This Was a Man Read online

  “In my opinion, you have two choices,” said Seb. “You can come back home and find out if it’s possible to pick up the pieces, or you can leave, and return to your other life.”

  “I’m so sorry,” said Jessica, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I know what I did was unforgivable. I don’t want to go back, and I promise I’ll do everything I can to make it up to both of you if you’ll just give me another chance.”

  “Of course we will,” said Samantha, “but I can’t speak for the Slade.”

  * * *

  Sebastian left the flat a couple of hours later to pick up an early edition of The Evening Standard. The headline screamed out at him from a poster long before he’d reached the newsagent:

  HEALTH MINISTER’S GRANDDAUGHTER INVOLVED IN DRUGS SCANDAL

  He read the article as he walked slowly back home. It included almost all of the details Jessie had volunteered earlier. A night spent in a police cell, champagne, marijuana, two bottles of expensive wine followed by brandy Alexanders consumed at Annabel’s in Mayfair. A police chase that ended up with a £100,000 Ferrari crashing head-on into a squad car, and even the suggestion of four in a bed.

  Mr. Paulo Reinaldo warranted only a passing mention, but then the reporter was far more interested in making sure the Baroness Emma Clifton, undersecretary of state for health; Sir Harry Clifton, popular author and civil rights campaigner; Lord Barrington, former leader of the House of Lords; and Sebastian Clifton, chairman of a leading city bank, all got a mention, despite the fact that they were all fast asleep at the time Jessica Clifton was arrested.

  Sebastian let out a deep sigh. He could only hope that his beloved daughter would eventually be able to chalk this down to experience and, given time, not only fully recover but be stronger for it. It wasn’t until he reached the last paragraph that he realized that wasn’t going to be possible.

  * * *

  Virginia also purchased an early edition of The Evening Standard, and couldn’t stop smiling as she read the “exclusive” word for word. Ten pounds well spent, she thought to herself. Her only disappointment was that Paulo Reinaldo had pleaded guilty, and received a fine of £500 after assuring the judge he would be returning to Brazil in the next few days.

  However, the smile reappeared on Virginia’s face when she came to the last paragraph of the article. Mr. Gerald Knight, the principal of the Slade School of Fine Art, told the reporter he had been left with no choice but to expel both Mr. Reinaldo and Miss Jessica Clifton from the college. He added that he had done so reluctantly in the case of Miss Clifton, as she was an extremely gifted student.

  * * *

  “It’s a great pleasure to finally meet you, Dr. Barrington. I’ve long been an admirer of yours.”

  “That’s kind of you, Sir James, but I had no idea you’d even heard of me.”

  “You taught my wife Helen when she was up at Cambridge,” said Sir James as they sat down by the fire.

  “Remind me of her maiden name, Sir James?”

  “Helen Prentice. We met when I was reading Law at Trinity.”

  “Ah, yes, I remember Helen. She played the cello in the college orchestra. Does she still play?”

  “Only at weekends when no one is listening.” They both laughed.

  “Well, do pass on my best wishes to her.”

  “I will indeed, Dr. Barrington. But I confess, neither of us could work out why you would want to see me, unless you’re on one of your well-known fund-raising drives, in which case I should remind you that British Petroleum has recently increased its annual grant to the Newnham College scholarship fund.”

  Grace smiled. “You’re wearing the wrong hat, Sir James. I didn’t come to see the chairman of BP but the president of the Slade School of Fine Art.”

  “I’m still none the wiser.”

  “Try not to think of me as a Barrington, but as being related to several Cliftons, and one in particular, my great-niece Jessica, whose case I come to plead on her behalf.”

  Sir James Neville’s warm and relaxed demeanor was quickly replaced with a sullen frown.

  “Even if you were Portia, I’m afraid your pleas would fall on deaf ears, Dr. Barrington. The board voted unanimously to expel Miss Clifton from the Slade. Not only was she drunk, and possibly under the influence of drugs, when she was arrested, but she assaulted a police officer while in custody. I personally felt she was most fortunate not to have been charged, and even given a custodial sentence.”

  “But that’s the whole point, Sir James. She wasn’t charged, or sentenced.”

  “The young man who was driving the car at the time, if I remember correctly, was charged, given a heavy fine, and deported.”

  “An older and much more sophisticated individual, with whom Jessica was unfortunately besotted.”

  “Quite possibly, Dr. Barrington. But are you also aware that Miss Clifton’s scholarship was rescinded earlier this year after she was caught smoking marijuana on college premises?”

  “Yes, I am, Sir James. Jessica has told me everything that happened during the past year, and I can assure you she deeply regrets her actions, but if you reinstate her, she will not let you down a second time.”

  “Whose word do we have for that?”

  “Mine.”

  Sir James hesitated, before saying, “I’m afraid it’s out of the question, Dr. Barrington. Did Miss Clifton also mention that she only attended three lectures and seven classes last term, and during that time her work went from excellent to unacceptable?”

  “Yes, she did.”

  “And when her supervisor, Professor Howard, raised the matter with her, she told him, and I apologize for my language, to fuck off?”

  “And you’ve never resorted to such language, Sir James?”

  “Not when addressing my tutor, and I doubt if your great-niece has resorted to such language in front of you, Dr. Barrington, or any other members of your family.”

  “So you’ve never known a student to rebel against what you and I would consider acceptable behavior? After all, you have a son and two daughters of your own.” Sir James was silenced for a moment, which allowed Grace to continue. “I’ve had the privilege of teaching many talented young women over the years, but rarely have I encountered one as gifted as my great-niece.”

  “Talent is not an excuse to flout college rules, while expecting everyone else to behave properly, as the principal clearly spelled out in his report on this unhappy state of affairs.”

  “In that same report, Sir James, Professor Howard addressed the board on Jessica’s behalf, and if I recall his words correctly, he said that she possessed a rare talent that should be nurtured, not stamped out.”

  “The board considered Professor Howard’s words most carefully before we came to our decision, and I’m afraid the attendant publicity left us with no choice but to—”

  “The attendant publicity, Sir James, was not caused by Jessica, but my sister Emma, my brother-in-law Harry, and even my brother, Giles Barrington.”

  “That is possibly the case, Dr. Barrington, but the privilege of being brought up in such a remarkable family gives one added responsibility.”

  “So if Jessica had been the daughter of a single mother, whose father had deserted her, your whole attitude might have been different?”

  Sir James rose angrily from his place. “I apologize, Dr. Barrington, but I can see no purpose in prolonging this discussion. The board has made its decision, and I do not have the authority to overturn it.”

  “I’m loath to correct you, Sir James,” said Grace, not rising from her seat, “but I think you’ll find, if you check the statutes of the Slade carefully, that rule 73b allows you to do just that.”

  “I don’t recall rule 73b,” said Sir James, sinking back into his chair, “but I have a feeling you’re about to enlighten me.”

  “It is the president’s prerogative,” said Grace calmly, “to overrule a board decision if he believes that there were extenuating circumstances that had not