The President’s Daughter

In the end, the mad dash across the Atlantic proved fruitless. Jacqueline de Brissac had died two weeks before. They had missed the funeral by five days. Cazalet seemed to find himself moving in slow motion and it was Teddy who saw to everything.

‘She was laid to rest in the Brissac family mausoleum, that’s in a cemetery at Valence,’ he said, turning from the phone in their suite at the Ritz.

‘Thanks, Teddy, we’ll pay our respects.’

Cazalet looked ten years older as they settled in the limousine, and Teddy Grant cared for him more than any other person on this earth, more even than he cared for his long-term partner, who was a professor of physics at Yale.

Cazalet was the brother he’d never had, who’d taken interest in his career ever since the cafeteria incident at Harvard, had given him a job with the family law firm, had given him the totally unique job of being his personal assistant, and Teddy had grabbed it.

Once, at a Senate committee meeting, he’d sat at Cazalet’s shoulder, monitoring and advising on the proceedings. Afterwards, a senior White House liaison had come up to Cazalet, fuming.

‘Hell, Senator, I truly object to this little cocksucker constantly appearing at these proceedings. I didn’t ask for fags on this committee.’

The room went quiet. Jake Cazalet said, ‘Teddy Grant graduated magna cum laude at Harvard Law School. He was awarded the Bronze Star for bravery in the field in Vietnam and the Vietnamese Cross of Valor. He also gave an arm for his country.’ His face was terrible to see. ‘But more than that, he is my friend and his sexual orientation is his own affair.’

‘Now, look here,’ the other man said.

‘No, you look here. I’m off the committee,’ and Cazalet had turned to Grant. ‘Let’s go, Teddy.’

In the end, when the President had heard, it was the White House staffer who got moved, not Jake Cazalet, and Teddy had never forgotten that.

It was raining at the cemetery and slightly misty. There was a small records office, with a clerk on duty, and Teddy went in to find the location. He returned with a piece of paper and a single rose in a Cellophane holder, got in the limousine and spoke to the driver.

‘Take the road north, then left at the top. We’ll get out there.’

He didn’t say anything to Cazalet, who sat looking tired and tense. The cemetery was old and crowded with a forest of Gothic monuments and gravestones. When they got out, Teddy raised a black umbrella.

‘This way.’ They followed a narrow path. He checked the instructions on the paper again. ‘There it is, Senator,’ he said, strangely formal.

The mausoleum was ornate, with an angel of death on top. There was an arched entrance to an oaken door banded with iron and the name de Brissac.

‘I’d like to be alone, Teddy,’ Cazalet told him.

‘Of course.’ Teddy gave him the rose and got back into the limousine.

Jake went into the porch at the door. There was a tablet listing the names of members of the family laid to rest there, but there was a separate one for the General. Jacqueline de Brissac’s name was in gold beneath it and newly inscribed.

There were some flower holders and Jake took the rose from its wrapping, kissed it and slipped it into one of the holders, then he sat down on the stone bench and wept as he had never wept in his life before.

A little while later – he didn’t know how long – there was a footstep on the gravel, and he looked up. Marie de Brissac stood there, wearing a Burberry trenchcoat and a headscarf. She held a rose just like his own and Teddy Grant stood behind her, his umbrella raised.

‘Forgive me, Senator, this is my doing, but I thought she should know.’

‘That’s all right, Teddy.’ Cazalet was filled with emotion, his heart beating.

Teddy went back to the limousine and the two of them were left staring at each other. ‘Don’t be mad at him,’ she said. ‘You see – I already knew. My mother told me a year or two after we met at the ball, when she was first ill. It was time, she said.’

She put her rose into one of the other holders. ‘There you are, Mama,’ she said softly. ‘One from each of us, the two people in the world who loved you best.’ She turned and smiled. ‘So here we are, Father.’

As Cazalet wept again, she put her arms around his neck and held him close.

Afterwards, sitting on the bench, holding hands, he said, ‘I must put things right. You must allow me to acknowledge you.’

‘No,’ she said. ‘My mother was adamant about that, and so am I. You are a great senator, and as president of the United States of America you could achieve remarkable things. Nothing must spoil that. An illegitimate daughter is the last thing you need. Your political opponents would have a field day.’

‘Screw them.’

She laughed. ‘Such language from a future president. No, my way is best. Only you and I know, the perfect cover.’

‘And Teddy.’

‘Ah, yes, lovely Teddy. Such a good man and your true friend. My mother told me about him. You mustn’t be annoyed that he spoke to me.’

‘I’m not.’

She raised her voice. ‘Teddy, come here.’

Teddy Grant got out of the limousine and joined them. ‘I’m sorry, Jake.’

‘You did right, Teddy, I’m grateful, but she won’t allow me to go public. Tell her she’s wrong.’

‘No, I’m afraid she’s right. You could cripple your chances. The opposition would make it look real dirty. That’s politics.’

Jake’s heart churned, but in his head, he knew they were both right. Damn it! ‘All right.’ Cazalet turned to her, still holding her hand. ‘But we must see each other on a regular basis.’

She smiled gently and raised her eyebrows to Teddy, who said, ‘I’m sorry, Jake, but there would be talk. Hell, the press would jump on it. They’d think you’d found yourself a new girlfriend.’

Cazalet’s shoulders sagged. She touched his face gently. ‘Perhaps the odd occasion, some public function. You know the kind of thing.’

‘God, but this is painful,’ he said.

‘You are my father and I love you, and not because you were that glorious young war hero who saved my mother in some God-forsaken swamp. It’s the decency of a man who nursed his wife through an appalling illness to the very end and never wavered that I admire. I love you, Jake Cazalet, for yourself, and I’m truly glad to be your daughter.’ She held him close and turned to Teddy, who had tears in his eyes. ‘Look after him, Teddy, I’m going now.’ She stepped out into the rain and walked away.

‘God help me, Teddy, what am I going to do?’ Jake Cazalet said brokenly.

‘You’re going to make her proud of you, Senator. You’re going to be the best damn president our country has ever seen. Now let’s go.’

As they walked to the limousine, Cazalet said, ‘Kennedy was right. Anyone who believes in fairness in this life has been seriously misinformed.’

‘Sure, Senator, life’s a bitch, but it’s all we’ve got,’ Teddy said, as they got into the limousine. ‘Oh, and by the way, I just had a call on my mobile. Senator Freeman’s decided not to run. The nomination is yours. We’re on our way.’

LONDON (#u6848c91c-48c7-58de-8ce0-0f2911598292)

2 (#ulink_c53efb5e-f3b7-596c-8f2c-2811118b7679)

Rain swept in across London from the west during the night, driven by a cold wind, hard and relentless. By morning, the wind had dropped, but when the prison officer in navy-blue mackintosh opened the gate to the exercise yard at Wandsworth Prison, the rain itself was more relentless than ever. The officer was called Jackson and sported a clipped military moustache, which was hardly surprising as he was a former Grenadier Guard.

He pushed Dermot Riley forward. ‘On your way.’