St. Clair smiled. “And the others?”

“I’m enjoying annoying Hal Ozick, and Holly is having fun needling Nelson Knott.”

St. Clair laughed. “And what do you think of Nelson?”

“I think he’s a pretty slick article. How about you?”

“He’s brighter than I expected him to be, and more articulate.”

“Are you sure he’s not just glib?”

“Fairly. He’s not kidding about his advisors, and he reads their reports constantly. I think he’s fueling up on policy for his run.”

“He’s already decided to do it, then?”

“Oh, yes, I think he decided years ago. He seems to have learned a lot by watching the last Republican candidate do it badly, and he’s determined to do it well.”

“His chief talent seems to be the ability to tell people what they want to hear.”

“That’s a very great political gift,” St. Clair said.

“It is, if there’s an ethical basis beneath the philosophy.”

“I think he will form that eventually. In the meantime, while he’s exploring his options, he seems to be quite malleable.”

“I think that would interest both Hal Ozick and Clint Holder,” Stone said.

“I’m sure you’re right.”

“Does it interest you, Christian?”

“I’m always interested in furthering the national discourse.”

“And in shaping it?”

“It’s only worth furthering after it’s been shaped.”

“I thought as a Democrat you were committed to Kate Lee.”

“I think it would be a healthy thing for Kate to have an opponent who stretches her a bit.”

“Stretches?”

“Challenges, makes her think harder. Does Nelson interest you?”

“In the way that a lab specimen interests a scientist,” Stone replied. “I think the man has it in him to be dangerous.”

“In what way?”

“Once he’s digested his position papers and decided how he’s going to go about getting what he wants, he could be a danger to Kate. If he should be elected, he might be a danger to himself and others.”

“All the more reason to take him in hand,” St. Clair said.

“You mean, control him?”

Christian didn’t answer directly; he just gazed thoughtfully out across the gray-blue water.

“Would it be like building this yacht?” Stone asked. “Starting with a vision and overseeing every detail of its design and construction?”

“That’s an apt metaphor,” St. Clair replied dreamily, still keeping his attention on the water. Suddenly, he stood and pointed: “Porpoises,” he said, smiling.

Stone swung around and saw a pod of half a dozen skimming along the surface, diving and coming up for a breath. They moved closer to the yacht and Christian and Stone got up and went to the rail for a better view. The animals were playing around the bow, now, so clearly enjoying themselves.

“Such lovely creatures,” St. Clair said. “They have the knack of coming within inches of the bow, and yet they never get run down by what they’re chasing.”