‚Thank you. Please come this way.' Sir David opened a heavy, oak-paneled door to reveal a sophisticated and modern office beyond. There was a desk and two chairs, a pair of computers, a white leather sofa, and a series of metal bookshelves. Sir David motioned at the chair and sat down behind the desk.
He was unsure of himself. Alex could see it immediately. Sir David Friend might run a business empire worth millions—seven billions—of dollars, but this was a new experience for him. Having Alex here, knowing who and what he was, he wasn’t quite sure how to react.
‚I’ve been told very little about you,' he began. ‚Alan Blunt got in touch with me and asked me to put you up here for the rest of the week, to pretend that you’re my son. I have to say, you don’t look anything like me.'
‚I don’t look anything like myself either,' Alex said.
‚You’re on your way to some school in the French Alps. They want you to investigate it.'
He paused. ‚Nobody asked me my opinion,' he said, ‚but I’ll give it to you anyway. I don’t like the idea of a fourteen-year-old boy being used as a spy. It’s dangerous—'
‚I can look after myself,' Alex cut in.
‚I mean, it’s dangerous to the government. If you manage to get yourself killed and anyone finds out, it could cause the prime minister a great deal of embarrassment.' Sir David sighed. ‚I advised him against it, but for once he overruled me. It seems that the decision has already been made. This school—the academy—has already telephoned me to say that the assistant director will be coming here to pick you up next Saturday. It’s a woman. A Mrs. Stellenbosch. That’s a South African name, I think.'
Sir David had a number of bulky files on his desk. He slid them forward. ‚In the meantime, I understand you have to familiarize yourself with details about my family. I’ve prepared a number of files. You’ll also find information here about the school you’re meant to have been expelled from—Eton. You can start reading them tonight.' Alex took them and he went on. ‚If you need to know anything more, just ask. Fiona will be with you the whole time.' He glanced down at his fingertips. ‚I’m sure that in itself will be quite an experience for you.'
The door opened and a woman came in. She was slim with dark hair, very much like her daughter. She was wearing a simple mauve dress with a string of pearls around her neck.
‚David,' she began, then stopped, seeing Alex.
‚This is my wife,' Friend said. ‚Caroline, this is the boy I was telling you about. Alex.'
‚It’s very nice to meet you, Alex.' Lady Caroline tried to smile but her lips managed only a faint twitch. ‚I understand you’re going to stay with us for a while.'
‚Yes, Mother,' Alex said.
Lady Caroline blushed.
‚He has to pretend to be our son,' Sir David reminded her. He turned to Alex. ‚Fiona doesn’t know anything about MI6 and the rest of it. I don’t want to alarm her. I’ve told her that it’s connected with my work … a social experiment, if you like. She’s to pretend you’re her brother, to give you a week in the country as part of the family. I’d prefer it if you didn’t tell her the truth.'
‚Dinner is in half an hour,' Lady Caroline said. ‚Do you eat venison?' She sniffed.
‚Perhaps you’d like to shower before you eat? I’ll show you to your room.'
Sir David stood up. ‚You’ve got a lot of reading to do. I’m afraid I have to go back to London tomorrow—I have lunch with the president of France—so I won’t be able to help you.
But, as I say, if there’s anything you don’t know…'
‚Fiona Friend,' Alex said.
Alex had been given a small, comfortable room at the back of the house. He took a quick shower, then put his old clothes back on again. He liked to feel clean but he had to look grimy—
it suited the character of the boy he was supposed to be. He opened the first of the files. Sir David had been thorough. He had given Alex the names and recent histories of just about the entire family, as well as photographs of vacations, details of the house and stables in Mayfair, the apartments in New York, Paris, and Rome, and the villa in Barbados. There were newspaper clippings, magazine articles … everything he could possibly need.
A gong sounded. It was seven o’clock. Alex went downstairs and into the dining room. The room had six windows and a polished mahogany table long enough to seat fifteen. But only the three of them were there: Sir David, Lady Caroline, and Fiona. The food had already been served, presumably by a butler or cook. Sir David gestured at an empty chair. Alex sat down.
‚Fiona was just talking about Soloman,' Lady Caroline said. There was a pause. ‚Soloman is a horse. We have lots of horses.' She turned to Alex. ‚Do you ride?'
‚Only my bicycle,' Alex said.
‚I’m sure Alex isn’t interested in horses,' Fiona said. She appeared to be in a bad mood. ‚In fact, I doubt if we have anything in common. Why do I have to pretend he’s my brother? The whole thing is completely—'
‚Fiona…,' Sir David muttered in a low voice.
‚Well, it’s all very well having him here, Daddy, but it is meant to be my Easter vacation.'
Alex realized that Fiona must go to a private school. Her term would have ended earlier than his. ‚I don’t think it’s fair.'
‚Alex is here because of my work,' Sir David continued. It was strange, Alex thought, the way they talked about him as if he weren’t actually there. ‚I know you have a lot of questions, Fiona, but you’re just going to have to do as I say. He’s with us only until the end of the week. I want you to look after him.'
‚But he’s a city boy!' Fiona insisted. ‚He’s going to hate it here. And anyway, how can pretending he’s my brother help you with your supermarkets?'
‚Fiona…' Sir David didn’t want any more argument. ‚It’s what I told you. An experiment.
And you will make him feel welcome!'
Fiona picked up her glass and looked directly at Alex for the first time since he had come into the room. ‚We’ll see about that,' she said.
The week seemed endless. After only two days, Alex was beginning to think that Fiona was right. He was a city boy. He had lived his whole life in London and felt utterly lost, suffocating in the big green blanket of the countryside. The estate went on for as far as the eye could see, and the Friends seemed to have no connection with the real world. Alex had never felt more isolated. Sir David himself had disappeared to London. Lady Caroline did her best to avoid Alex. Once or twice she drove into Skipton—the nearest town—but otherwise she seemed to spend a lot of time gardening or arranging flowers. And Fiona…
She had made it clear from the start how much she disliked Alex. There could be no reason for this. It was simply that he was an outsider, and Fiona seemed to mistrust anything that didn’t belong to the miniature world of Haverstock Hall. She’d asked him several times what he was really doing there. Alex had shrugged and said nothing, which had only made her dislike him all the more.
And then, on the third day, she introduced him to some of her friends.
‚I’m going shooting,' she told him. ‚I don’t suppose you want to come?'
Alex shrugged. He had memorized most of the details in the files and figured he could easily pass as a member of the family. Now he was counting the hours until the woman from the academy arrived to take him away.
‚Have you ever been shooting?' Fiona asked.
‚No,' Alex said.
‚I go hunting and shooting,' Fiona said. ‚But of course, you’re a city boy. You wouldn’t understand.'
‚What’s so great about killing animals?' Alex asked.