heard the faltering tone in her own voice, and hated herself for it. He
brushed her aside contemptuously.
Be quiet, you silly little woman, and listen to me. I am going to tell
you just how deeply you are in - I am going to explain to you, in terms
that even you can understand, why you will not send in your auditors,
why you will not fire me, and why you will do exactly what I tell you to
do. He paused and stared into her eyes, a direct trial of strength
which she could not meet. She was confused and uncertain, for once not
in control of her own destiny. She dropped her eyes, and he nodded with
satisfaction.
Very well. Now listen. I have put it all - everything that is Christy
Marine - it is all riding on Golden Dawn. Chantelle felt the earth turn
giddily under her feet and the sudden roaring rush of blood in her ears.
She stepped back and the stone parapet caught the back of her knees.
She sat down heavily.
What are you talking about? she whispered. And he told her, in
substantial detail, from the beginning, how it had worked out. From the
laying of Golden Dawn's keel in the times of vast tanker tonnage demand.
My calculations were based on demand for tanker space two years ago, and
on construction costs of that time. The energy crisis and collapse in
demand for tankers had come with the vicious rise in inflation, bloating
the costs of construction of Golden Dawn by more than double.
Duncan had countered by altering the design of the gigantic tanker. He
had reduced the four propulsion units to one, he had cut down the steel
structuring of the hull reinforcement by twenty percent, he had done
away with elaborate safety functions and fail-safe systems designed by
Nicholas Berg, and he had cut it too fine. He had forfeited the Al
Lloyd's rating, the mark of approval from the inspectors of that
venerable body; without the insurance backing of that huge underwriting
market, he had been forced to look elsewhere to find the cover to
satisfy his financiers. The premiums had been crippling. He had to
pledge Christy Marine stock, the Trust stock.
Then the spiralling cost of production had overtaken him again and he
needed money and more money, He had taken it where he could find it, at
rates of interest that were demanded, and used more Christy stock as
collateral.
Then the insurance cover had been insufficient to cover the huge
increase in the cost of the ultra-tanker's hull.
When luck runs out - Duncan shrugged eloquently, and went on, I had to
pledge more Christy stock, all of it.
It's all at risk, Chantelle, every single piece of paper, even the
shares we retrieved from your Nicholas - and even that wasn't enough.
I have had to write cover through front companies, cover that is
worthless. Then, Duncan smiled again, relaxed and unruffled, almost as
though he was enjoying himself, then, there was that awful fiasco when
Golden Adventurer went up on the ice, and I had to find six million
dollars to pay the salvage award. That was the last of it, I went out
for everything then, all of it. The Trust, the whole of Christy Marine.
I'll break you/ she whispered. I'll smash you. I swear before God -
You don't understand, do you? He shook his head sorrowfully, as though
