‘“…it would be perfect if you could arrange to leak some scandal or other so we can get rid of her well before elections, and so E can establish himself…”’

The hand holding the letter sank down onto the duvet and she glared at the prime minister.

He shuffled awkwardly.

‘It seems I’ve been caught up in one of your famous prearranged series of events,’ she said. ‘I was supposed to do the shit job, cancel the South Coast Highway and make myself unpopular for doing that. Then Óðinn was going to leak something sensitive so I’d have to resign, and your golden boy Edvard would have a few months before the elections come around to make himself a popular minister.’

The prime minister sighed and sank onto a chair.

‘It’s politics, Úrsúla,’ he said. ‘It’s nothing personal; just politics.’

‘Thank you for this important lesson in the fundamentals of political science.’

The prime minister forced an embarrassed smile, and Úrsúla noticed how blue his eyes were, even though no daylight reached the ward, as dusk had fallen, leaving only the electric light with its yellow tint. 270

‘It’s a shame you bet on the wrong horse,’ she added. ‘Óðinn had everything planned in advance and then lost control of it. The journalist leaked the first juicy piece of information he pulled from the rubbish he had bought – the one about my father and Pétur. That took Óðinn by surprise and it was difficult for him to deal with.’

‘What do you want, Úrsúla?’ the prime minister asked. ‘What was the job you applied for last year and didn’t get? Head of the International Development Agency?’

Úrsúla snorted.

‘I thought the normal way to do it was to try bribery first, and force next. You do it the other way around.’ The prime minister muttered something unintelligible, and to her own amazement, Úrsúla felt some sympathy for him. ‘I don’t need to set conditions,’ she said. ‘I’ll resign tomorrow for health reasons. That won’t take anyone by surprise. It’s already all over the news that the permanent secretary stabbed the minister.’

‘In that case…’ he began, and Úrsúla raised a finger, telling him to keep quiet.

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I’ll blow off the South Coast Highway at the same time.’

120

Looking back, it had been the promise she made that first day in office that had been her downfall. If she hadn’t pressured Óðinn to look into the rape charge against Jónatan, then everything would have worked out very differently. On the other hand, the promise she had made had also served to release her from the daze she had been in since coming home.

‘The shortest ministerial career on record,’ Eva said. ‘Two and a half weeks.’

‘True,’ Úrsúla said. ‘And I hadn’t even made a start on all the 271things I was going to do. I haven’t even touched immigration, and that was the first thing I had on my list.’

‘Like I said, two and a half weeks. Considering everything that’s gone on, it’s probably no surprise that you don’t have any towering achievements behind you.’