‘Anything more, gentlemen?’ he asked.
‘No thank you, Franco,’ said James.
‘Why does Franco want the passengers to think he’s from Italy?’ asked William once the waiter had left them.
‘He once told me you get better tips if the passengers think you’re Italian.’
‘I didn’t realize you were meant to tip the staff,’ said William, feeling slightly embarrassed.
‘Not until we dock in New York,’ James reassured him. ‘Small brown envelopes will be left in your cabin for your maid and your waiter. One hundred dollars each is the going rate, unless you feel they’ve done a particularly good job.’
‘You adore your grandfather, don’t you?’ said William, not letting him off the hook.
‘Unashamedly. He’s the reason I’m confident I’ll be offered a place at Harvard.’
‘Because of his money and connections?’
‘No, I don’t need those. Something far more important. I’ve inherited his energy and competitive spirit, although I lack his entrepreneurial genius.’
‘I suspect he still hopes you’ll become chairman of the company one day, by which time it will need a safe pair of hands to replace his entrepreneurial genius.’
‘That’s never going to happen. My father may well succeed him, but not me.’
‘How does your uncle Hamish feel about that?’
‘Still thinks he’s in with a chance of becoming chairman, otherwise he wouldn’t be hanging around, humiliating himself and his wife by joining us on this voyage.’
‘That bad?’
‘Worse. I think he’d do anything to stop my father becoming chairman. And if he wouldn’t, Aunt Sara certainly would.’
‘But by replacing him with your father as deputy chairman, your grandfather couldn’t have made his position any clearer.’
‘True, but don’t forget, Uncle Hamish is still on the main board, and nobody can be sure which way Great-Aunt Flora will jump when the time comes to appoint the next chairman; she may well have the casting vote. Not that the word retirement is one I’ve ever heard cross Grandfather’s lips.’
‘How do you know so much about what’s going on when you’re just a …’
‘School kid? That’s something else I’ve turned to my advantage. When I was growing up, my parents didn’t realize I was listening to every word they said at the breakfast table. But they’ve all become a lot more cautious recently, especially Uncle Hamish, so I’m going to have to be far more cunning in the future. That’s where you come in.’
William was once again taken by surprise, but he didn’t have to ask James what he had in mind.
‘I’ll tell you everything I know about my family, if you’ll show me how to take advantage of it. With your knowledge and experience, I may be able to stay a yard ahead of Uncle Hamish.’
‘But why bother, if you have no interest in joining the company?’
‘I still want my father to be the next chairman, so that in time I’ll end up owning the Pilgrim Line.’
‘You can add being devious to the gifts you inherited from your grandfather,’ said William, giving James a warm smile.
‘Possibly. But I still need to be even more cunning than my uncle Hamish, and more devious than Aunt Sara, if I’m going to have any chance of inheriting the company. Don’t forget they also have children who are only a little younger than me.’
‘In which case you’re going to have to stop thinking like a detective, and start thinking like a criminal.’
CHAPTER 4
‘SHE DEMANDED WHAT?’ SAID MILES, as the waiter poured them both a steaming black coffee.
‘The million she was promised in the original divorce settlement,’ said Booth Watson.
‘But unfortunately I died before the decree nisi was signed.’
‘And she’s got your ashes to prove it.’
‘So what?’
‘You clearly haven’t heard of Crick and Watson,’ said Booth Watson, ‘because they’ve made it possible for her to prove you’re very much alive.’
‘Not if she’s dead she can’t,’ said Faulkner.
‘If Christina were to suffer an untimely death,’ said Booth Watson, choosing his words carefully, ‘the first person they’d question would be her new husband, Captain Ralph Neville RN. It wouldn’t take them too long to work out his true identity. So I’m recommending you hand over the million if you want to remain a free man.’