Webster looked around the table and, satisfied that Sebastian wasn’t present, wrote Absent by his name.

“Mr. Bingham?”

“Against.”

No surprise. He disliked Mellor almost as much as she did.

Emma smiled. Four all. As chairman, she wouldn’t hesitate to exercise her casting vote to stop Mellor becoming deputy chairman.

“And finally, Mr. Mellor?” said the company secretary.

“For,” he said firmly.

Emma was momentarily stunned. But turning to Mellor, she eventually managed, “You told me only yesterday that you would be abstaining, which is why I did so myself. Had I known of this change of heart—”

“Since I spoke to you yesterday evening,” said Mellor, “one or two of my colleagues have pointed out that the company’s statutes allow a board member to vote for himself when standing for office. Reluctantly, I allowed them to convince me that I should do so.”

“But you gave me your word.”

“I did call you at home, several times this morning, chairman, but the line was always busy.”

Not something Emma was able to contradict. She sank back into her chair.

Mr. Webster carefully double-checked the list, but Emma already knew the result and its consequences.

“By a vote of five to four, Mr. Mellor is elected deputy chairman.”

Some people around the table smiled and said, “Hear, hear.” Others remained silent.

Seb had been right. She should have voted against Mellor in the first place, and then she could have defeated him with her casting vote. But where was Seb, whose vote would have made that unnecessary? How could he have let her down when she most needed him? And then she froze, and stopped being the chairman of a public company and reverted to being a mother. Was it possible her son had been involved in another dreadful accident? Emma couldn’t bear the thought of going through all that again. She’d far rather lose the vote than …

“Item number two,” said the company secretary. “To select a launch date for the MV Balmoral, and for the opening of the first booking period for her maiden voyage to New York.”