Lynda Plante - The Talisman

Skye stuttered. ‘That MP you got, he’s in and out of the place all the time. Every time he comes here he wants more, he gives us a project and his hand is out... Take a look, he’s got an account here, one in Switzerland, and he’s even got me setting up schemes for his wife, his kids... I’ve been warning you about him, I sent you telex after telex...’

Edward swore. Walter was going over the top, feathering his nest at Edward’s expense, and yet they could do nothing. They needed him — his name had already got them into Mexico.

‘You think we could get these deals without him, Skye? Do you?’

Skye said they could, the company was now very prestigious, but he doubted if they could lose Walter. He would want to milk them on everything they built.

‘We’ll see about that... Mexico, how’s that going?’

Pulling out the drawings and the files, Skye showed Edward that Walter had once again taken a ten thousand pound bribe for his connections in Mexico. ‘He wants a share of everything, Edward. The guy is so greedy, he wants to be a rich man and he’s doing it on your back. But I don’t see how we can stop him. If word of his share in all these projects leaks out, it’ll finish his political career and at the same time wipe us out. The government would step in right away.’

They dined together at a very elegant restaurant. Edward chose a table at the back of the room, in a small alcove. He poured Skye a glass of Dom Perignon and toasted him.

‘Got some business to add to your already expanding duties. That land I own over at Ghost Mountains, I’m ready to begin work on it. I want all the tractors and digging machines driven over there at the beginning of next month. I have all the licences for blowing the place apart.’

Skye whistled. He had been waiting to see why Edward had been steadily buying up vast areas of land to add to the millions of acres he already owned.

‘It’s not for diamonds, it’s perlite... I’ve done a deal with some Americans to start mining for perlite.’

‘What do I get out of it, apart from more work?’

‘You’ll be handsomely paid, old bean, as always.’

‘The official will want a cut, plus the government, you know that?’

Edward ordered for them both, and Skye tossed the menu aside. He downed his champagne, ordered another bottle.

Edward mused, twirling his glass around. ‘Been thinking of floating the company on the London Johannesburg stock exchange, raise more money from Joe Public — make you a tycoon, Skye. I’ve made an appointment for you to see the solicitors tomorrow, Main Street, they’ll be waiting. I’m not interested in the stones, it’s the perlite I want. You’ll have the best man to help you, an expert on sedimentary rock, he’ll do all the assessments. I want to corner the whole market, become the sole owner of every perlite mine in South Africa, so I don’t want any leakage. I don’t want anyone to suspect there might be valuable stones there as well...’

Skye lit a cigarette and blew out the smoke, which formed circles above his head. ‘You’ll have to be fucking careful, man, that place could be more productive — surrounded by fucking oyster beds, you know, near the fucking coast. Could be showered with pearls, never mind fucking diamonds.’

Edward didn’t speak while the waiter served their meal, then he jabbed at the steak with his fork. ‘I’m arranging a method for getting the stones out and over to England... We are mining for perlite, sweetheart, anything else keep quiet about. I’ll get it out of South Africa, no problem.’

Skye toyed with his food, pushing it around his plate, his cigarette still burning between his fingers. ‘You’re the boss, man, but you want to get on the side of the blokes running the so-called “Illegal Diamond Division”. I’ll give you their names. They’ll turn a blind eye as long as you pay them enough.’

Edward nodded, chewing his steak, then spoke with his mouth full. ‘I don’t want a single mining house to get wind of this project. Next week I want you to go over to Sbwana Bay, and take your fucking quinine with you, it’s bush and more bush. You don’t go near the map companies, I’ve got some worked out. This is mouth shut time.’

‘Okay by me — fancy a trip, bored out of my mind on the building sites. You know how much the machines will set you back? Around fifty thousand — pounds, not dollars, sweetie.’

Edward pushed his plate away and wiped his mouth with his napkin. ‘I don’t like to push you, but I have a lot of money tied up in this deal, and I’m trusting you with it. Fuck me over, Skye, and you’re dead.’

Skye sighed, his voice quiet and pitiful.

‘I know, I know... I’ll see it through for you as I do everything else. Goodnight.’

Edward mentioned neither Harriet nor the child to Skye, and Skye didn’t dare to broach the subject. There was no friendship between them now and he knew it, had known it ever since he made that stupid pass at Harriet.

Edward, after a delay of over a month, eventually returned to London and went straight home. Even though it was after midnight, he went to the nursery to deliver the promised gifts. His daughter lay sleeping, her blankets kicked off, her fists curled tightly in sleep. He felt such a strong surge of emotion he wanted to pick her up and hug her, but he gently covered her and crept into the bedroom.

Harriet was sitting up in bed, a pair of glasses perched on the end of her nose. She gave him a wink and tapped her book. ‘Just checking up on the pros and cons of motherhood. She is extraordinary, I’m sure she’s advanced for her age. Do you know, I’m sure she almost said something... Did you see how long her hair’s grown? And she has a front tooth coming... You’ve missed so much, she’s nearly walking, and she holds on so hard. And when she laughs she tosses her tiny head back and gurgles...’

Exhausted, Edward undressed and climbed into bed. Harriet switched off the light and he pulled her close. ‘I love you, I love you both... I’m sorry to have been away so long, you get my letters?’

‘You know something, I asked that snooty bitch Barbara if she would like to have a double birthday party, and she refused. So I told her to bugger off. They’ll no doubt have the Savoy Grill, but... Edward?’

Edward was sound asleep.

The next morning, Edward went to see Jinks before leaving for the office. She was standing up in her cot waving a rubber hammer, and he picked her up, loving the smell of her. She nuzzled his neck and then whacked him over the head with the hammer. He laughed, and the little girl looked afraid, unsure, so he put her down and pulled a funny face. She responded with a smile that made his heart lurch.

He gave Dewint instructions to throw out his jeans and cowboy boots, then went straight to the barber’s to have his hair cut. He was buzzing, filled with energy and ready for anything.

Arriving unannounced at the office, Edward took the place by storm. He was like a whirlwind, and everyone jumped as he rampaged through the offices. ‘Where’s Alex, Miss Henderson, where’s Alex?’

Miss Henderson told him Alex would be at the Stock Exchange. Edward walked straight into his brother’s office and began sorting through all the business the company had done during his absence.

He picked up a vast ledger on Alex’s proposed takeover of Buchanan House. The major deal had fallen apart. Alex had been investing on the Stock Exchange and, by the look of it, had taken some bad setbacks, costing him a lot of money, added to which the property boom was beginning to slide. They were left with millions of pounds’ worth of properties they could not offload.

Edward paced the office as he discovered more and more of Alex’s disastrous ventures. He had taken over the St James’ Bank, and that was now being investigated for astronomical losses, and they stood to lose millions. Edward threw up his hands in despair. The property boom was fast becoming a landslide, and Alex had allowed loans to companies, taking their properties as collateral. Now many of those companies were sinking so fast that the bank looked as if it was on the brink of closure. On the good side, however, the Carnaby Street shops were making huge dividends, the money rolling in in waves. But Alex was moving it out again, and without Edward’s signature.