more than that. It was a capacity for bending human beings to a larger purpose. If there had been another war, Quarry would have made a perfect ADC to a field marshal – a position that had, in fact, been held in the British Army by both his great- and great-great-grandfathers – ensuring that orders were carried out, soothing hurt feelings, firing subordinates with such tact they came away believing it was their idea to leave, requisitioning the best local chateaux for temporary staff headquarters and, at the end of a sixteen-hour day, bringing together jealous rivals over a dinner for which he himself would have selected the most appropriate wines. He had a first in politics, philosophy and economics from Oxford, an ex-wife and three children safely stowed in a gloomy Lutyens mansion in a drizzled fold of Surrey, and a ski chalet in Chamonix where he went in winter with whoever happened to be his girlfriend that weekend: an interchangeable sequence of clever, beautiful, undernourished females who were always discarded before there was any sign of gynaecologists or lawyers. Gabrielle couldn’t stand him.
Nevertheless, the crisis made them temporary allies. While Hoffmann was having his wound stitched up, Quarry fetched a cup of sweet milky coffee for her from the machine along the corridor. He sat with her in the tiny waiting room, with its hard wooden chairs and its galaxy of plastic stars gleaming from the ceiling. He held her hand and squeezed it at appropriate moments. He listened to her account of what had happened. When she recited Hoffmann’s subsequent oddities of behaviour, he reassured her that all would be well: ‘Let’s face it, Gabs, he’s never been exactly normal , has he, even at the best of times? We’ll get this sorted out, don’t worry. Just give me ten minutes.’
He called his assistant and told her he would need a chauffeured car at the hospital immediately. He woke the company’s security consultant, Maurice Genoud, and brusquely ordered him to attend an emergency meeting at the office within the hour, and to send someone over to the Hoffmanns’ house. Finally he managed to get himself put through to Inspector Leclerc and persuaded him to agree that Dr Hoffmann would not be required to attend police headquarters to make a statement immediately he left hospital: Leclerc accepted that he had already taken sufficiently detailed notes to form a continuous narrative, which Hoffmann could amend where necessary and sign later in the day.
Throughout all this, Gabrielle watched Quarry with reluctant admiration. He was so much the opposite of Alex – good-looking and he knew it. His affected southern English manners also got on her Presbyterian northern nerves. Sometimes she wondered if he might be gay, and all his thoroughbred girls more for show than action.
‘Hugo,’ she said very seriously, when he finally got off the phone, ‘I want you to do me a favour. I want you to order him not to go into the office today.’
Quarry took her hand again. ‘Darling, if I thought my telling him would do any good, I would. But as you know, at least as well as I, once he gets set on doing a thing, he invariably does it.’
‘And is it really so important, what he has to do today?’
‘It is, quite.’ Quarry twisted his wrist very slightly, so that he could read the time on his watch without letting go of her hand. ‘I mean, nothing that can’t be put off if his health really is at stake, obviously. But if I’m honest with you, it would definitely be better to go ahead than not. People have come a long way to see him.’
She pulled her hand away. ‘You want to be careful you don’t kill your golden goose,’ she said bitterly. ‘That definitely would be bad for business.’
‘Don’t think I don’t know it,’ said Quarry pleasantly. His smile crinkled the skin around his deep blue eyes; his lashes, like his hair, were sandy. ‘Listen, if I start to think for one moment that he’s
Nevertheless, the crisis made them temporary allies. While Hoffmann was having his wound stitched up, Quarry fetched a cup of sweet milky coffee for her from the machine along the corridor. He sat with her in the tiny waiting room, with its hard wooden chairs and its galaxy of plastic stars gleaming from the ceiling. He held her hand and squeezed it at appropriate moments. He listened to her account of what had happened. When she recited Hoffmann’s subsequent oddities of behaviour, he reassured her that all would be well: ‘Let’s face it, Gabs, he’s never been exactly normal , has he, even at the best of times? We’ll get this sorted out, don’t worry. Just give me ten minutes.’
He called his assistant and told her he would need a chauffeured car at the hospital immediately. He woke the company’s security consultant, Maurice Genoud, and brusquely ordered him to attend an emergency meeting at the office within the hour, and to send someone over to the Hoffmanns’ house. Finally he managed to get himself put through to Inspector Leclerc and persuaded him to agree that Dr Hoffmann would not be required to attend police headquarters to make a statement immediately he left hospital: Leclerc accepted that he had already taken sufficiently detailed notes to form a continuous narrative, which Hoffmann could amend where necessary and sign later in the day.
Throughout all this, Gabrielle watched Quarry with reluctant admiration. He was so much the opposite of Alex – good-looking and he knew it. His affected southern English manners also got on her Presbyterian northern nerves. Sometimes she wondered if he might be gay, and all his thoroughbred girls more for show than action.
‘Hugo,’ she said very seriously, when he finally got off the phone, ‘I want you to do me a favour. I want you to order him not to go into the office today.’
Quarry took her hand again. ‘Darling, if I thought my telling him would do any good, I would. But as you know, at least as well as I, once he gets set on doing a thing, he invariably does it.’
‘And is it really so important, what he has to do today?’
‘It is, quite.’ Quarry twisted his wrist very slightly, so that he could read the time on his watch without letting go of her hand. ‘I mean, nothing that can’t be put off if his health really is at stake, obviously. But if I’m honest with you, it would definitely be better to go ahead than not. People have come a long way to see him.’
She pulled her hand away. ‘You want to be careful you don’t kill your golden goose,’ she said bitterly. ‘That definitely would be bad for business.’
‘Don’t think I don’t know it,’ said Quarry pleasantly. His smile crinkled the skin around his deep blue eyes; his lashes, like his hair, were sandy. ‘Listen, if I start to think for one moment that he’s
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