“In the course of that review, sir, I noted that the Major’s overview of Mr Connor Evans and the Evans family was — ” Wallis licked his lips, “rather light. Glossed over. The Major’s coverage of every other associate in your circle was exhaustive. The Evans entry was not. For the sake of completeness, I emailed my own assessment to you, while also CC’ing the family office, which is standard procedure on principal protection for a high profile family. It lets the Montcadas maintain a unified picture of risk across all of your family members. The Major would have done the same with any review of his own. It’s just…he might have missed some detail in the risk profile for Connor Evans.”
“I see, Captain. Thank you.” Vidal had more than 5000 unread emails in his inbox, and most likely had overlooked it because of the competing mass of adverts and boring administrative communications he received.
“No worries, sir,” Wallis’s shoulders came down and he returned his eyes to the screen.
So the dossier had come from Wallis, then.
Vidal had been absolutely convinced, as he listened to his father read out the report’s careful itemised list of the Evans family’s faults, that this had been the work of Beauchamp. It had taken Connor being a better man than Vidal deserved to bring him around.
You want to be angry at him because that’s easier on you than missing him.
The thing he now couldn’t get past was that Beauchamp had let him go.
Beauchamp had seen the bruises Connor had quite cheerfully sucked into the hollow of his throat, watched the unmistakable shape of a domestic life between Connor and Vidal forming right in front of him, and decided that the best thing for him to dowas to step out of the way. Disappear into the background and just…notice all the things about Vidal that he had no business noticing, if he had no intention of doing anything about the feelings that they drew out of him.
Beauchamp had loved him, and had not fought for him.
Not once, in three months of living in the man’s careful orbit, had he registered what was actually being handed to him, because Vidal was a man whose entire understanding of love had been formed by men whoannouncedthemselves and their intentions. He’d had an Eton rowing captain who pinned him against walls, or Connor, who lavished him with attention and constant praise. He was used to big men who made big gestures.
Beauchamp just bought him cupcakes and went out to pick up his Fonte di Foiano with no complaint.
Vidal had spent most of last night going back through the last three months. Tallying up every careful kindness or small act of care. He had laid them all out in his head like exhibits, and the verdict had assembled itself somewhere around three in the morning.
All it would have taken was the slightest of signs. The smallest crack in the professional surface. A simple,I’d like to stay. Anything at all to suggest that Beauchamp’s meticulous care had come out of his affection rather than obligation. Vidal would have done the rest, as he had spent his entire life recognising openings. Give him an inch of door, and he was through it.
Beauchamp had instead conducted himself with such relentless professional dignity that Vidal might well have tried to go on with his life as usual, had Connor not forced him to confront all the signs.
“Captain Wallis.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Be a love and pop down to that Italian place on Mount Street for me, would you? The one with the green awning. Ask Marco for two of his cannoli, and a box of those chocolate-covered orange peels Pare likes. I should like to send something down to Connor. He’s been feeling poorly.”
Wallis lifted his head. “Sir, I can ring through and have it brought up — ”
“No, Captain. I should like you to go in person, please. Marco will not give them to a courier. He is very particular. He has told me on three separate occasions that the cannoli must be filled at the moment of collection, or the shells go soft, and he refuses to entrust this to anyone he has not personally vetted.”
“Sir.”
“And while you are out, would you ring Hassan and tell him I shall not require the car at two for the consultant. I shall ring the Royal London myself and reschedule. I am not, on reflection, up to a hospital visit this afternoon.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Thank you, Captain. Take your time. Marco will want to chat. He always does.”
Wallis closed his iPad, slid it into his bag, and let himself out of the flat. Vidal stayed sat at the table for a count of thirty. Then he got up and went into the hall. He took his camel overcoat off the hook by the door and worked his good arm into the sleeve, draping the other side across his shoulder over the sling. Mercè had come to sit at his feet, watching him with the intentness she reserved for when she expected him to take her out on a walk.
“Not this time, amor,” Vidal crooned at her. “Papa is going to make a scene, and I cannot have you ruining it by being adorable at the man I must have words with.”
He let himself out of the flat, and then he carried on down to the front hall towards Green Park.
Chapter Thirty-Three
PrincessCaroline’s offices ran on the principle that no one in them needed to be told twice what to do, and Beauchamp knew one week in that it was the most beautifully ordered environment he’d ever worked in.
He had a corner desk by the second window, looking out across the garden to the wall that separated Clarence House from the Mall. He had a fountain pen, a bottle of emerald green ink, and a printer two rooms over that would, when fed the right command, produce the next day’s diary items on the heavy cream stock the Household used for the documents that crossed the princess’s desk.
He fed the diary command into the system at half past three and walked the long corridor to the printer at a pace that allowed him to nod to two passing equerries and exchange a brief word with the head of housekeeping about a leak in one of the upstairs bathrooms. The diary printout was waiting for him in the tray when he arrived, four pages of it, printed single-sided andstapled in the top left corner. He carried it back to his desk, sat down and began to review it.
