Mightier Than the Sword Read Online Free Page A

concourse, Rafferty handed Martinez his passport, his ticket, and the two five-pound notes.
    “And the rest?” snarled Don Pedro. “Because your colleagues obviously failed to sink the Buckingham. ”
    “Consider yourself lucky to be alive,” said Rafferty, then turned quickly and disappeared into the crowd.
    For a moment, Don Pedro thought about going back to the taxi and retrieving his money, but only for a moment. Instead, he reluctantly headed toward the British Airways South American desk and handed his ticket to the woman seated behind the counter.
    “Good morning, Mr. Martinez,” she said. “I hope you’ve had a pleasant stay in England.”

 
    3
    “H OW DID YOU get that black eye, Dad?” demanded Sebastian, when he joined his family for breakfast in the grillroom of the Buckingham later that morning.
    “Your mother hit me when I dared to suggest she snored,” Harry replied.
    “I don’t snore,” said Emma, as she buttered another piece of toast.
    “How can you possibly know if you snore when you’re asleep?” said Harry.
    “And what about you, Uncle Giles? Did my mother break your arm when you also suggested she snored?” asked Seb.
    “I don’t snore!” repeated Emma.
    “Seb,” said Samantha firmly, “you should never ask anyone a question you know they won’t want to answer.”
    “Spoken like the daughter of a diplomat,” said Giles, smiling across the table at Seb’s girlfriend.
    “Spoken like a politician who doesn’t want to answer my question,” said Seb. “But I’m determined to find out—”
    “Good morning, this is your captain speaking,” announced a crackling voice over the tannoy. “We are currently sailing at twenty-two knots. The temperature is sixty-nine degrees Fahrenheit, and we’re not expecting any change in the weather during the next twenty-four hours. I hope you have a pleasant day, and be sure to take advantage of all the wonderful facilities the Buckingham has to offer, particularly the sun loungers and the swimming pool on the upper deck that are unique to this ship.” There was a long pause before he continued. “Some passengers have asked me about a loud noise that woke them in the middle of the night. It seems that at around three o’clock this morning, the Home Fleet were carrying out nighttime exercises in the Atlantic, and although they were several nautical miles away, on a clear night they would have sounded considerably closer. I do apologize to anyone who was woken by the sound of gunfire, but having served with the Royal Navy during the war I am aware that night exercises have to be carried out. However, I can assure passengers that at no time were we in any danger. Thank you, and enjoy the rest of the day.”
    It sounded to Sebastian as if the captain had been reading from a prepared script and, looking across the table at his mother, he wasn’t in any doubt who had written it. “I wish I was a member of the board,” he said.
    “Why?” asked Emma.
    “Because then,” he said, looking directly at her, “I might find out what really happened last night.”
    *   *   *
    The ten men remained standing until Emma had taken her place at the head of the table, an unfamiliar table, but then the ballroom of the MV Buckingham had not been built for emergency board meetings.
    When she looked around at her colleagues, none of them was smiling. Most of them had faced crises in their lives, but nothing on this scale. Even Admiral Summers’s lips were pursed. Emma opened the blue leather folder in front of her, a gift from Harry when she’d first been appointed chairman. It was he, she reflected, who had alerted her to the crisis, and then dealt with it.
    “There is no need to tell you that everything we discuss today must remain strictly confidential, because it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to suggest that the future of the Barrington shipping line, not to mention the safety of everyone on board, is at stake,” she said.
    Emma glanced