Best Kept Secret

by Jeffrey Archer

  ‘Even better,’ said the major.

  ‘So the first thing you must do is start buying Barrington shares as and when they come on the market. The moment you have seven and a half per cent, I’ll put you back on the board as my representative.’

  ‘Thank you, sir.’

  ‘Don’t call me sir. I’m Pedro to my friends.’

  ‘And I’m Alex.’

  ‘Just remember, Alex, from now on you and I are partners and have only one purpose.’

  ‘Couldn’t be better, Pedro,’ said the major as the two men shook hands. When he walked away, Don Pedro could have sworn he heard him whistling.

  When Don Pedro stepped back into the house, he found Karl waiting for him in the hall.

  ‘We need to have a word, sir.’

  ‘Let’s go to my office.’

  Neither man spoke again until the door was closed. Karl then repeated the conversation he’d overheard between Bruno and his friend.

  ‘I knew he’d find those Wimbledon tickets irresistible.’ He picked up the phone on his desk. ‘Get me Diego,’ he barked. ‘And now let’s see if we can tempt the boy with something even more irresistible,’ he said as he waited for his son to come on the line.

  ‘What can I do for you, Father?’

  ‘Young Clifton has risen to the bait and will be coming up to London tomorrow and going to Wimbledon. If Bruno can persuade him to take up my other offer, can you have everything in place by Friday?’

  Sebastian had to borrow his mother’s alarm clock to make sure he was up in time to catch the 7.23 to Paddington. Emma was waiting for him in the hall and offered to drive him to Temple Meads.

  ‘Are you expecting to see Mr Martinez when you’re in London?’

  ‘Almost certainly,’ said Sebastian, ‘as it was his suggestion I join Bruno at Wimbledon. Why do you ask?’

  ‘No particular reason.’

  Sebastian wanted to ask why Mama seemed to be so concerned about Mr Martinez, but suspected that if he did he’d only get the same response. No particular reason.

  ‘Will you have time to see Aunt Grace while you’re in Cambridge?’ his mother asked, rather too obviously changing the subject.

  ‘She’s invited me to tea at Newnham on Saturday afternoon.’

  ‘Don’t forget to give her my love,’ Emma said as they drew up outside the station.

  On the train, Sebastian sat in a corner of the carriage, trying to work out why his parents seemed to be so concerned about a man they’d never met. He decided to ask Bruno if he was aware of any problem. After all, Bruno had never sounded convinced about him going to Buenos Aires.

  By the time the train pulled into Paddington, Sebastian was no nearer to solving the mystery. He handed in his ticket to the collector at the barrier, walked out of the station and across the road, not stopping until he reached No. 37. He knocked on the door.

  ‘Oh my goodness,’ said Mrs Tibbet when she saw who it was standing on the doorstep. She threw her arms around him. ‘I never thought I’d see you again, Seb.’

  ‘Does this establishment do breakfast for impecunious university freshmen?’

  ‘If that means you’re going to Cambridge after all, then I’ll see what I can rustle up.’ Sebastian followed her inside. ‘And close the door behind you,’ she added. ‘Anybody would think you were born in a barn.’

  Sebastian nipped back and shut the front door, before heading down the stairs to join Tibby in the kitchen. When Janice saw him, she said, ‘Look what the cat dragged in,’ and gave him a second hug followed by the best breakfast he’d had since he’d last sat in that kitchen.

  ‘So what have you been up to since we last saw you?’ asked Mrs Tibbet.

  ‘I’ve been to Argentina and met Princess Margaret.’

  ‘Where’s Argentina?’ asked Janice.

  ‘It’s a long way away,’ said Mrs Tibbet.

  ‘And I’ll be going up to Cambridge in September,’ he added between mouthfuls. ‘Thanks to you, Tibby.’

  ‘I hope you didn’t mind me getting in touch with your uncle. And what made matters worse, he ended up having to come to me in Paddington.’

  ‘Thank God you did,’ said Sebastian. ‘Otherwise I might still be in Argentina.’

  ‘And what brings you to London this time?’ asked Janice.

  ‘Missed you both so much I had to come back,’ said Seb. ‘And where else would I get a decent breakfast?’

  ‘Pull the other one, it’s got bells on,’ said Mrs Tibbet as she forked a third sausage on to his plate.

  ‘Well, there was one other reason,’ admitted Sebastian. ‘Bruno’s invited me to Wimbledon this afternoon for the men’s semi-final, Fraser versus Cooper.’

  ‘I’m in love with Ashley Cooper,’ said Janice, dropping her dishcloth.

  ‘You’d fall in love with anyone who reached the semis,’ chided Mrs Tibbet.

  ‘That’s not fair! I’ve never been in love with Neale Fraser.’

  Sebastian laughed, and didn’t stop laughing for the next hour, which was why he didn’t turn up at Eaton Square until nearly half past eleven. When Bruno opened the door, Seb said, ‘Mea culpa, but in my defence, I was held up by two of my girlfriends.’

  ‘Take me through it one more time,’ said Martinez, ‘and don’t leave out any details.’

  ‘A team of three experienced drivers have carried out several practice runs during the past week,’ said Diego. ‘They’ll be doing a final time check later this afternoon.’

  ‘What can go wrong?’

  ‘If Clifton doesn’t take up your offer, the whole exercise will have to be called off.’

  ‘If I know that boy, he won’t be able to resist it. Just be sure I don’t bump into him before he leaves for Cambridge in the morning. Because I can’t guarantee I wouldn’t throttle him.’

  ‘I’ve done my best to make sure your paths don’t cross. You’re having dinner at the Savoy this evening with Major Fisher, and tomorrow you have an appointment in the city first thing in the morning, when you’ll be briefed by a company lawyer on your legal rights once you’ve acquired seven and a half per cent of Barrington’s.’

  ‘And in the afternoon?’

  ‘We’re both going to Wimbledon. Not to watch the women’s final, but to give you ten thousand alibis.’

  ‘And where will Bruno be?’

  ‘Taking his girlfriend to the cinema. The film starts at two fifteen and ends around five, so he won’t hear the sad news about his friend until he gets back in the evening.’

  When Sebastian climbed into bed that night, he couldn’t get to sleep. Like a silent film, he reran everything that had taken place during the day frame by frame: breakfast with Tibby and Janice; a trip to Wimbledon in the MG, before watching a nail-biting semi-final with the fourth set finally going to Cooper, 8-6. The day ended with a visit to Madame JoJo’s on Brewer Street, where he was surrounded by a dozen Gabriellas. Something else he wouldn’t be telling his mother.

  And then, to top it all, on the way home Bruno asked him if he’d like to drive the MG to Cambridge the next day rather than go by train.

  ‘But won’t your father object?’

  ‘It was his idea.’

  When Sebastian came down to breakfast the following morning, he was disappointed to find that Don Pedro had already left for a meeting in the City, as he wanted to thank him for all his kindness. He would write to him as soon as he got back to Bristol.

  ‘What an amazing time we had yesterday,’ said Sebastian as he filled a bowl with cornflakes and took a seat next to Bruno.

  ‘To hell with yesterday,’ said Bruno, ‘I’m far more worried about today.’

  ‘What’s the problem?’

  ‘Do I tell Sally how I feel about her, or do I just assume she already knows?’ Bruno blurted out.

  ‘That bad?’

  ‘It’s all right for you. You’re so much more experienced in these matters than I am.’

  ‘True,’ said Sebastian.

  �
�Stop smirking, or I won’t let you borrow the MG.’

  Sebastian tried to look serious. Bruno leant across the table and asked, ‘What do you think I should wear?’

  ‘You should be casual, but smart. A cravat rather than a tie,’ suggested Sebastian as the phone in the hall began ringing. ‘And don’t forget that Sally will also be worrying about what she should wear,’ he added as Karl entered the room.

  ‘There’s a Miss Thornton on the line for you, Mr Bruno.’

  Sebastian burst out laughing as Bruno slipped meekly out of the room. He was spreading some marmalade on a second piece of toast when his friend returned a few minutes later and greeted him with the words, ‘Damn, damn, damn.’

  ‘What’s the matter?’

  ‘Sally can’t make it. Says she’s got a cold and is running a temperature.’

  ‘In the middle of the summer?’ said Sebastian. ‘Sounds to me as if she’s looking for an excuse to call it all off.’

  ‘Wrong again. She said she’ll be fine by tomorrow, and can’t wait to see me.’

  ‘Then why not come to Cambridge with me, because I’m not fussed about what you wear?’

  Bruno grinned. ‘You’re a poor substitute for Sally, but the truth is I’ve got nothing better to do.’

  46

  ‘DAMN, DAMN, DAMN’ caused Karl to come up from the kitchen and try to find out what the problem was. He arrived just in time to see the two boys disappearing out of the front door. He ran across the hall and out on to the pavement, but could only watch as the orange MG pulled away from the kerb, with Sebastian behind the wheel.

  ‘Mr Bruno!’ shouted Karl at the top of his voice, but neither head turned, because Sebastian had switched on the radio so they could listen to the latest news from Wimbledon. Karl ran out into the middle of the road and waved his arms frantically, but the MG didn’t slow down. He sprinted after the car as it approached a green traffic light at the end of the road.

  ‘Turn red!’ he screamed, and it did, but not before Sebastian had swung left and begun to accelerate away towards Hyde Park Corner. Karl had to accept that they’d escaped. Was there a possibility that Bruno had asked to be dropped off somewhere, before Clifton drove on to Cambridge? After all, wasn’t he meant to be taking his girlfriend to the cinema that afternoon? It was not a risk Karl could afford to take.

  He turned back and ran towards the house, trying to remember where Mr Martinez was meant to be that day. He knew he would be spending the afternoon watching the women’s final at Wimbledon, but wait, Karl recalled he had an earlier appointment in the City, so it was possible he might still be at the office. A man who didn’t believe in God prayed that he hadn’t already left for Wimbledon.

  He charged through the open door, grabbed the phone in the hall and dialled the office number. A few moments later Don Pedro’s secretary came on the line.

  ‘I need to speak to the boss, urgently, urgently,’ he repeated.

  ‘But Mr Martinez and Diego left for Wimbledon a few minutes ago.’

  ‘Seb, I need to discuss something with you that’s been worrying me for some time.’

  ‘Why I think it’s unlikely that Sally will turn up tomorrow?’

  ‘No, it’s far more serious than that,’ said Bruno. Although Sebastian detected a change of tone in his friend’s voice, he couldn’t turn to look at him more closely, while he attempted to negotiate Hyde Park Corner for the first time.

  ‘It’s nothing I can put my finger on, but since you’ve been in London, I’ve had a feeling my father’s been avoiding you.’

  ‘But that doesn’t make any sense. After all, it was he who suggested I join you at Wimbledon,’ Sebastian reminded him as they headed up Park Lane.

  ‘I know, and it was also Pa’s idea that you borrow my MG today. I just wondered if anything had happened when you were in Buenos Aires that might have annoyed him.’

  ‘Not that I’m aware of,’ said Sebastian as he spotted a signpost for the A1 and moved across to the outside lane.

  ‘And I still can’t work out why your father travelled halfway round the world to see you, when all he had to do was pick up a phone.’

  ‘I meant to ask him the same question, but he was preoccupied, preparing for his latest book tour to America. When I raised the subject with my mother, she acted dumb. And I can tell you one thing about Mama, she ain’t dumb.’

  ‘And another thing I don’t understand is why you remained in Buenos Aires when you could have flown back to England with your pa.’

  ‘Because I promised your father that I’d deliver a large crate to Southampton, and I didn’t want to let him down after all the trouble he’d gone to.’

  ‘That must have been the statue I saw lying on the lawn at Shillingford. But that only adds to the mystery. Why would my father ask you to bring a statue back from Argentina, put it up for auction and then buy it himself?’

  ‘I’ve no idea. I signed the release forms as he asked me to, and once Sotheby’s had picked up the crate, I travelled down to Bristol with my parents. Why the third degree? I only did exactly what your father asked me to do.’

  ‘Because yesterday a man came to visit Papa at the house, and I overheard him mention the name Barrington.’

  Sebastian came to a halt at the next traffic light. ‘Do you have any idea who the man was?’

  ‘No, I’ve never seen him before, but I did hear my father call him “major”.’

  ‘This is a public announcement,’ said a voice over the loudspeaker. The crowd fell silent, even though Miss Gibson was about to serve for the first set. ‘Would Mr Martinez please report to the secretary’s office immediately?’

  Don Pedro didn’t react at once, and then he rose slowly from his place, and said, ‘Something must have gone wrong.’ Without another word, he began to barge his way past the seated spectators towards the nearest exit, with Diego only a pace behind. Once Don Pedro had reached the gangway, he asked a programme seller where the secretary’s office was.

  ‘It’s that large building with the green roof, sir,’ said the young corporal, pointing to his right. ‘You can’t miss it.’

  Don Pedro walked quickly down the steps and out of Centre Court, but Diego had overtaken him long before he reached the exit. Diego quickened his pace and headed towards the large building that dominated the skyline. He occasionally glanced back to make sure his father wasn’t too far behind. When he spotted a uniformed official standing by a set of double doors, he slowed down and shouted, ‘Where’s the secretary’s office?’

  ‘Third door on the left, sir.’

  Diego didn’t slow down again until he saw the words Club Secretary printed on a door.

  When he opened it, he came face to face with a man wearing a smart purple and green jacket.

  ‘My name is Martinez. You just called for me on the tannoy.’

  ‘Yes, sir. A Mr Karl Ramirez phoned and asked if you would ring him at home immediately. He stressed that it couldn’t be more important.’

  Diego grabbed the phone on the secretary’s desk and was dialling his home number when his father came charging through the door, his cheeks flushed.

  ‘What’s the emergency?’ he demanded between breaths.

  ‘I don’t know yet. I only have instructions to ring Karl at home.’

  Don Pedro seized the phone when he heard the words, ‘Is that you, Mr Martinez?’

  ‘Yes, it is,’ he said, and listened carefully to what Karl had to say.

  ‘What’s happened?’ said Diego, trying to remain calm, although his father had turned ashen white and was clinging to the edge of the secretary’s desk.

  ‘Bruno’s in the car.’

  ‘I’m going to have it out with my father when I get back this evening,’ said Bruno. ‘After all, what can you possibly have done to annoy him, if you only carried out his instructions?’

  ‘I’ve no idea,’ said Sebastian as he took the first exit off the roundabout on to the A1 and merged with the traffic travelling up the du
al carriageway. He pressed his foot down on the accelerator and enjoyed the sensation of the wind blowing through his hair.

  ‘It could be that I’m overreacting,’ said Bruno, ‘but I’d prefer to get this mystery sorted out.’

  ‘If the major is someone called Fisher,’ said Sebastian, ‘then I can tell you, even you won’t be able to sort it out.’

  ‘I don’t understand. Who the hell is Fisher?’

  ‘He was the Conservative candidate who stood against my uncle at the last election. Don’t you remember? I told you all about him.’

  ‘Was he the chap who tried to cheat your uncle out of the election by fixing the vote?’

  ‘That’s him, and he also tried to destabilize Barrington Shipping by buying and selling the company’s shares whenever they were under any pressure. And it might not have helped that when the chairman finally got rid of him, my mother took his place on the board.’

  ‘But why would my father have anything to do with a creep like that?’

  ‘It’s possible that it may not even be Fisher, in which case we’re both overreacting.’

  ‘Let’s hope you’re right. But I still think we should keep our eyes and ears open just in case either of us picks up anything that might explain the mystery.’

  ‘Good idea. Because one thing’s for certain, I don’t want to get on the wrong side of your father.’

  ‘And even if one of us does find out that for some reason there’s bad feeling between our two families, it doesn’t mean that we have to become involved.’

  ‘I couldn’t agree more,’ said Sebastian as the speedometer climbed to sixty, another new experience. ‘How many set books did your tutor expect you to have read by the beginning of term?’ he asked as he moved into the outside lane to overtake three coal trucks driving in convoy.

  ‘He recommended about a dozen, but I got the impression that I wasn’t expected to read all of them by the first day of term.’

  ‘I don’t think I’ve read a dozen books in my life,’ said Sebastian as he passed the first of the lorries. But he had to brake sharply when the driver of the middle lorry suddenly pulled out and began to overtake the one in front. Just at the point when it looked as if the driver would pass the front lorry and return to the inside lane, Sebastian glanced in his rear-view mirror to see that the third lorry had also moved into the outside lane.