well-structured as the first one had been. For one thing, the meeting hadn’t actually been called by anyone but had just grown rather like Topsy as news of the fire at Tolmie Park had spread through their building.
‘Fire?’ snapped Derek Hitchin, their project manager. ‘You’re quite sure, are you, Auriole?’
‘The
Berebury Gazette
have just rung me for a quote on it,’ said Auriole Allen, adding ironically, ‘I don’t know how sure that makes it but I told them that it was certainly news to all of us here at Berebury Homes and they could certainly quote me on that.’
‘Let’s hope it was,’ said Robert Selby, the finance man, sourly. ‘There’ll be hell to pay if not.’
‘Where’s Lionel?’ asked Randolph Mansfield.
‘On the golf course,’ chorused Derek Hitchin and Robert Selby in unison. ‘Need you ask?’
‘Should we tell him, I wonder?’ mused Auriole Allen thoughtfully. ‘It might be better if he didn’t know just yet. Until he’s been properly briefed and we’ve dealt with the press, I mean.’
‘Rather you than me,’ said Hitchin, in whom the instinct for self-preservation was strong. ‘He won’t want anyone to think we’ve done it.’
‘As we haven’t, I don’t think we need worry about that,’ said Randolph Mansfield. He looked round at the others. ‘Well, we haven’t, have we?’
‘No, of course not,’ said Auriole Allen soothingly. She immediately undid the effect of this anodyne statement by going on, ‘but we’re bound to be suspected. You must see that.’
‘Being the only outfit with anything to gain from a fire there,’ said Robert Selby flatly. He always insisted that realism was part of his stock-in-trade and in any case also always insisted he was a man who thought solely in terms of gains and losses and that was what he was there for.
‘Are you quite sure about that, Robert?’ Hitchin said, studying the tips of his fingertips with unusual intensity. ‘What about Calleshire Construction? They might find a hostile take-over a lot easier if we’d been wrong-footed somehow at Tolmie by the Conservation people.’
‘Hit us when we were down, you mean?’ said Randolph Mansfield.
‘It’s less trouble then,’ said Robert Selby, adding sourly, ‘you learnt that at school, remember?’
‘Surely not, Derek,’ protested Auriole Allen. ‘You don’t think that…?’
‘I don’t think at all,’ said Derek Hitchin, ‘but their boss-man isn’t known as Tiger for nothing.’
‘And we don’t know for sure,’ pointed out Mansfield, staring at the ceiling with apparent concentration, ‘that it is actually a hostile bid that they’ve made. We only know aboutCalleford Construction’s bid exactly what Lionel chooses to tell us and nothing whatsoever more.’
A little silence fell on the group. Then Robert Selby said ‘I think I’ll just get young Ned to run over to the clubhouse and leave a note on Lionel’s locker there. Then he won’t be taken by surprise.’
There was another short silence broken this time by Hitchin saying slowly, ‘Good idea.’
Having thus minded their backs so to speak, the four of them settled down to explore the new vistas opened up by the news.
‘How much damage?’ asked Randolph Mansfield.
‘Confined to one part of the building, they say,’ said Auriole Allen. ‘The newspaper has got one of their photographers on his way there now.’
‘Which part?’ asked the architect urgently.
‘The back.’
‘That’s good.’ Randolph Mansfield heaved himself to his feet. ‘Well, I suppose I’d better be getting over there myself to see what’s what.’
‘I’ll come with you,’ said Derek Hitchin, although normally he avoided the other man’s company. ‘A fire might affect things – open up possibilities and all that. You never know.’
‘Just a minute, just a minute,’ said Robert Selby. ‘If we didn’t do it and we suppose that Calleshire Construction didn’t do it, then who did? This
‘Fire?’ snapped Derek Hitchin, their project manager. ‘You’re quite sure, are you, Auriole?’
‘The
Berebury Gazette
have just rung me for a quote on it,’ said Auriole Allen, adding ironically, ‘I don’t know how sure that makes it but I told them that it was certainly news to all of us here at Berebury Homes and they could certainly quote me on that.’
‘Let’s hope it was,’ said Robert Selby, the finance man, sourly. ‘There’ll be hell to pay if not.’
‘Where’s Lionel?’ asked Randolph Mansfield.
‘On the golf course,’ chorused Derek Hitchin and Robert Selby in unison. ‘Need you ask?’
‘Should we tell him, I wonder?’ mused Auriole Allen thoughtfully. ‘It might be better if he didn’t know just yet. Until he’s been properly briefed and we’ve dealt with the press, I mean.’
‘Rather you than me,’ said Hitchin, in whom the instinct for self-preservation was strong. ‘He won’t want anyone to think we’ve done it.’
‘As we haven’t, I don’t think we need worry about that,’ said Randolph Mansfield. He looked round at the others. ‘Well, we haven’t, have we?’
‘No, of course not,’ said Auriole Allen soothingly. She immediately undid the effect of this anodyne statement by going on, ‘but we’re bound to be suspected. You must see that.’
‘Being the only outfit with anything to gain from a fire there,’ said Robert Selby flatly. He always insisted that realism was part of his stock-in-trade and in any case also always insisted he was a man who thought solely in terms of gains and losses and that was what he was there for.
‘Are you quite sure about that, Robert?’ Hitchin said, studying the tips of his fingertips with unusual intensity. ‘What about Calleshire Construction? They might find a hostile take-over a lot easier if we’d been wrong-footed somehow at Tolmie by the Conservation people.’
‘Hit us when we were down, you mean?’ said Randolph Mansfield.
‘It’s less trouble then,’ said Robert Selby, adding sourly, ‘you learnt that at school, remember?’
‘Surely not, Derek,’ protested Auriole Allen. ‘You don’t think that…?’
‘I don’t think at all,’ said Derek Hitchin, ‘but their boss-man isn’t known as Tiger for nothing.’
‘And we don’t know for sure,’ pointed out Mansfield, staring at the ceiling with apparent concentration, ‘that it is actually a hostile bid that they’ve made. We only know aboutCalleford Construction’s bid exactly what Lionel chooses to tell us and nothing whatsoever more.’
A little silence fell on the group. Then Robert Selby said ‘I think I’ll just get young Ned to run over to the clubhouse and leave a note on Lionel’s locker there. Then he won’t be taken by surprise.’
There was another short silence broken this time by Hitchin saying slowly, ‘Good idea.’
Having thus minded their backs so to speak, the four of them settled down to explore the new vistas opened up by the news.
‘How much damage?’ asked Randolph Mansfield.
‘Confined to one part of the building, they say,’ said Auriole Allen. ‘The newspaper has got one of their photographers on his way there now.’
‘Which part?’ asked the architect urgently.
‘The back.’
‘That’s good.’ Randolph Mansfield heaved himself to his feet. ‘Well, I suppose I’d better be getting over there myself to see what’s what.’
‘I’ll come with you,’ said Derek Hitchin, although normally he avoided the other man’s company. ‘A fire might affect things – open up possibilities and all that. You never know.’
‘Just a minute, just a minute,’ said Robert Selby. ‘If we didn’t do it and we suppose that Calleshire Construction didn’t do it, then who did? This
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