keep it to herself.
He pressed the buzzer for his secretary and, when she came in, handed her the letter.
âPhone Miss Parish, would you, Meg, and make an appointment for later in the week. Howâs Wednesday looking?â
âSo far, the morningâs clear.â
âFine, letâs make it then. Sheâll be coming from Marsborough, so allow her a little time. Around ten oâclock.â
âRight; Iâll get on to it straight away.â
âHas my brother anyone with him at the moment?â
âI can check for you.â
âIf heâs free, put me through, would you?â
A minute later the phone rang on his desk, and he lifted it to hear Edwardâs voice.
âIt just struck me,â Finlay said, âthat you werenât at lunch on Friday, and we havenât been in touch since.â
âSo?â Edward asked drily. âDid you all go down with food poisoning?â
âSeriously, have you spoken to anyone? About the lunch?â
âNow you are making me curious. No, I havenât.â
âThe point is that Uncle Charles joined us, with the information that a journalist wants to do a write-up on us.â
âNothing world-shattering there, is there?â
âHe suggested she should be told about Genesis ahead of the announcement.â
There was silence, followed by a low whistle. âDid he indeed?â
âHow do you feel about it? Itâs your baby rather than mine.â
âYou say âsuggestedâ; nothing definite, then?â
âHe promised a full consultation before reaching a decision. Has he actually got the last word on this, if, for instance, the rest of us were against it?â
âI suppose so. He is Managing Director, after all. The pointâs never arisen before; in important matters, thereâs always been a consensus of opinion. Perhaps, when weâve weighed the pros and cons, there will be this time.â
âAdmittedly thereâs no question of publication ahead of time; itâs her knowing thatâs the crux of it, so it can be incorporated at the end of her article.â
âHow long do we have to think about this?â
âOh, several weeks, Iâd say; itâll take her a while to work her way down to the present. In fact, she says in her letter it might spread over more than one issue. She writes for Chiltern Life, by the way.â
After a momentâs thought, Edward asked, âHow did the others react?â
âI donât think any of us reacted at all; we were too stunned, and Uncle swiftly changed the subject. With its being the weekend, Iâve not spoken to them since, but I wanted to put you in the picture, in case it comes up at lunch.â
âWell, thanks for that. Iâll mull it over. By the way, Anna was wondering if youâd care to join us for Harryâs birthday on Friday, in your guise as godfather?â
âWhat form are the celebrations taking?â
Edward laughed. âCautious as ever! You wonât be required to play football or anything. Heâs having a thrash with his friends on Saturday, but Fridayâs his actual birthday, and weâre taking him out to the Deer Park for dinner. Motherâs coming, of course, and youâd be very welcome to join us.â
âThatâs good of you, Edward. And Anna.â
âYouâll come, then?â
âIâd be delighted. Thank you.â
âGreat; Iâll let you know the times later. Are you going down for lunch now?â
âIn a couple of minutes, yes.â
âSee you there, then.â
Finlay replaced his phone and sat for a moment, drumming his fingers on the desk. God only knew what sixteen-year-old boys wanted for their birthday. A cheque would probably be the best bet. Heâd need to buy a card, though; heâd ask Meg . . . No, damn it! The boy was his godson, after all. Heâd leave a little