Page 44 of Next in Line

The gentleman usher handed Her Majesty a blue leather box which she opened as William pushed Jackie’s wheelchair forward, coming to a halt in front of the Queen.

Jackie’s colleagues burst into spontaneous applause as the Queen bent down and pinned the medal on her uniform. Until that moment, Jackie had remained reasonably composed, firmly gripping the arms of her wheelchair, determined not to show how nervous she was. Facing an armed terrorist was one thing; facing the monarch was quite another. Despite the fact Jackie had known about the award for several weeks, it didn’t help.

It later became legend among the team that the Hawk had shed a tear, although he denied it to everyone, except his wife.

During the reception that followed, the Queen spent some time chatting to Jackie, although it was William who told her about the bullet that had torn through her chest as the plane screeched to a halt, missing her heart by millimetres.

Her Majesty’s final words were: ‘We are lucky to have officers of your calibre serving in the police force.’

When HM moved on to chat to other members of the team, William took Inspector Roach to one side and thanked him for the role his unit had played in capturing the three terrorists. ‘Although I must confess,’ William added, ‘you misled me when you said Jackie would have made a damn fine member of the anti-terrorist squad, because I assumed—’

‘So sorry, old chap,’ said Roach, clearly unrepentant. ‘I simply meant to point out that we don’t have any women in our branch of the service. But after working with Jackie, I’m bound to say more’s the pity, because I’d like to sign her up.’

‘You can forget that,’ said William. ‘Once she’s back on her feet Jackie’s got an equally challenging task to deal with, and what makes it worse is that this time the suspect is one of our own.’

‘Anything I can do to help?’

‘I’m afraid not. We’re going to have to be a little more subtle than you lot. All I can tell you is that my next meeting with a member of the Royal Family may not be quite as pleasant.’

•••

‘Do you want to hear the good news or the bad news?’ Beth asked when William arrived home later that evening.

‘Why don’t you start with the bad news?’ said William, closing the door behind him.

‘Tim Knox is leaving the Fitzmolean. He’s been offered the position as Surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures.’

‘I’m sorry to hear that. He’ll be difficult to replace. What’s the good news?’

‘He’s suggested I apply for the position,’ said Beth as they walked into the kitchen, where the twins and Jojo were tucking into a large pizza under Sarah’s watchful eye.

‘Do they ever stop eating?’ asked William, joining them at the table.

‘He thinks I have a fair chance of being offered the job as director, as several members of the board have made it clear they’d support me, and he’d certainly back me if it came to a vote.’

‘They’d be lucky to get you,’ said William, eyeing the last slice of pizza, but he wasn’t fast enough on the draw.

‘The board will have to advertise the post, so I’d be facing some stiff opposition.’

‘God help the person who dares to stand against you.’

‘Naughty Daddy,’ said Artemisia between mouthfuls. ‘My Sunday School teacher says you should never take the Lord’s name in vain.’

‘Never,’ said Peter.

‘Never,’ repeated Jojo.

‘Quite right. What I meant to say was, heaven help anyone who dares to stand against your mother.’

‘Bath time, children,’ said Sarah firmly.

‘Will you read to us before we go to sleep, Daddy?’ asked Peter as he got down from the table.

‘Of course. Is it stillThe Wind in the Willows?’

‘No, we finished that ages ago,’ said Artemisia. ‘We’re now readingAlice’s Adventures in Wonderland.’ William felt guilty about how many times he’d failed to get home before the children fell asleep. His father had warned him often enough how quickly these years would slip by.

‘I may be able to pull off a little coup,’ said Beth as Sarah took the children up for their bath, ‘which wouldn’t do my chances of getting the job any harm.’