An Ancient Strife by Michael Phillips

Author:Michael Phillips [Phillips, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC042030, FIC042000, FIC026000
ISBN: 9781441229588
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2016-01-28T16:00:00+00:00

Nine

Even as he was driving home from Paddy’s that evening, Andrew realized that he needed to go farther north than just Derwenthwaite. He had to go back to Scotland for more reasons than to investigate the laird’s Shetland property. He could not let much more time go by without making another attempt to explain and apologize to Ginny and her family. Already two letters of his had been returned unopened. He felt he had no choice but to go in person and try to resolve the issue.

Meanwhile, on the evening of his arrival back in Cumbria, while he and his parents lingered over a late tea, Andrew asked his mother about her former Tory colleagues.

“Yes,” said Lady Trentham, “now that you mention it . . . remember odd rumors from time to time.”

“About what?” asked Andrew.

“Nothing substantiated . . . connections to left-wing organizations.”

“What kind of organizations?”

“You know the kind,” she answered, and in the lift of her chin he caught a glimpse of the old fire that had made her such an effective politician. “—anti-union . . . split up the UK . . . four separate states . . . all a bunch of nonsense, you know.”

Andrew took in the information with interest. His mother’s words reminded him uncannily of Paddy’s brainstorms of a few days earlier.

“No one believed it,” Lady Trentham went on. “Miles and I and all the rest of us . . . we were on the right . . . we were Maggie Thatcher’s Tory base. But rumors . . . were persistent.”

“And Robert Burslem?”

“Never knew him well . . . just arriving on the scene as I was leaving.”

“And Hamilton’s connections with the Tories?”

“Nothing out of the ordinary . . .”

Andrew’s mother paused.

“Now that you mention it,” she went on slowly in a more reflective tone, “recall an occasion . . . Miles disappeared . . . some secretive trip . . . people said Australia or New Zealand. When he came back . . . more rumors . . . he and Hamilton on junket together. Afterward he pushed through a bill . . . seemed odd at the time.”

“Did it have to do with oil?”

“Can’t remember now . . . may have. . . . vaguely familiar. Remember overhearing someone ask Miles about Hamilton. He snapped . . . out of character, I thought.”

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