know that it takes a very special kind of woman to fully understand the stresses and pressures that go with high office.
‘In my view,’ Toni Davis continued, ‘the very best kind of successful political marriages are those where both partners are working together for a common goal and where both partners understand their roles and one another. For a man in high office it is vitally important that his wife is totally committed to his success and to him.’
‘Isn’t that a rather old-fashioned point of view?’ Liam checked her.
‘Old-fashioned it may be, but it works,’ Toni told him firmly.
‘So you believe that a politician should marry for expediency rather than for love?’ Liam challenged her.
‘Romantic love seldom lasts and can cause far too many problems. A successful politician doesn’t have time to waste on emotion,’ Toni told him calmly. ‘You’re a very sensible man, Liam, and an ambitious man, I know, so I’m sure you understand what I’m saying.’
Liam gave her a thoughtful look.
Oh, he understood what she was saying right enough. From the moment he had picked her up from the airport Toni had made it clear that it wasn’t just her professional expertise in public relations she was prepared to put at Liam’s disposal. She might not have come right out and said that she would like to be the Governor’s wife, but she had certainly made it plenty clear in a number of other ways.
Stephen Miller had told Liam privately that he had heard from a source in Washington that Toni had, for several years, been having an affair with a very high-ranking Congressman.
‘He was a lot older than her and his wife was terminally ill. Word is that she was prepared to sit it out and wait to become his second wife but that when, instead of asking her to marry him, he upped and married someone else she vowed that she would find a way of getting even with him.’
‘And did she...’
‘Well, he isn’t a Congressman anymore...’
‘Mmm...nice lady!’
‘She certainly knows what she wants,’ Stephen Miller had agreed.
As Liam watched her gravely whilst she warmed to her theme and started to list the many advantages to the kind of marriage she was proposing, he reflected that there was, in all honesty, something to be said for what she was suggesting and that she would most definitely make an admirable wife for an ambitious politician.
Unfortunately, there were two very good reasons why he didn’t feel able to take her up on her proposals.
‘Well, I take your point,’ he interrupted her firmly, ‘but I guess I’m the old-fashioned kind myself and I kinda think that I’d be cheating the voters just a little if I married purely to get their vote. I guess you could say it was a matter of pride. You see, I’d want to be loved for my self both by the voters and by my wife,’ he told her gently.
She was still staring at him with her face unfalteringly flushed and her mouth open several seconds later as he strolled towards the door and held it open for her.
A little later in the day he had occasion to call at the
Governor’s house to see Stephen Miller.
‘He’s in his study,’ Sarah Jane told Liam with a smile, asking him fondly, ‘How did your meeting go with Toni this morning? Stephen says that she’s absolutely determined that you’ll win the governorship.’
‘Well, right now I guess she isn’t feeling too pleased with me,’ Liam admitted.
When Sarah Jane waited, he elucidated, ‘I can’t marry just to secure the governorship. Toni’s insistence that the right kind of wife will secure it for me may be correct, but...’
As he spoke his glance lingered briefly on a photograph of Samantha on one of the tables in the hallway.
Following his gaze Sarah Jane smiled ruefully. In it Samantha was wearing her graduation gown and for once she looked almost a little awed and unfamiliarly subdued by the gravitas of the moment.
‘You know, Liam, there have been times when I worried that I
‘In my view,’ Toni Davis continued, ‘the very best kind of successful political marriages are those where both partners are working together for a common goal and where both partners understand their roles and one another. For a man in high office it is vitally important that his wife is totally committed to his success and to him.’
‘Isn’t that a rather old-fashioned point of view?’ Liam checked her.
‘Old-fashioned it may be, but it works,’ Toni told him firmly.
‘So you believe that a politician should marry for expediency rather than for love?’ Liam challenged her.
‘Romantic love seldom lasts and can cause far too many problems. A successful politician doesn’t have time to waste on emotion,’ Toni told him calmly. ‘You’re a very sensible man, Liam, and an ambitious man, I know, so I’m sure you understand what I’m saying.’
Liam gave her a thoughtful look.
Oh, he understood what she was saying right enough. From the moment he had picked her up from the airport Toni had made it clear that it wasn’t just her professional expertise in public relations she was prepared to put at Liam’s disposal. She might not have come right out and said that she would like to be the Governor’s wife, but she had certainly made it plenty clear in a number of other ways.
Stephen Miller had told Liam privately that he had heard from a source in Washington that Toni had, for several years, been having an affair with a very high-ranking Congressman.
‘He was a lot older than her and his wife was terminally ill. Word is that she was prepared to sit it out and wait to become his second wife but that when, instead of asking her to marry him, he upped and married someone else she vowed that she would find a way of getting even with him.’
‘And did she...’
‘Well, he isn’t a Congressman anymore...’
‘Mmm...nice lady!’
‘She certainly knows what she wants,’ Stephen Miller had agreed.
As Liam watched her gravely whilst she warmed to her theme and started to list the many advantages to the kind of marriage she was proposing, he reflected that there was, in all honesty, something to be said for what she was suggesting and that she would most definitely make an admirable wife for an ambitious politician.
Unfortunately, there were two very good reasons why he didn’t feel able to take her up on her proposals.
‘Well, I take your point,’ he interrupted her firmly, ‘but I guess I’m the old-fashioned kind myself and I kinda think that I’d be cheating the voters just a little if I married purely to get their vote. I guess you could say it was a matter of pride. You see, I’d want to be loved for my self both by the voters and by my wife,’ he told her gently.
She was still staring at him with her face unfalteringly flushed and her mouth open several seconds later as he strolled towards the door and held it open for her.
A little later in the day he had occasion to call at the
Governor’s house to see Stephen Miller.
‘He’s in his study,’ Sarah Jane told Liam with a smile, asking him fondly, ‘How did your meeting go with Toni this morning? Stephen says that she’s absolutely determined that you’ll win the governorship.’
‘Well, right now I guess she isn’t feeling too pleased with me,’ Liam admitted.
When Sarah Jane waited, he elucidated, ‘I can’t marry just to secure the governorship. Toni’s insistence that the right kind of wife will secure it for me may be correct, but...’
As he spoke his glance lingered briefly on a photograph of Samantha on one of the tables in the hallway.
Following his gaze Sarah Jane smiled ruefully. In it Samantha was wearing her graduation gown and for once she looked almost a little awed and unfamiliarly subdued by the gravitas of the moment.
‘You know, Liam, there have been times when I worried that I
Similar Books
