Professor Rapson continued. ‘You are in a difficult position, but your ringing declaration in the dining-room may not be the catastrophe you think it is. You are Maxwell. Of that I have no doubt.’
He twinkled at me, and suddenly the world was not such an unfriendly place. ‘Of course, which Maxwell is another matter completely. If you will accept a friendly word of advice, stick with that. News of your possible identity has caused a considerable amount of consternation in the right quarters, which I am certain you will know how to exploit. Our Miss Barclay, for example, was most taken aback, don’t you think? One would have thought that the return of someone for whom she always professed great affection would be a cause for joy. One would have thought. And yet …’
He petered out, peering thoughtfully into his cup.
‘I am certain Dr Bairstow will be busy weaving this revelation into his plans even as we speak.’
‘Plans?’
Dr Dowson helped himself to another crumpet. ‘Oh yes. I’ve never known Edward not to have a plan of some kind.’
Without any change in his voice, he continued, ‘Oh, for heaven’s sake, Andrew, look what you’re doing, will you? You’ll have that chair up in flames if you’re not careful.’
He lunged forwards, upsetting the teapot. The table went over and they launched themselves into an ocean of recrimination and abuse, and Officer Ellis, who had been standing unseen in the doorway, informed me that the colonel wished to see me.
Chapter Ten
Whatever I’d been expecting, it hadn’t been this. I’d never given it a thought … It had never occurred to me … The shock nearly knocked me over. The world blurred again and I would have gone down with a terrible crash if Ellis hadn’t seized my good arm and pushed me into a nearby chair. Things whirled sickeningly, and for one moment I hung helplessly over an abyss. I gulped for air, desperately struggling against the overwhelming panic. I’d never thought … Why would I …?
There was no Mrs Partridge.
I stared in disbelief. I’d fretted over just about everything else, but the one thing I’d never, ever considered, not even for a moment, was that there would be no Mrs Partridge in this world. To guide me. To give me some sort of clue. To give me her familiar exasperated stare.
Her desk was occupied by Rosie Lee and, trust me, an unexpected encounter with Miss Lee should not be on any invalid’s list of Things To Do Today.
She stared curiously. She wasn’t tall and her hair waved around her head like Medusa’s snakes. The tailored suit was unfamiliar but the intimidating attitude was spot on.
‘Dr Bairstow is not available at the moment.’
‘Got a message to see Colonel Albay,’ said Ellis, trying to step past her. I could have told him he was wasting his time.
‘Why?’
He seemed confused. I was guessing this was their first encounter. ‘Why what?’
‘Why does the colonel want to see you?’
‘How should I know? I’d like to find out, though.’
Silence.
He shifted impatiently. ‘Should we go in?’
‘How should I know? I work for Dr Bairstow.’
‘For the time being.’
She snorted. He was going to have to do better than that.
I don’t know whether she’d done it intentionally, but their brief interchange had given me the time I needed. I sat up and stared around.
The battered furniture was the same. Everything was the same except for the sign on the wall behind her.
Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.
That figured.
A light flashed on her phone.
She made no move.
I watched, cutting my eyes from one to the other, waiting to see what would happen next.
The silence dragged on. Miss Lee had once been my assistant. I’d actually found our daily battle of wills quite stimulating, but it was fun to see someone else on the receiving end for once.
Ellis caved first. ‘Should we go in?’
She smirked with satisfaction. ‘Obviously.’
I heaved myself to my feet and followed him in.
Dr Bairstow’s room was as I always remembered it. There was the scuffed parquet floor and the square of faded carpet. The colours had once been red and gold, but now the pattern was only discernible around the very edges.
The only difference was that his desk was now occupied by that sensitive and sympathetic people person, Colonel Albay, while the Boss himself sat at his briefing table, a little way off. Under arrest he might be, but the colonel was wisely keeping him under observation.
Ellis took my arm as we marched in. It was a little late for the tough-guy treatment but I could appreciate he would want to give the right impression, so I staggered a little and did my best to look brutalised.
Albay was busy flipping through a file, doing the ‘I’m too busy to deal with you at the moment even though I’ve just sent for you’ routine so beloved of senior managers everywhere. He was wasting his time. I was flouting authority before he was born.
I peeled off and walked over to Dr Bairstow, who stood up, as he always did, because even in a crisis, he was never less than courteous.