the vote on the final passage of her amendment, he told her that he hoped she would run for the Senate seat.

‘You’re only saying that because you want to see me out of this place.’

He chuckled. ‘That would have been one compensation, I must admit, but I don’t think you can stay here much longer if you’re destined to live in the White House.’

Florentyna looked at him in astonishment. He didn’t even glance toward her but continued to gaze into the packed chamber.

‘I have no doubt you’ll get there. I just thank God I won’t be alive to witness your inauguration,’ he continued before going off to vote for Florentyna’s amendment.

Whenever Florentyna went to Chicago she avoided the question of her candidacy for the Senate, although it was obviously on everyone else’s mind. Edward pointed out to her that if she did not run this time it might be her last chance for twenty years because Ralph Brooks was still only forty-four and it would be virtually impossible to defeat him once he was the incumbent.

‘Especially when he has “the Brooks charisma,” ’ mocked Florentyna in reply. ‘In my case,’ she continued, ‘who would be willing to wait twenty years?’

‘Harold Stassen,’ Edward replied.

Florentyna laughed. ‘And everyone knows how well he did. I’ll have to make up my mind one way or the other before I speak to the Vietnam Vets.’

Florentyna and Richard were spending the weekend at Cape Cod and were joined by Edward on Saturday evening.

Late into the night they discussed every alternative facing Florentyna as well as the effect it would have on Edward’s work at the Baron if he was to head up the campaign. When they retired to bed in the early hours of Sunday morning they had come to one conclusion.

The International Room of the Conrad Hilton was packed with two thousand men, and the only other women in sight were waitresses. Richard had accompanied Florentyna to Chicago and was seated next to Senator Tower. When Florentyna rose to address the gathering, she was trembling. She began by assuring the vets of her commitment to a strong America and then went on to tell them of her pride in her father when he had been awarded the Bronze Star by President Truman, and of her greater pride in them for having served their country in America’s first unpopular war. The veterans whistled and banged their tables in delight. She reminded them of her commitment to the MX missile system and her determination that Americans would live in fear of no one, especially the Soviets.

‘I want Moscow to know,’ she said, ‘that there may be some men in Congress who would be happy to compromise America’s position, but not this woman.’ The vets cheered again. ‘The isolationist campaign that President Reagan is pursuing will not help Poland in its present crisis or whichever nation the Russians decide to attack next. At some point we must stand firm and not wait until the Soviets are camped along the Canadian border.’ Even Senator Tower showed his approval of that sentiment. Florentyna waited for complete silence before saying, ‘I have chosen tonight, while I am assembled with a group of people whom everyone in America admires, to say that as long as there are men and women who are willing to serve their country as you have done, I hope to continue to serve in the public life of this great nation, and to that end I intend to submit my name as a candidate for the United States Senate.’

Few people in the room heard the word ‘Senate,’ because pandemonium broke out. Everyone in the gathering who could stand, stood, and those who couldn’t banged their tables. Florentyna ended her address with the words ‘I pledge myself to an America that does not fear war from any aggressor. At the same time, I pray that you are the last group of veterans this country ever needs.’

When she sat down, the cheering lasted for several minutes and Senator Tower went on to praise Florentyna for one of the finest speeches he had ever heard.

Edward flew in from New York to mastermind the campaign while Janet kept in daily touch from Washington. Money flowed in from every quarter, the work that Florentyna had put in for her constituents was now beginning to pay off. With twelve weeks to go to the primary, the polls consistently showed a 58–42 lead for candidate Kane across the state.

All through the campaign, Florentyna’s staffers were willing to work late into the night, but even they could not arrange for her to be in two places at once. Ralph Brooks criticized her voting record along with the lack of real results she had achieved as a representative in Congress. Some of his attacks began to hit home while Brooks continued to show the energy of a ten-year-old. Despite this, he didn’t seem to make much headway as the polls settled around 55–45 in her favor. Word reached Florentyna that Ralph Brooks’s camp was feeling despondent and his campaign contributions were drying up.

Richard flew into Chicago every weekend and the two of them lived out of suitcases, often sleeping in the homes of downstate volunteers. One of Florentyna’s younger campaign workers drove them tirelessly around the state in a small blue Chevette. Florentyna was shaking hands outside factory gates on the outskirts of cities before breakfast, attending farmers’ meetings in the rural towns of Illinois before lunch, but somehow she still found time to fit in occasional banking associations and editorial boards in Chicago during the afternoon before an inevitable evening speech and a welcome night at the Baron. During the same period she made one exception and never missed the monthly meetings of the Remagen Trust.

When she did eat, it was endless Dutch-treat breakfasts and pot-luck dinners. At night before falling into bed she would jot down more facts and figures — picked up in that day’s travels — into the dog-eared black briefing book that was never far from her side. She fell asleep trying to remember names, countless names, of people who would be insulted if she ever forgot the role they had played in her campaign. Richard would return to New York on Sunday night every bit as tired as Florentyna. Never once did he complain or bother his wife with any problems facing the bank or the Baron Group. She smiled up at him as they said goodbye at yet another cold February airport: she noticed he was wearing a pair of the blue leather gloves he had bought for his father in Bloomingdale’s over twenty years before.

‘I still have one more pair to go through, Jessie, before I can start looking for another woman,’ he said, and left her smiling.

Each morning Florentyna rose more determined to win a seat in the Senate. If she was sad about anything, it was how little she saw of William and Annabel. William, now sporting a Fidel Castro mustache, looked set for a summa cum laude, while Annabel brought a different young man home each vacation.

From past experience, Florentyna had learned to expect a thunderbolt to land sometime during an election campaign, but she had not imagined that a meteorite would accompany it. During the past year, Chicago had been shaken by a series of brutal local murders committed by a man the press had dubbed the Chicago Cutthroat. After the killer had slashed the throat of each of his victims, he carved a heart on their foreheads to leave the police in no doubt who had struck again. More and more in public gatherings Florentyna and Ralph Brooks found that they were being tackled on the question of law and order. At night the streets of Chicago were almost deserted because of the reputation of the killer whom the police were unable to apprehend. To Florentyna’s relief, the murderer was caught one night on the Northwestem University campus after he had been taken by surprise while in the act of attacking a college girl.

Florentyna made a statement the next morning in praise of the Chicago police force and wrote a personal note to the officer who had made the arrest. She assumed that that would be the end of the matter until she read the morning paper. Ralph Brooks had announced that he was personally going to prosecute the case against the Chicago Cutthroat even if it resulted in his sacrificing the Senate seat. It was a brilliant stroke that even Florentyna had to admire. Papers all across the nation ran pictures of the handsome State’s Attorney next to that of the vicious killer.

The trial began five weeks before the primary, and Ralph Brooks was on the front page every day, demanding the death penalty in this case and other cases of Murder 1 so that the people of Chicago could once again walk the streets safely at night. Florentyna made press statement after press statement on the energy crisis, airport noise regulations, grain price supports, even Russian troop movements on the Polish border after martial law was instituted, but she couldn’t knock the State’s Attorney off the front page. At a meeting with the editorial board of the Tribune, Florentyna complained good-naturedly to the editor, who was apologetic but pointed out that Ralph Brooks was selling newspapers. Florentyna sat in her Washington office, impotently aware that she had no effective way of countering her opponent.

In the hope that the clash might give her a chance to shine for a change, she challenged Ralph Brooks to a public debate. But the S.A. informed the press that he could not consider any such confrontation while so grave a public responsibility rested on his shoulders. ‘If I lose my chance to represent the good people of Illinois because of this decision, so be it,’ he repeated again and again. Florentyna watched another percentage point slip away.

On the day that the Chicago Cutthroat was convicted, the polls showed that Florentyna’s lead had fallen to 52–48. There were two weeks to go.

Florentyna was planning to spend those last fourteen days stumping through the state when the meteorite landed.

Richard phoned the Tuesday after the trial had ended to tell her that Annabel’s roommate had called to say Annabel had not returned to Radcliffe on Sunday night and she hadn’t heard from her since. Florentyna flew to New York immediately. Richard informed the police and hired a private detective to find his daughter and then sent Florentyna back to Chicago after the police had assured her that they handled 220,000 missing persons cases every year with only one percent ending in any serious trouble, and most of those involved were children under fifteen. Richard was not convinced by police statistics.

When Florentyna got back to Chicago she walked around in a daze, phoning Richard every hour, but he had no news for her. With a week to go, the polls showed Florentyna leading only 51 to 49, and Edward tried to make her concentrate on the campaign. But the words of Bob Buchanan kept coming back to her: ‘This place can only be a poor substitute for your family,’ and she began to wonder if only... After a bad weekend during which Florentyna felt she had lots more votes than she had gained, Richard called in excitement to say that Annabel had been found and that she had been in New York the whole time.

‘Thank God,’ said Florentyna, tears of relief welling up in her eyes. ‘Is she all right?’

‘She’s fine, and resting in Mount Sinai Hospital.’

‘What happened?’ asked Florentyna anxiously.

‘She had an abortion.’

Florentyna flew back to New York that morning to be with her daughter. On the flight she thought she recognized a party worker sitting a few rows back: there was something about his smile. Once she had arrived at the hospital she discovered that Annabel had not even realized she had been reported missing. Edward begged Florentyna to return to Chicago because the media were continually asking where she was. Although he had managed to keep Annabel’s private life out of the newspapers, they were becoming highly suspicious of why Florentyna was in New York rather than Illinois. For the first time, she ignored Edward’s advice.

Ralph Brooks was quick to leap in and suggest that she had returned to New York because there was a crisis at the Baron Group and that that had always been her first priority. With Edward pulling and Annabel pushing, Florentyna returned to Chicago on Monday night to find every paper in Illinois saying the election was too close to call.

On Tuesday morning Florentyna read the headline she most dreaded: ‘Candidate’s Daughter Has Abortion.’ The article that followed revealed every detail, even down to the bed Annabel was in. ‘Keep your head down and pray’ was all Edward said as he dragged her through a nerve-racking day.

Florentyna rose at six o’clock on Election Day and Edward drove her to as many polling places as she could reach in fourteen hours. At every stop, campaign workers waved blue-and-white ‘Kane for Senate’ placards and handed out leaflets on Florentyna’s positions on the major issues. At one stop a voter asked Florentyna for her views on abortion. Florentyna looked at the woman indignantly and said, ‘I can assure you that my views haven’t changed,’ before realizing that the question was totally innocent. Her workers were tireless in their efforts to get out every Kane supporter, and Florentyna didn’t stop working until the polls closed. She prayed that she had held on in the way Carter had against Ford in 1976. Richard flew in that night with news that Annabel had returned to Radcliffe and was now feeling fine.

When Florentyna returned to the Baron, husband and wife sat alone in their suite. Three television sets were turned to the networks as the returns came in from all over the state deciding if Brooks or she would be chosen to oppose the Republican candidate in November. At eleven o’clock, Florentyna had a 2 percent lead. At twelve o’clock Brooks was one percent ahead. At two o’clock, Florentyna had edged back into the lead by less than one percent. At three o’clock she fell asleep in Richard’s arms. He did not wake her when he knew the outcome because he wanted her to sleep.

A little later he nodded off himself and woke with a start to find her looking out the window, her fist clenched. The television kept flashing up the result: Ralph Brooks selected as Democratic candidate for the Senate by 7,118 votes, a margin of less than half a percentage point. On the screen was a picture of Brooks waving and smiling to his supporters.

Florentyna turned around and stared at the screen once more. Her eyes did not rest on the triumphant State’s Attorney but on a man standing directly behind him. Now she knew where she had seen that smile before.

Florentyna’s career in politics had come to a halt. She was now out of Congress and would have to wait another two years before she could even hope to re-enter public life. After Annabel’s problems, she wondered if the time had come to return to the Baron Group and a more private existence. Richard didn’t agree.

‘I would be sorry if you gave up after all the time you’ve put into it.’

‘Perhaps that’s the point. If I hadn’t become so involved with my own life and taken a little more interest in Annabel, she might not be facing an identity crisis.’

‘An identity crisis. That’s the sort of garbage I’d expect to hear from one of her sociology professors, not from you. I haven’t noticed William collapsing under the strain of an “identity crisis.” Darling, Annabel has had an affair and was careless; it’s as simple as that. If everyone who took a lover was considered abnormal, there would only be a few of us strange ones left. What she most needs at this moment is to be treated as an equal by you.’

Florentyna dropped everything and took Annabel to Barbados. During long walks along the beach, she learned of the affair her daughter had had with a man at Vassar. Florentyna still couldn’t get used to the idea of men going to women’s colleges. Annabel wouldn’t name the man and tried to explain that although she still liked him, she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life with him. ‘Did you marry the first man you went to bed with?’ she asked. Florentyna didn’t reply immediately, and then told Annabel about Scott Roberts.

‘What a creep,’ said Annabel after she had heard the story. ‘How lucky you were to find Dad in Bloomingdale’s.’

‘No, Annabel. As your father continually reminds me, he did the finding.’

Mother and daughter grew closer together in those days than they had been for years. Richard and William joined them in the second week of the holiday and they spent fourteen days together getting plump and brown.

Richard was delighted to find Annabel and Florentyna so relaxed in each other’s company, and touched when his daughter started referring to William as ‘my big brother.’ Richard and Annabel regularly beat William and Florentyna at golf in the afternoons before spending long evenings chatting over dinner.

When the holiday came to an end they were all sad to be returning home. Florentyna confessed that she did not feel like throwing herself back into the political fray, until Annabel insisted that the last thing she wanted was a mother who sat home and cooked.

It felt strange to Florentyna that she would not be fighting a campaign herself that year. During her battle with Brooks for the Senate, the Democrats had selected Hugh Abbots, a capable young Chicago lawyer, to run for her seat in Congress. Some members of the committee admitted that they would have held up the decision if they thought Brooks had had the slightest chance of winning the party’s nomination for the Senate.

Many voters asked Florentyna to run as an independent candidate, but she knew the party would not approve, especially as they would be looking for another senatorial representative in two years’ time: the other United States senator, David Rodgers, had repeatedly made it clear that he would not be running for re-election in 1984.

Florentyna flew into Chicago to speak on behalf of Hugh Abbots on several occasions and was delighted when he won the seat, even though he captured it by only 3,223 votes.

Florentyna faced the fact that she would now have to spend two years in the political wilderness, and it didn’t ease the pain when she read the Chicago Tribune’s headline the day after the election: