Jeffrey Archer - Sons of Fortune

‘But I’m bound to ask if he was worth his fee, which must have been handsome, remembering you kept that woman out of jail?’

‘It certainly was,’ said Abrahams, before his young guest could reply. He placed a hand on the bookshelf behind Bill Alexander and removed a hardback copy of The Trials of Clarence Darrow. Mr Alexander studied the book. ‘I have one myself, of course,’ said Alexander.

‘And so did I,’ said Abrahams. Fletcher looked disappointed. ‘But not a signed first edition with a dust jacket in perfect condition. They are indeed a collector’s item.’

Fletcher thought about his mother, and her invaluable advice; ‘Try to choose something he’ll treasure, it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money.’

Nat went round the circle of eight men and six women who made up his team, asking each of them to give a brief biography for the rest of the group. He then allocated their particular responsibilities in the run-up to the election. Nat could only admire Su Ling’s commitment, because following Tom’s off-stage advice, she had selected a remarkable cross-section of students, most of whom had obviously wanted Nat to stand for some time.

‘OK, let’s start with up-dates,’ said Nat.

Joe Stein rose from his place. ‘Because the candidate has made it clear that no single contribution can exceed one dollar, I have increased the number in the fund-raising team so we can approach as many of the students as possible. That group currently meets once a week, usually on a Monday. It would be helpful if the candidate was able to address them some time.’

‘Would next Monday suit you?’ asked Nat.

‘Fine by me,’ said Joe. ‘To date, we’ve raised $307, most of which was collected after your speech at Russell Hall. Because the room was so packed many of them were convinced that they were backing the winner.’

‘Thanks, Joe,’ said Nat. ‘Next: what’s the opposition up to? Tim?’

‘My name’s Tim Ulrich, and my job is to cover the opposition’s campaign, and make sure we know what they’re up to the whole time. We have at least two people taking notes whenever Elliot opens his mouth. He’s made so many promises during the past few days, that if he tried to keep them all, the university would be bankrupt by this time next year.’

‘Now how about groups. Ray?’

‘Groups fall into three categories, ethnic, religious and club, so I have three deputy leaders to cover each one. There is of course a considerable amount of over-lapping, for example, Italians and Catholics.’

‘Sex?’ suggested someone.

‘No,’ said Ray, ‘we found sex to be universal, and therefore couldn’t group it, but opera, food, fashion are examples of where the over-lapping came for Italians — but we’re on top of it. Mario’s even offering free coffee to those customers who promise to vote Cartwright.’

‘Be careful. Elliot will pick that up as an election expense,’ said Joe. ‘Don’t let’s lose on a technicality.’

‘Agreed,’ said Nat. ‘Sports?’

Jack Roberts, the basketball captain, didn’t need to introduce himself. ‘Track and field is well covered by Nat’s personal involvement, especially after his victory in the final cross-country meet against Cornell. I’m covering the baseball team as well as basketball. Elliot already has football sewn up, but the surprise is women’s lacrosse — that club has over three hundred members.’

‘I’ve got a girlfriend on the second team,’ said Tim.

‘I thought you were homosexual?’ said Chris. Some of them laughed.

‘Who is covering the gay vote?’ asked Nat.

No one spoke. ‘If anyone admits to being openly gay, find a place for them on the team, and no more snide remarks.’

Chris nodded his agreement. ‘Sorry, Nat.’

‘Finally, polls and statistics, Su Ling.’

‘My name is Su Ling. There are 9,628 students registered — 5,517 men, 4,111 women. A very amateur poll conducted on campus last Saturday morning showed Elliot had 611 votes and Nat 541, but don’t forget Elliot’s had a head start on us, because he’s been campaigning for over a year, and his posters are already displayed everywhere. Ours will be up by Friday.’

‘And torn down by Saturday.’

‘Then we replace them immediately,’ said Joe, ‘without resorting to the same tactics. Sorry, Su Ling.’

‘No, that’s fine. Every member of the team must be sure to speak to at least twenty voters a day,’ Su Ling said. ‘With sixty days still to go, we must try to canvass every student several times before election day. Now this exercise should not be done casually,’ she continued. ‘On the wall behind you, you will find a board with the name of every student in alphabetical order. On the table below you will see seventeen crayons. I have allocated a colour for each member of the team. Every evening, you will place a tick by the voters that you have spoken to. This is just another way of finding out who are the talkers and who are the workers.’

‘But you said there were seventeen crayons on the table,’ said Joe, ‘when there are only fourteen members of the team?’

‘Correct, but there’s also one black, one yellow and one red crayon. If the person has said they will be voting for Elliot, you cross him or her out in black, if you’re unsure, give them a yellow tick, but if you’re confident they will be voting for Nat, then use red. Each evening I’ll enter any new data on my computer, and hand you all print-outs first thing the following morning. Any questions?’ asked Su Ling.

‘Will you marry me?’ asked Chris.

Everyone burst out laughing. ‘Yes, I will,’ said Su Ling. She paused. ‘And remember not to believe everything you’re told, because Elliot has already asked me, and I said yes to him as well.’

‘What about me?’ said Nat.

Su Ling smiled. ‘Don’t forget, I gave you your answer in writing.’

‘Goodnight, sir, and thank you for a memorable evening.’

‘Goodnight, Fletcher. I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.’

‘We certainly did,’ said Annie. ‘It was fascinating to meet the vice-president. I’ll be able to tease my father for weeks,’ she added, as Fletcher helped her into the car.

Before he had pulled the door closed on his side, Fletcher said, ‘Annie, you were fantastic’

‘I was only trying to survive,’ said Annie. ‘I hadn’t expected Karl to place me between the vice-president and Mr Alexander during dinner. I even wondered if it was a mistake.’

‘The professor doesn’t make that sort of mistake,’ said Fletcher. ‘I suspect that Bill Alexander requested it.’

‘But why would he do that?’ asked Annie.

‘Because he’s the senior partner of an old-fashioned, traditional firm, so he’ll figure that he can learn a great deal about me if he gets to know my wife; if you’re invited to join Alexander Dupont and Bell, it’s nothing short of marriage.’

‘Then let’s hope I didn’t hold up a proposal.’

‘Far from it. What you did was to make sure I reach the courting stage. Don’t imagine that it was coincidental that Mrs Alexander came and sat next to you when coffee was being served in the drawing room.’

Annie gave out a slight moan, and Fletcher looked anxiously across. ‘Oh, my God,’ she said, ‘the contractions have begun.’

‘But you’ve still got another ten weeks,’ said Fletcher. ‘Just relax and I’ll have you back home and tucked up in no time.’

Annie groaned again, a little louder. ‘Don’t bother with going home,’ she said, ‘get me to a hospital.’

Speeding across Westville, Fletcher checked the names on the street corners and tried to work out which would be the best route to Yale-New Haven Hospital, when he spotted a taxi stand on the far side of the road. He swung the car sharply across and pulled up alongside the front cab. He wound down the window, and shouted, ‘My wife’s gone into labour, which is the quickest route to Yale-New Haven?’