“Then you have two choices. Personally I’d vote against, so that he if loses he’ll have no choice but to resign. By the way, Ross Buchanan doesn’t agree with me. He thinks you should abstain and keep your options open. But I don’t have to remind you what happened the last time you did that, when Fisher stood for chairman.”

“It’s different this time. Mellor’s given me his word that he won’t vote for himself.”

“In writing?”

“No,” admitted Emma.

“Then it’s not a word I’d rely on.”

“Yes, but if I—”

“Mum, if I don’t finish shaving, you won’t even get my vote.”

“Yes, sorry. I’ll think about what you said. See you at the board meeting.”

Seb smiled as he put the phone down. What a complete waste of time that was when he knew she’d already decided to abstain. He checked his watch. Just enough time to grab a bowl of muesli and boil himself an egg.

*   *   *

“What did he say?” asked Harry as he passed his wife a cup of tea.

“He said I should vote against, but that Ross thinks I should abstain. So I’m none the wiser.”

“But only last night you told me you were confident of winning.”

“By six votes to four, even if I abstain.”

“Then I think you should abstain.”

“Why?”

“Because I agree with Ross. If you vote against Mellor and lose, it would make your position untenable. However, I’m beginning to think I should postpone my trip to Leningrad until we know the outcome.”

“But if you don’t go today,” said Emma, “you’ll have to wait at least six months before you can get another visa. Whereas if you go now, you’ll be back well in time for the trial.”

“But if you were to lose the vote today…”

“I’m not going to lose, Harry. Six of the directors have given me their word, so there’s nothing to worry about. And you gave your word to Mrs. Babakov, so you must keep it. In any case, it will be nothing less than a personal triumph when you come home with a copy of Uncle Joe under your arm. So start packing.”

*   *   *

Sebastian was putting on his jacket and heading for the door when the phone rang for a third time. He looked at his watch, 7:56, and thought about ignoring it, but turned back, grabbed the phone, and said, “I haven’t got time, Mother.”

“It’s not your mother,” said Rachel. “I thought you ought to know that I had a call just after you left the office last night, and I wouldn’t have bothered you if she hadn’t said it was urgent. I’ve already called a couple of times this morning, but you were engaged.”

“She?” said Seb.