Chapter Thirty-EightToby gave Tom Wynter a lift to the station and was thus able to glean the jist of the après-meeting conversations. Apparently the PM had been very complimentary but had also made quite of fuss of William Smyth.
‘I’m not surprised, Tom, for I’ve never seen an academic bow so gracefully before a contrary argument.’
‘We’re going to have lunch at his club. The Chancellor was party to Smyth’s offer but I got the feeling that the Chancellor didn’t like it much.’
‘Tom, George was sidelined, that was the long and short of of it. And his sycophantic followers will drop him like a hot coal when they see he can’t deliver.’
‘Will he fight back?’
‘With what? Ah, here we are at Waterloo. Will we be seeing you on Sunday?’
‘Deo volente.’
‘See you then.’
‘Bill, it’s Winkfield,’
