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Chapters (62)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. 42
  45. 43
  46. 44
  47. 45
  48. 46
  49. 47
  50. 48
  51. 49
  52. 50
  53. 51
  54. 52
  55. 53
  56. 54
  57. Epilogue
  58. Author’s Note
  59. Acknowledgments
  60. More from Fay Keenan
  61. About the Author
  62. About Boldwood Books

One thing was for certain, Holly thought, if Charlie didn’t run screaming from the Folk and Fey festival, he’d certainly experience the best Willowbury had to offer that weekend.

24

Charlie wasn’t joking when he’d said he had a busy time between then and his date with Holly for Willowfest. The House was in full swing, and, because of his interest in becoming more involved in the Department of Health and Social Care, he’d also earmarked some time on Tuesday to observe the next meeting of the Health and Social Care Committee. Although membership of the committee was out of the question at this early stage in his career, he hoped to listen, learn and get his face known by the Chair, with a view to joining it later on in his tenure. Sometimes, the route to advancement was about who you connected with, rather than what you knew. And nowhere more so, it seemed, than in Westminster.

Charlie was well used to networking from his days as a House of Commons researcher, and having worked in the Palace of Westminster before he got his parliamentary seat, he knew his way around fairly well. He wasn’t a natural ‘operator’, as so many politicians seemed to be; he struggled to make the seemingly inconsequential small talk that might lead someone into further confidences that he could use to his advantage, preferring to connect with people on a more personal and sincere level where he could. He knew that there were plenty like him in the House; it was just that those who knew how to play the game instinctively were the ones who tended to rise the fastest. However, a fair number of them fell quickly, too, he consoled himself.

He glanced through the briefing notes that were available to those who might be interested in attending the session and felt his heart start to beat a bit faster. The committee was in the process of discussing the issues around funding the next generation of cystic fibrosis drugs, and their next session was going to be focused on it. Reading through the document swiftly, he then did a quick search of the Hansard records to find out if anyone had spoken on the issue lately. It appeared he may be in luck, as seconds later, he’d established that the last debate in the House was well over a year ago. This seemed to be because talks with the governing bodies and the drug companies had ground to a halt. Was now the time to bring the issue to light again?