Читаем A Dangerous Fortune (1994) полностью

A few minutes before midday Hugh went along the corridor to the telephone room. They had had the phone installed two years before, and they were already regretting the decision not to put it in the Partners' Room: each of them was called to the instrument several times a day.

On the way he met Mulberry in the corridor. He stopped him and said: "Is there something on your mind?"

"Yes, Mr. Hugh," said Mulberry with evident relief. He lowered his voice. "I happened to see some papers being drawn up by Simon Oliver, Mr. Edward's clerk."

"Come in here for a moment." Hugh stepped into the telephone room and closed the door behind them. "What was in the papers?"

"A proposal for a loan issue to Cordova--for two million pounds!"

"Oh, no!" said Hugh. "This bank needs less exposure to South American debt--not more."

"I knew you'd feel that way."

"What is it for, specifically?"

"To build a new harbor in Santamaria Province."

"Another scheme of Senor Miranda's."

"Yes. I'm afraid that he and his cousin Simon Oliver have a great deal of influence over Mr. Edward."

"All right, Mulberry. Thank you very much for letting me know. I'll try to deal with it."

Forgetting his phone call, Hugh returned to the Partners' Room. Would the other partners let Edward do this? They might. Hugh and Samuel no longer had much influence, as they were leaving. Young William did not share Hugh's fear of a South American collapse. Major Hartshorn and Sir Harry would do as they were told: And Edward was Senior Partner now.

What was Hugh going to do about it? He had not left yet, and he was still earning his share of the profits, so his responsibilities were not at an end.

The trouble was that Edward was not rational: as Mulberry had said, he was completely under the influence of Micky Miranda.

Was there any way Hugh could weaken that influence? He could tell Edward that Micky was a murderer. Edward would not believe him. But he began to feel that he had to try. He had nothing to lose. And he badly needed to do something about the dreadful revelation he had had in the night.

Edward had already left for lunch. On impulse, Hugh decided to follow him.

Guessing Edward's destination, he took a hansom to the Cowes Club. He spent the journey from the City to Pall Mall trying to think of words that would be plausible and inoffensive, to help convince Edward. But all the phrases he thought of sounded artificial, and when he arrived he decided to tell the unvarnished truth and hope for the best.