But he owed it to McCormick to read his dying words. Ignoring the letter would be worse than clapping his hands over his ears like an infant, and would silence the man’s performance before his final curtain.

Ewan held his breath and tore open the envelope. Jack had turned the generator back on after he realised nobody was going to bed, so there was more than enough light to read.

The words were difficult to stomach.

My dear friend Ewan,

Although I take no pleasure in writing this letter – if you’re reading it I must be a nother casualty of this war – I’m happy for the opportunity to say some important things to you. I t’ ll be difficult to put my collection of unordered thoughts onto paper , but I ’ll do my best.

I know it’s tragic to lose anyone from our family , but try to avoid wasting your days feeling sorry for me. I lived to a ripe old age by modern standards, and spent my years filled with joy. I lived to watch so many people grow into their best selves, and by the end of my life I be came the only war leader in history to know every one of my soldier s personally . No matter how I met my death, whatever pain or despair I may have felt at the end, it cannot cancel out the wonderful years I’ve lived .

I hope I found the opportunity to tell you this, but either way – you and the Oakenfold students were my finest work. I remember the state we found each other in on Takeover Day – the state we were all in that day – and I compare it to the fine young adults you have become. The old Ewan West is dead, buried underneath the hero who took his place. So never let your troubled past get in the way of your self-belief. Never think that your diagnoses make you a lesser person, or ‘not good enough’ to be who you’re meant to be. And n ever feel guilty about what the old Ewan West did to Polly. Regardless of what happened, regardless of how much I’ve missed her and Barbara, I haven’t cried for them in almost a year. I’ve been too busy watching you all with a proud smile.

It won’t surprise you that I’m naming you as my successor. I want you to be the soldier who leads Britain in the charge against Nicholas Grant. I know you’ll lead the Underdogs well, in your own special style that I could never have imitated, and I know that our friends will follow you. I t may be a big task, but it’s a task with your name written all over it.

And since I’ve spent most of this letter telling you what not to do, I’ll spend some time giving you a little leadership advice .