‘Piss off, Cormac. You always were full of bullshit. I suppose that’s why you were always going to end up in politics!’

He felt his chest tighten at the thought she was aware of what was happening in his life after all this time. Had she been, after all these years, still seeking out snippets of information that would give away her true feelings?

‘How do you know I’m in politics?’

She stepped towards him and took his hand.

‘Could it be because I’ve never given up searching for you? Every day you have dominated my thoughts. Every waking moment, I’ve wondered where you were. Thought about who you were with. All this time, hoping and praying you would come back into my life.’

She dropped his hand.

‘Or could it be my brother-in-law is Harry Crossan? Who even though you ignored him for twenty-two years, still thought, unlike me, the sun shone out of your absent arse, and therefore never shut up about you, despite the constant pleadings of those of us unfortunate enough to call him family.’

He reminded himself to thank Harry when he got back to the hotel.

‘I think I’ve established which scenario is most likely, Bernadette. But you’re here now, and we’ve not had a real opportunity to speak.’

She didn’t reply.

He’d failed. She walked away. He couldn’t bear to watch her go. He found a seat outside a window on the wall masquerading as a coffee shop and closed his eyes to block out the day. He heard the owner hurry to him.

‘Will you still be around this afternoon?’

He opened his eyes and squinted at the silhouette in the sunshine.

‘I was planning on being around for a while.’

‘I only have two lectures today. So if you’re around I’ll meet you here after.’

He watched her as she walked away from him and vanished into the distance.

23

He filled the first half hour by returning some of the forty calls he’d neglected. He called the prime minister, who’d left two messages, the second of which suggested he’d better have a very good reason for taking himself out of circulation. He’d always had a special bond with the PM, who’d been his very supportive pupil master when Cormac had been called to the Bar. He’d exercised extraordinary patience on the numerous occasions Cormac proved more a hindrance than a help. Although educated at Harrow and Oxford and hailing from an extremely privileged family, which had produced three prime ministers and two home secretaries, he was a man Cormac developed an instant bond with. He had the most selfless social conscience of anyone Cormac had ever met. He was unflappably at ease in any social gathering and had a genuine desire to better the lives and prospects of the most disadvantaged groups in the country. He was the politician and person Cormac aspired to be. He would often be kept awake into the small hours by the daunting prospect of following him into office. Cormac was proud of his mentor’s achievements. He was looking forward to Friday’s celebratory dinner at Hillsborough Castle, at which the PM was to be honoured for his part in brokering the peace in Northern Ireland that had finally ended the senseless bloodshed of the previous three decades. The Queen was presenting the prime minister with a Special Order of Merit in the presence of his four predecessors. Leaders from both sides of the community would be present, along with the taoiseach and members of the Irish Government. The PM invited Cormac personally, as a thank you for acting as his unofficial guide through the political minefield of ‘The Irish Question.’