bill I'm proposing in Parliament, which would oblige banks to take out insurance for the benefit of small depositors.'
'I know of it,' the governor said.
Dan went on: 'Some critics say it would encourage bankruptcy by making it less painful. But that's nonsense. No banker would want to fail, under any circumstances.'
'Indeed not.'
'When a banker is making a deal he does not think that he may make a widow in Bournemouth penniless by his rashness--he worries about his own wealth. Similarly, making illegitimate children suffer does nothing to discourage unscrupulous men from seducing servant girls.'
'I do see your point,' the governor said with a pained expression. 'A most ... ah ... original parallel.'
Maisie decided they had tormented him enough, and turned away, letting him concentrate on his grouse.
Dan said to her: 'Have you ever noticed how peerages always go to the wrong people? Look at Hugh and his cousin Edward. Hugh is honest, talented and hardworking, where Edward is foolish, lazy and worthless--yet Edward is the earl of Whitehaven and Hugh is just plain Mr. Pilaster.'
Maisie was trying not to look at Hugh. Although she was glad to have been invited, she found it painful to see him in the bosom of his family. His wife, his sons, his mother and his sister made a closed family circle that left her outside. She knew his marriage to Nora was unhappy: it was obvious from the way they spoke to one another, never touching, never smiling, never affectionate. But that was no consolation. They were a family and she would never be part of it.
She wished she had not come to the wedding.
A footman came to Hugh's side and said quietly: 'There's a telephone call for you from the bank, sir.'
'I can't speak now,' Hugh said.
A few minutes later his butler came out. 'Mr. Mulberry from the bank is on the telephone, sir, asking for you.'
'I can't speak now!' Hugh said irritably.
'Very good, sir.' The butler turned away.
'No, wait a minute,' Hugh said. Mulberry knew Hugh would be in the middle of the wedding breakfast. He was an intelligent and responsible man. He would not insist on speaking to Hugh unless something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Hugh felt a chill of fear.
'I'd better speak to him,' he said. He stood up, saying: 'Please excuse me, Mother, Your Grace--something I have to attend to.'
He hurried out of the tent, across the lawn and into the house. The telephone was in his library. He picked up the instrument and said: 'Hugh Pilaster speaking.'
He heard the voice of his clerk. 'It's Mulberry, sir. I'm sorry to--'
'What's happened?'
'A telegram from New York. War has broken out in Cordova.'
'Oh, no!' It was catastrophic news for Hugh, his family and the bank. Nothing could be worse.
'Civil war, in fact,' Mulberry went on. 'A rebellion. The Miranda family has attacked the capital city, Palma.'
Hugh's heart was racing. 'Any indication of how strong they are?' If the rebellion could be crushed quickly there was still hope.
'President Garcia has fled.'
'The devil he has.' That meant it was serious. He cursed Micky and Edward bitterly. 'Anything else?'
'There's another cable from our Cordova office, but it's still being decoded.'
'Telephone to me again as soon as it's ready.'
'Very good, sir.'
Hugh cranked the machine, got the operator, and gave the name of the stockbroker used by the bank. He waited while the man was called to the telephone. 'Danby, this is Hugh Pilaster. What's happening to Cordovan bonds?'
'We're offering them at half par and getting no takers.'
Half price, Hugh thought. Pilasters was already bankrupt. Despair filled his heart. 'What will they fall to?'
'They'll go to zero, I should think. No one pays interest on government bonds in the middle of a civil war.'
Zero. Pilasters had just lost two and a half million pounds. There was no hope now of gradually returning the balance sheet to strength. Clutching at straws, Hugh said: 'Suppose the rebels are wiped out in the next few hours--what then?'
'I shouldn't think anyone will buy the bonds even then,' said Danby. 'Investors will wait and see. At the very best it will take five or six weeks before confidence begins to return.'
'I see.' Hugh knew Danby was right. The broker was only confirming Hugh's own instincts.
'I say, Pilaster, your bank will be all right, won't it?' Danby said worriedly. 'You must have quite a lot of these bonds. It was noised about that you hardly sold any of the Santamaria harbor issue.'
Hugh hesitated. He hated to tell lies. But the truth would destroy the bank. 'We've got more Cordovan bonds than I'd like, Danby. But we've got a lot of other assets as well.'
'Good.'
'I must get back to my guests.' Hugh had no intention of going back to his guests, but he wanted to give an impression of calm. 'I'm giving lunch to three hundred people--my sister got married this morning.'
'So I heard. Congratulations.'
'Good-bye.'
Before he could ask for another number, Mulberry called again. 'Mr. Cunliffe from the Colonial Bank is here, sir,' he said, and Hugh could hear the panic in his voice. 'He is asking for repayment of the loan.'
'Damn him,' Hugh said fervently. The Colonial had lent Pilasters a million pounds to tide them over the crisis, but the money was repayable on demand. Cunliffe had heard the news and seen the sudden slump in Cordova bonds, and he knew Pilasters must be in trouble. Naturally he wanted to get his money out before the bank went bust.
And he was only the first. Others would be close behind. Tomorrow morning depositors would be queuing outside the doors, wanting cash. And Hugh would not be able to pay them.
'Have we got a million pounds, Mulberry?'
'No, sir.'
The weight of the world descended on Hugh's shoulders, and he felt old. This was the end. It was the banker's nightmare: people came for their money, and the bank did not have it. And it was happening to Hugh.
