Marco slept reasonably well (he remembered this because it was the last good night’s sleep he got for several weeks), but in the morning he found an email from Sauer in his inbox. “Hello Marco, we do feel Julia has a right to tell her side of this important story and are inclined to press ahead on the basis of that, but we equally feel you should have an opportunity to defend yourself. I’m attaching a suggested snapshot about you, listing your considerable accomplishments in I trust acceptable terms, though do please feel free to revise as you see fit, and we are more than happy to offer you equal space with Julia to comment however you choose, within reason. Greatly looking forward to your thoughts about this.”

The “snapshot” described Marco in ingratiating terms, making him sound far more successful than he really was. He was flattered for a moment, but soon realized that in the context of the proposed article itself, the flattery would merely make readers dislike him even more than they were going to anyway. What really unsettled him, however, was the opening: “Marco Rosedale, son of eminent barrister Sir Alec Rosedale QC . . .”

Having lived half his life in the United States, Marco sometimes forgot what a considerable personage his father still was in British cultural and political circles. Even now, in his nineties, the old man was something of a public figure, lending his name to progressive causes and occasionally appearing as a guest on TV shows, where he cut a figure of simple dignity: white-haired, mild-eyed, his mind as alert as it had ever been, his sympathies for the downtrodden undimmed. Marco revered him, but preferred not to define himself in terms of his distinguished paternity, and it was always a bit of a shock to him when other people did. On this occasion, along with the shock, came a sudden suspicion of why the Messenger was so interested in publishing Julia’s tale. Dirt on a well-known, well-respected name. Just the kind of sleazy exercise English newspapers liked to indulge in on behalf of their readers; the more respected their target, the better.