believed she had solved the problem when she turned off the furnaces. She left work. An hour later, the entire group of buildings was almost wholly in flames. The conflagration, even though citizens of London fought it valiantly, consumed almost all of the old Palace of Westminster.
The new Parliament was spectacular. It contained three miles of corridors, more than a thousand rooms, and more than a hundred staircases. As he walked into the Members’ Entrance to go to work, all of this rich history crossed Lenox’s mind. He was a part of it now, too. Slowly but surely a serious burden, an intimidating sort of expectation, had settled on his shoulders.
It made him wonder: What if this position for which he had so long yearned and which he had won at so high a cost was in fact wrong for him? A bad fit? It nearly broke his heart to think so. His brother and his father, both his grandfathers, had served long, distinguished years in the Houses of Parliament. It would be almost unbearable if he were the one to let them down.
Still, still—he couldn’t stop thinking about Ludo Starling’s strange behavior, about the notes slipped under the door for Frederick Clarke, and about whether he had already discovered a truer vocation than politics could ever be.
Graham was sitting at an upwardly sloped clerk’s desk in their cramped office, but stood when Lenox entered.
“Good afternoon, sir.”
“Hello, Graham.”
“If I may be so bold as to ask, sir—”
“You know what, I don’t think clerks here are quite so deferential as butlers,” said Lenox, smiling. “You can speak less formally if you like.”
“As you please, sir.”
Lenox laughed. “That’s a poor start. But what were you going to ask?”
“Has Dr. McConnell’s child been born?”
“Oh, that! Yes, it’s a girl, and you’ll be pleased to hear she’s quite healthy. They’re calling her George.”
Graham frowned. “Indeed, sir?”
“You find it eccentric? Her name is Grace, really—George is more of a nickname, if that improves it.”
“It would hardly be my place, sir—”
“As I said, I think these young political chaps are extremely brusque with their employers. Get used to treating me like a sheep to herd from appointment to appointment. And on that subject, I believe we have to discuss your pay. Your current salary is…is it a hundred pounds a year?”
Graham tilted his chin forward very slightly in assent.
“We must bump you up. Let me ask my brother what he thinks would be a suitable wage.”
“Thank you, sir, but as you will recall these weeks were intended to be the probationary period of our new arrangement, and it seems premature to—”
“I think it’s working out wonderfully. Probation lifted.”
Graham sighed the mournful sigh of a man afflicted with a frivolous interlocutor just when he most wants serious conversation. “Yes, sir.”
“What’s on today?”
“You have lunch with various Members from Durham, to discuss your regional interests.”
“I’m going as the man from Stirrington, then?” This was Lenox’s constituency, which was quite near the cathedral city of Durham. It was the rather unorthodox way of the English system that a man standing for Parliament did not need to have any prior affiliation with or residency in the place he hoped to represent.
“Precisely, sir.”
“Who are the other fellows?”
“The only one whose name you will know is Mr. Fripp, sir, who has made a great deal of noise on the other side of the aisle on behalf of the navy. Otherwise they are a range of backbenchers with primarily parochial interests. Here is a dossier.”
Lenox took the sheet of paper. “What am I supposed to get out of this luncheon?”
“Sir?”
“Do I have any aim, or is it merely an amicable gathering?”
“From what I gather from the other Members’ secretaries, it has in years past been primarily a friendly occasion, always held just now, before the new session
The new Parliament was spectacular. It contained three miles of corridors, more than a thousand rooms, and more than a hundred staircases. As he walked into the Members’ Entrance to go to work, all of this rich history crossed Lenox’s mind. He was a part of it now, too. Slowly but surely a serious burden, an intimidating sort of expectation, had settled on his shoulders.
It made him wonder: What if this position for which he had so long yearned and which he had won at so high a cost was in fact wrong for him? A bad fit? It nearly broke his heart to think so. His brother and his father, both his grandfathers, had served long, distinguished years in the Houses of Parliament. It would be almost unbearable if he were the one to let them down.
Still, still—he couldn’t stop thinking about Ludo Starling’s strange behavior, about the notes slipped under the door for Frederick Clarke, and about whether he had already discovered a truer vocation than politics could ever be.
Graham was sitting at an upwardly sloped clerk’s desk in their cramped office, but stood when Lenox entered.
“Good afternoon, sir.”
“Hello, Graham.”
“If I may be so bold as to ask, sir—”
“You know what, I don’t think clerks here are quite so deferential as butlers,” said Lenox, smiling. “You can speak less formally if you like.”
“As you please, sir.”
Lenox laughed. “That’s a poor start. But what were you going to ask?”
“Has Dr. McConnell’s child been born?”
“Oh, that! Yes, it’s a girl, and you’ll be pleased to hear she’s quite healthy. They’re calling her George.”
Graham frowned. “Indeed, sir?”
“You find it eccentric? Her name is Grace, really—George is more of a nickname, if that improves it.”
“It would hardly be my place, sir—”
“As I said, I think these young political chaps are extremely brusque with their employers. Get used to treating me like a sheep to herd from appointment to appointment. And on that subject, I believe we have to discuss your pay. Your current salary is…is it a hundred pounds a year?”
Graham tilted his chin forward very slightly in assent.
“We must bump you up. Let me ask my brother what he thinks would be a suitable wage.”
“Thank you, sir, but as you will recall these weeks were intended to be the probationary period of our new arrangement, and it seems premature to—”
“I think it’s working out wonderfully. Probation lifted.”
Graham sighed the mournful sigh of a man afflicted with a frivolous interlocutor just when he most wants serious conversation. “Yes, sir.”
“What’s on today?”
“You have lunch with various Members from Durham, to discuss your regional interests.”
“I’m going as the man from Stirrington, then?” This was Lenox’s constituency, which was quite near the cathedral city of Durham. It was the rather unorthodox way of the English system that a man standing for Parliament did not need to have any prior affiliation with or residency in the place he hoped to represent.
“Precisely, sir.”
“Who are the other fellows?”
“The only one whose name you will know is Mr. Fripp, sir, who has made a great deal of noise on the other side of the aisle on behalf of the navy. Otherwise they are a range of backbenchers with primarily parochial interests. Here is a dossier.”
Lenox took the sheet of paper. “What am I supposed to get out of this luncheon?”
“Sir?”
“Do I have any aim, or is it merely an amicable gathering?”
“From what I gather from the other Members’ secretaries, it has in years past been primarily a friendly occasion, always held just now, before the new session
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