Page 207 of The Armor of Light

Amos thought it sounded a bit pious, but he said nothing.

Jane said dismissively: ‘Thank you, Mr Kirkup.’

The bookseller retired, bowing.

Amos said: ‘I’m sorry that you’ve lost your grandfather, Hal.’

‘He was jolly nice,’ said Hal. ‘He used to read to me, but I can read for myself now.’

Remembering the deaths of his own grandparents, Amos did not recall any great emotion. They had seemed so ancient as to be nearly dead anyway, and he had been surprised at the distress of his parents. His reaction had been like Hal’s, a matter-of-fact sort of regret that fell short of grief.

He said to Jane: ‘Funeral at the cathedral, I presume?’

‘Yes. He’ll be buried at Earlscastle, in the family vault, but the service will be here in Kingsbridge – I do hope you’ll come.’

‘Certainly.’

They parted company, and Amos walked on. Almost immediately he met Elsie, in a primrose-yellow dress. They talked about the death of the earl – it was the big news of the moment. Elsie said: ‘Now that Henry is the earl, Kingsbridge will be looking for a new member of Parliament.’

‘I had not thought of that,’ said Amos. ‘There may be a by-election, though perhaps that will be unnecessary – there’s talk of a general election soon.’ Prime Minister Spencer Perceval had been assassinated, shot dead in the lobby of the House of Commons by an obsessive man with a complicated grievance. The new prime minister was the earl of Liverpool, and he might want to consolidate his position by seeking the endorsement of voters.

Elsie said: ‘Hal Northwood is obviously too young.’

‘Hornbeam will want the job,’ Amos said.

‘He always wants everything,’ she said scornfully. ‘He’s overseer of the poor, chairman of justices and alderman. If there was a post of inspector of dunghills, he’d want it.’

‘He likes to have power over people.’

Elsie pointed a finger at Amos’s chest. ‘You. You should be our member of Parliament.’

That surprised Amos. ‘Why me?’

‘Because you’re smart and fair-minded, and everyone in town knows that,’ she said with warm enthusiasm. ‘You’d be great for the town.’

‘I don’t have time.’

‘You could appoint a deputy to manage the mills while Parliament is in session.’

Amos realized that her suggestion was not a spur-of-the-moment idea, but something she had been mulling. He pulled thoughtfully at the end of his nose. ‘Hamish Law could do it. He knows the business inside out.’

‘There you are.’

‘But could I win?’

‘All the Methodists would vote for you.’

‘But most of the voters are Anglican.’

‘Nobody likes Hornbeam.’

‘They’re afraid of him, though.’

‘What a dismal prospect – to get an MP no one wants, just because we’re scared of him.’

Amos nodded. ‘It’s not the way this is supposed to work.’

‘Well, please think about standing.’