Page 111 of Next in Line

‘How about me?’ said William.

‘For you, sir, fish and chips with mushy peas, and more than a hint of vinegar and tomato ketchup?’

‘Served on a bed of—’

‘TheNews of the World.’

‘And complemented by?’

‘A pint of warm beer.’

‘Couldn’t be better,’ said William, looking pleased with himself.

‘You have to understand Lucio, that he’s a caveman,’ said Beth, taking William’s hand. ‘His only virtue being that he’smycaveman.’

Lucio uncorked a bottle of champagne, poured three glasses, raised his and said, ‘Happy anniversary!’ before placing the bottle back in an ice bucket and leaving them.

‘Before I open my present,’ said Beth, eyeing a small, neatly wrapped package on the table in front of her, ‘I can’t wait to hear how many years the judge added to Miles’s sentence.’

‘Zero,’ replied William. ‘In fact, he gave him a get-out-of-jail-free card.’

‘What! How can that be possible?’

‘Mitigating circumstances, was how the judge described it.’

‘Such as?’

‘You’ll have to ask my father.’

‘Who’s even less likely to tell me than you.’

William drank his champagne without commenting.

‘Booth Watson must have been overjoyed,’ said Beth.

‘You wouldn’t have thought so, judging from the look on his face,’ said William. ‘In fact, when I saw him in the corridor afterwards, my father told me that, for a moment, he thought BW might even appeal against the sentence. But he must have thought better of it, because in the end, surprise surprise, he tried to take the credit for it.’

‘Surely Miles didn’t fall for that,’ said Beth.

‘No, he did not. In fact, I suspect Booth Watson has just lost his most lucrative source of income.’

‘Don’t underestimate that man,’ said Beth. ‘He’s capable of switching sides faster than a weather vane in a high wind. He’d happily represent Christina without a second thought, and then it would be Miles who had to constantly look over his shoulder.’

‘Where no doubt he’d find her accomplice lurking in the shadows,’ declared William, then raised his glass and said, ‘Happy anniversary, my darling.’

‘Happy anniversary. I suppose we ought to raise a glass to Miles Faulkner.’

‘Why?’

‘Because if he’d pleaded not guilty, we might not be celebrating our anniversary this evening.’

‘It must have been a close-run thing,’ admitted William.

‘Could it have anything to do with you leaping out of bed before the sun had risen to attend another COBRA meeting?’ William took a sip of champagne. ‘I don’t even know what COBRA stands for,’ admitted Beth, still pushing at a closed door.

‘Cabinet Office Briefing Room,’ replied William, without any further explanation.

‘And the A?’