Augusta was not going to let him off that easily. She said: 'I'll thank you not to tell me what I may and may not discuss in my own house, young Hugh.'
'If you insist.' He collected his thoughts rapidly. 'There's nothing obvious about the decision, although you, dear Aunt, clearly don't understand the subtleties of the question, perhaps because you have never worked at the bank, or indeed worked at all--'
'How dare you--'
He raised his voice and overrode her. 'The oldest surviving partner is Uncle Samuel,' he said. He realized he was sounding too aggressive and he softened his voice again. 'I'm sure we would all agree that he would be a wise choice, mature and experienced and highly acceptable to the financial community.'
Uncle Samuel inclined his head in acknowledgment of the compliment but did not say anything.
Nobody contradicted Hugh--but nobody supported him either. He supposed they did not want to antagonize Augusta: the cowards preferred that he do it on their behalf, he thought cynically.
So be it. He went on: 'However, Uncle Samuel has declined the honor once before. If he should do so again, the eldest Pilaster would be Young William, who is also widely respected in the City.'
Augusta said impatiently: 'It is not the City that has to make the choice--it is the Pilaster family.'
'The Pilaster partners, to be exact,' Hugh corrected her. 'But just as the partners need the confidence of the rest of the family, so the bank needs to be trusted by the wider financial community. If we lose that trust we are finished.'
Augusta seemed to be getting angry. 'We have the right to choose whom we like!'
Hugh shook his head vigorously. Nothing annoyed him more than this kind of irresponsible talk. 'We have no rights, only duties,' he said emphatically. 'We're entrusted with millions of pounds of other people's money. We can't do what we like: we have to do what we must.'
Augusta tried another tack. 'Edward is the son and heir.'
'It's not a hereditary title!' Hugh said indignantly. 'It goes to the most able.'
It was Augusta's turn to be indignant. 'Edward is as good as anyone!'
Hugh looked around the table, dramatically holding the gaze of each man for a moment before moving on. 'Is there anyone here who will put his hand on his heart and say that Edward is the most able banker among us?'
No one spoke for a long minute.
Augusta said: 'Edward's South American bonds have made a fortune for the bank.'
Hugh nodded. 'It's true that we have sold many millions of pounds' worth of South American bonds in the last ten years, and Edward has handled all that business. But it's dangerous money. People bought the bonds because they trust Pilasters. If one of those governments should default on interest payments, the price of all South American bonds will go through the floor--and Pilasters will be blamed. Because of Edward's success in selling South American bonds our reputation, which is our most precious asset, is now in the hands of a set of brutish despots and generals who can't read.' Hugh found himself becoming emotional as he said this. He had helped to build up the reputation of the bank by his own brains and hard work, and it made him angry that Augusta was willing to jeopardize it.
'You sell North American bonds,' Augusta said. 'There's always a risk. That's what banking is about.' She spoke triumphantly, as if she had caught him out.
'The United States of America has a modern democratic government, vast natural wealth and no enemies. Now that they've abolished slavery, there's no reason why the country shouldn't be stable for a hundred years. By contrast, South America is a collection of warring dictatorships that may not be the same for the next ten days. There is a risk in both cases, but in the north it's much smaller. Banking is about calculating risk.'
'You're just envious of Edward--you always were,' she said.
Hugh wondered why the other partners were so silent. As soon as he asked himself the question, he realized that Augusta must have spoken to them beforehand. But surely she could not have persuaded them to accept Edward as Senior Partner? He began to feel seriously worried.
'What has she said to you?' he said abruptly. He looked at each of them in turn. 'William? George? Harry? Come on, out with it. You've discussed this earlier and Augusta has nobbled you.'
They all looked a little foolish. Finally William said; 'Nobody has been nobbled, Hugh. But Augusta and Edward have made it clear that unless Edward becomes Senior Partner, they ...' He seemed embarrassed.
'Out with it,' Hugh said.
'They will withdraw their capital from the business.'
'What?' Hugh was stunned. Withdrawing your capital was a cardinal sin in this family: his own father had done it and had never been forgiven. That Augusta should be willing even to threaten such a step was astonishing--and showed that she was deadly serious.
Between them, she and Edward controlled about forty percent of the bank's capital, over two million pounds. If they withdrew the money at the end of the financial year, as they were legally entitled to do, the bank would be crippled.
It was startling that Augusta should make such a threat--and even worse that the partners were ready to give in to her. 'You're surrendering all authority to her!' he said. 'If you let her get away with it this time she'll do it again. Anytime she wants something she can just threaten to withdraw her capital and you'll cave in. You might as well make her Senior Partner.'
Edward blustered: 'Don't you dare speak of my mother like that--mind your manners!'
'Manners be damned,' Hugh said rudely. He knew he was doing his cause no good by losing his temper, but he was too angry to stop. 'You're about to ruin a great bank. Augusta's blind, Edward is stupid and the rest of you are too cowardly to stop them.' He pushed back his chair and stood up, throwing his napkin down on the table like a challenge. 'Well, here's one person who won't be bullied.'
He stopped and took a breath, realizing he was about to say something that would change the course of the rest of his life. Around the table they all stared at him. He had no alternative. 'I resign,' he said.
As he turned from the table he caught Augusta's eye, and saw on her face a victorious smile.
Uncle Samuel came to see him that evening.
Samuel was an old man now, but no less vain than he had been twenty years ago. He still lived with Stephen Caine, his 'secretary.' Hugh was the only Pilaster who ever went to their home, which was a house in raffish Chelsea, decorated in the fashionable aesthetic style and full of cats. Once, when they were halfway down a bottle of port, Stephen had said he was the only Pilaster wife who was not a harridan.
When Samuel called, Hugh was in his library, where he generally retired after dinner. He had a book on his knee but had not been reading it. Instead he had been staring into the fire, thinking about the future. He had plenty of money, enough to live comfortably for the rest of his life without working, but he would never be Senior Partner now.
