House of Cards (32 page)

'Francis,
that's
most
understanding
’
Collingridge
was clearly
in
a
relaxed
and
very
trusting
mood.'
You
know,
the Prime
Minister
is
expected
to
be
aware
of
ever
ything
that's going
on
but,
as
I
have
discovered
to
my
cost,
it's
so
easy
to get
isolated,
to
have
events
just
slip
past
you
without making
any
contact
with
them.
I
suspect
dear
old
Sir Humphrey
is
past
giving
the
best
intelligence
on
the
state of
parliamentary
opinion,
so
I
would
very
much
welcome your
advice.
As
you
so
delicately
put
it,
I
shall
certainly take
a
close
interest
in
the
matter
of
who
is
to
succeed
me. So
tell
me,
how
do
things
look?'

Tarry
days
yet,
very
difficult
to
tell.
I
trunk
most
of
the press
are
right
to
suggest
it's
an
open
race.
But
I
would expect
things
to
develop
quickly
once
they
get
going.'

'No
front
runners
yet,
then?'

'Well,
one
perhaps
who
seems
to
have
something
of
a head
start.
Michael
Samuel.' 'Michael!
Why
so?'

'Simply
that
it's
going
to
be
a
short
and
furious
race,
with little
room
for
developing
solid
arguments
or
issues.
In those
circumstances,
the
ones
who
use
television
well
are going
to
have
a
strong
advantage.
And,
of
course,
he's
going to
have
the
strong
if
subtle
support
of
Teddy
and
party headquarters.'

Collingridge's
face
clouded.
'Yes.
I
see
what
you
mean.' He
drummed
his
fingers
loudly
on
the
arm
of
his
chair, weighing
his
words
carefully.

'Francis,
I
shall
be
absolutely
scrupulous
in
not
favouring any
candidate
in
this
race.
My
only
concern
is
to
let
the Party
have
a
fair
and
free
leadership
election
so
they
can make
their
own
choice.
But
you
make
it
sound
as
if
the election
won't
be
as
open
as
it
perhaps
should
be,
with party
headquarters
playing
too
influential
a
role
’

He
chose
his
words
carefully,
and
uttered
them
slowly and
softly.
‘
I
would
not
welcome
that.
I
don't
think
Teddy's bunch
of
merry
men
has
distinguished
itself
recently.
A poor
election
campaign,
then
all
those
infuriating
bloody leaks.
Now
I'm
told
that
the
news
of
my
visit
to
the
Palace yesterday
also
leaked
out
of
the
backdoor
at
Smith
Square.'

His
tone
hardened.
‘I
can't
forgive
that,
Francis.
The Cabinet
swore
on
their
oaths
of
office
to
keep
it
confidential,
to
let
me
offer
my
resignation
with
some
dignity instead
of
being
the
clown
in
a
damned
media
circus.
I will
not
stand
for
it.
I
will
not
have
party
headquarters interfering
in
this
election!'

He
leaned
towards
Urquhart.
‘I
suspect
you
have
no
great love
for
Teddy
Williams,
particularly
after
he
did
such
an effective
demolition
job
on
your
reshuffle
proposals
-
I'm sure
you
guessed
that
at
the
time
’

Urquhart
was
glad
to
have
his
suspicions
confirmed.
On Judgement
Day
it
might
help
to
justify
a
lot
of
his
recent actions.

'So
what
can
I
do,
Francis,
to
make
sure
this
election
is run
properly?'

Urquhart
smiled
to
himself.
A
'proper'
election
was
now defined
as
one
in
which
Michael
Samuel
felt
the
full
force of
the
Prime
Minister's
revenge.

'My
interests,
like
yours,
are
simply
to
ensure
fair
play.
I know
that
neither
you
nor
I
wish
to
interfere
in
any
way
-let
party
democracy
have
its
way,
of
course.
My
only concern
is
that
the
process
is
likely
to
go
ahead
in
such
a rush
that
there
will
be
no
proper
time
for
mature
reflection or
consideration.
In
the
past,
leadership
elections
have taken
place
only
a
week
to
ten
days
after
they
were announced
-
Ted
Heath
was
elected
just
five
days
after

Alec
Douglas-Home
resigned
-
but
on
those
occasions
the resignations
were
expected.
People
had
time
to
think,
to make
a
proper
and
balanced
judgement.
That
won't
be
the case
this
time.
I'm
afraid
it
will
all
be
over
in
a
breathless rush,
and
become
just
another
part
of
the
media
circus
’
'So?'

'So
give
them
just
a
little
longer
to
make
their
choice. Slow
the
pace
down.
Enjoy
your
last
few
weeks
in
office, and
hand
over
to
a
successor
who
has
been
chosen
by
the Party,
not
the
media
’

'What
you
say
makes
sense.
I've
no
wish
to
extend
the period
of
uncertainty
while
the
campaign
is
fought,
but
I'm sure
an
extra
week
or
so
could
do
no
great
harm.'