Читаем A Dangerous Fortune (1994) полностью

Samuel was an old man now, but no less vain than he had been twenty years ago. He still lived with Stephen Caine, his "secretary." Hugh was the only Pilaster who ever went to their home, which was a house in raffish Chelsea, decorated in the fashionable aesthetic style and full of cats. Once, when they were halfway down a bottle of port, Stephen had said he was the only Pilaster wife who was not a harridan.

When Samuel called, Hugh was in his library, where he generally retired after dinner. He had a book on his knee but had not been reading it. Instead he had been staring into the fire, thinking about the future. He had plenty of money, enough to live comfortably for the rest of his life without working, but he would never be Senior Partner now.

Uncle Samuel looked weary and sad. "I was at odds with my cousin Joseph for most of his life," he said. "I wish it had been otherwise."

Hugh offered him a drink and he asked for port. Hugh called his butler and ordered a bottle decanted.

"How do you feel about it all?" Samuel asked.

"I was angry before, but now I'm just despondent," Hugh replied. "Edward is so hopelessly unsuited to be Senior Partner, but there's nothing to be done. How about you?"

"I feel as you do. I shall resign, too. I shan't withdraw my capital, at least not right away, but I shall go at the end of the year. I told them so after you made your dramatic exit. I don't know whether I should have spoken up earlier. It wouldn't have made any difference."

"What else did they say?"

"Well, that's why I'm here, really, dear boy. I regret to say I'm a sort of messenger from the enemy. They asked me to persuade you not to resign."

"Then they're damn fools."

"That they certainly are. However, there is one thing you ought to think about. If you resign immediately, everyone in the City will know why. People will say that if Hugh Pilaster believes Edward can't run the bank he's probably right. It could cause a loss of confidence."

"Well, if the bank has weak leadership people ought to lose confidence in it. Otherwise they'll lose their money."

"But what if your resignation creates a financial crisis?"

Hugh had not thought of that. "Is it possible?"

"I think so."

"I wouldn't want to do that, needless to say." A crisis might bring down other, perfectly sound businesses, the way the collapse of Overend Gurney had destroyed Hugh's father's firm in 1866.