“Deal?”

“You’re not going to get anything out of it, Bella. All I can do is confirm Paul’s story. He’s telling the truth. You know that, don’t you?”

“No, I don’t.”

“You think he’s lying?”

“I think he may be.”

“The police will find out if he is.”

“But they won’t forewarn me, will they, if the truth turns out to be even more scandalous than the lie? Whereas you will.”

So that was to be my role. Bella’s scout into uncharted territory. But she wasn’t telling me all she knew. That was certain. And it was just as certain she never would. If I wanted to discover what it was, I’d have to go in search of it myself. Which was precisely what Bella wanted me to do. She’d dangled the carrot in front of me. And now she was showing me the stick. I should have been warier than I felt. I should have haggled for more information. But I doubt I’d have got it. And in the end it would have made no difference. I was curious now as well as suspicious. And curiosity always wins.

“Deal?” Bella repeated.

Nothing ever does turn out quite as you expect. I’d thought Bella was handing me victory on a plate. Actually, she was only giving me her vote, which amounted to the same thing in my mind but fell crucially short of it in reality. Adrian’s response to a challenge was the element I’d omitted from my calculations. He’d underestimated me often enough before. Now I underestimated him. I realized he’d guess something was up as soon as Bella notified him she was withdrawing her proxy and attending the meeting to vote in person. But I assumed he’d be powerless to do anything about it even if he deduced what Bella’s change of plan signified. And there I was wrong.

I phoned Uncle Larry that night to tell him I’d won Bella over to our side. He was as delighted as he was surprised. But by the following morning, when we all assembled in the boardroom, his mood seemed to have altered. He was still visibly pleased at the turn of events, but there was a sheepishness about his manner when I took him aside beforehand that puzzled me. I hadn’t had a chance to find out what lay behind it, however, before Simon sidled over and asked why we thought Bella had put in an appearance. She was looking unwontedly serious in a black suit and purple blouse, to Simon’s evident dismay. And she contrived, in mid-conversation with Jennifer, to glance across and catch my eye as I muttered a non-committal answer. Fortunately, before I could be backed into a lie, Adrian called us to order.

“You’ve all received details of the Bushranger bid,” he began, when we’d settled round the table. “Jenny’s worked very hard securing as many safeguards for us as possible and I’d like to pay particular tribute to her efforts. I’m sure we’re all very grateful to her.” There were murmurs of assent. Jennifer smiled in acknowledgement. “The offer document before you is now in its final and definitive form. The lawyers have been through it thoroughly and I take it there are no outstanding questions about its terms.” A mutual nodding of heads. “Very well. Before I put the offer to the vote, there’s only one other thing I wish to say.” He paused and glanced down the table at me, then went on. “If this board decides to reject the Bushranger offer, I shall resign, both as chairman and managing director.”

Jennifer and Simon turned and stared at him in astonishment. The meeting wasn’t going as they’d expected. “We aren’t going to reject it, Ade,” Simon put in with cheerful bafflement. “I should save your ultimatum for another day.” But when he looked round at the rest of us and saw only shifty unsmiling faces, his tone altered. “Well, we aren’t going to, are we?”

“That depends, doesn’t it?” said Adrian, “on why Bella’s joined us today.”

“Turned up for the books, certainly,” said Simon, still hoping he’d misunderstood. “Though always a pleasant one.” He treated Bella to a leery grin, which she conspicuously ignored.

“Why are you here, Bella?” Jennifer asked pointedly.

“To vote, of course. Like the rest of you. I do have a substantial stake in this company, even if I don’t work in it.”

“To vote which way?” enquired Adrian, looking her squarely in the face.

“Against acceptance,” she coolly replied.

“Bloody hell,” said Simon in surprise.

“Why?” asked Jennifer, rounding on her. “After clearly indicating your approval for so long.”

“I’ve changed my mind.”

“Or had it changed,” suggested Adrian.

“You can put it that way if you like. The fact is that Robin’s persuaded me we’ll do better in the long run as an independent company.”

“The long run?” Simon gaped at her. “What about the short run? The quick bucks? The two and a half million quid?”

“Money isn’t everything.”

“I can’t believe you just said that. It’s like the Archbishop of Canterbury announcing he’s turned atheist.” Bella arched her neck and looked down her nose at him. She didn’t seem to be amused. “What about the losses we’ve been making?”

“We’ll have to ride them out.”

“But we’ll go bust.”

“Not in my opinion,” I intervened, trying to sound as reasonable as possible. “By divesting ourselves of Viburna straightaway and concentrating on our traditional-”

“Let me get this straight,” Jennifer interjected. “You three”-she glanced at Bella, Uncle Larry and me-“mean to vote against the offer?”

“Yes,” I said. At which Uncle Larry nodded and Bella straightened her neck in a graceful gesture of assent.

“Then the sale can’t proceed. The motion’s lost.”

“The motion’s not yet been put,” said Adrian. At once, the absence of panic in his voice sounded a worrying note in my mind. “As I’ve indicated, I’d have to resign if the offer was rejected out of hand. In view of the concerns that have been expressed, however, I’m willing to suggest a compromise. It would appear the bid as it stands is unacceptable to three members of the board. I’m therefore prepared to seek an improvement of the terms. More money up front, perhaps. More guarantees for the workforce. Whatever I can squeeze out of Bushranger.”

“That’ll be sod all,” said Simon. “You’ve got nothing to negotiate with.”

“I’m willing to try.”

He was playing for time. I knew as well as he did that Harvey McGraw wouldn’t give another inch. But if Adrian could persuade us to postpone a final decision, he might hope to lure Bella back to his side of the argument before the extension expired. No doubt he thought he could top my offer if he could only find out what she wanted. Which would have been sound reasoning, but for circumstances he had no inkling of. I almost admired his acumen. But I had no intention of allowing admiration to stand in my way. “The terms aren’t the problem,” I said calmly. “No offer from Bushranger is acceptable to me.”

“What about you, Uncle?” asked Adrian, smiling indulgently.

“Well, I…”

“I’m just asking for a little time.”

“Yes, but-”

“If I can’t get anywhere with Bushranger or if such improvements as I obtain aren’t sufficient to sway you, I’ll accept your decision as final.”

Uncle Larry stared fixedly at the papers in front of him and pursed his lips. “Well, that would avoid a… regrettable split… wouldn’t it?” He looked round at me, pleading for my agreement. “No sense forcing Adrian to resign, is there? Not when we can all… emerge from this with dignity.” He’d been nobbled. I could tell as much from his crumpled frown and his refusal to meet my gaze. Adrian had got to him before the meeting and forced him to choose between a family rift and a fallacious compromise. Fallacious because Adrian intended to use whatever breathing space he was granted to negotiate with Bella, not Harvey McGraw. And because his threat to resign would never have been carried out. With a wife, four children, two dogs and a mortgage to support, he couldn’t afford to pick up his ball and go home.