House of Cards (45 page)

'Who
has
nobbled
you,
Grev?'

'What
the
hell
do
you
mean
...
?'

You
normally
have
trouble
making
up
your
mind whether
you
want
tea
or
coffee.
Deciding
to
fire
me
from this
story
is
somebody
else's
decision,
isn't
it?'

I'm
not
firing
you!
You're
being
transferred
...'

He
was
losing
control
now,
eyes
bulging
in
anger
and with
a
complexion
which
looked
as
if
he
had
been
holding his
bream
for
three
minutes.

Then,
dear
editor,
I
have
some
disappointing
news
for you.
I
quit!'

God,
he
hadn't
expected
this.
He
was
scrambling
now
to regain
his
authority
and
the
initiative.
He
had
to
keep
her at
the
Telegraph,
it
was
the
only
way
to
control
her.
But what
the
hell
was
he
to
do?
He
forced
a
smile,
and
spread his
hands
wide
in
an
attempt
to
imitate
a
gesture
of generosity.

'Look,
Mattie.
Let's
not
be
hasty.
Let's
be
mature
about this
-
friends!
I
want
you
to
get
wider
experience
on
the paper,
you've
got
talent,
even
if
I
think
you
haven't
quite fitted
in
on
the
political
side.
We
want
to
keep
you
here,
so think
over
the
weekend
what
other
part
of
the
paper
you might
like
to
work
on.'
He
saw
her
steely,
determined
eyes and
knew
it
wasn't
working.
'But
if
you
really
feel
you must
go,
don't
rush
into
anything.
Sort
out
what
you
want to
do,
let
me
know,
we'll
try
to
assist
you
and
give
you
six months'
salary
to
help
you
on
your
way.
I
don't
want
any hard
feelings.
Think
about
it.'

I've
thought
about
it.
And
if
you
are
not
printing
my story,
I'm
resigning.
Here
and
now.'

She
had
never
seen
him
so
apoplectic.
His
words
came spitting
out.
In
which
case
I
must
remind
you
that
your contract
of
employment
stipulates
that
you
must
give
me three
months'
notice
of
departure,
and
that
until
that
time has
elapsed
we
retain
exclusive
rights
over
all
your
journalistic
work
If
you
insist,
we
shall
rigidly
enforce
that provision,
in
the
courts
if
necessary
which
would
ruin
your career
once
and
for
all.
Face
it,
your
copy
isn't
going
to
get printed
here
or
anywhere
else.
Wise
up,
Mattie,
accept
the offer.
It's
the
best
one
you
are
going
to
get!'

She
knew
now
what
her
grandfather
must
have
felt
as
he set
out
from
his
fishing
village
on
the
Norwegian
fjord, knowing
that
once
he
had
started
he
could
never
turn
back even
though
ahead
of
him
lay
enemy
patrol
boats,
mine fields,
and
nearly
a
thousand
miles
of
hostile,
stormy
seas. She
would
need
some
of
his
courage,
and
his
good
fortune.

She
gathered
up
the
papers
on
Preston's
desk
and
ripped them
slowly
in
half
before
letting
them
flutter
back
into his
lap.

'You
can
keep
the
words.
But
you
don't
own
the
truth. I'm
not
sure
you
would
even
recognise
it.
I
still
quit.' This
time
she
slammed
the
door.

SUNDAY 14
th
NOVEMBER -MONDAY 15
th
NOVEMBER

Some
two
weeks
earlier,
immediately
after
the
Telegraph
had
published
the
Landless
opinion
poll,
Urquhart
in
his capacity
as
Chief
Whip
had
written
to
all
of
his
parliamentary
colleagues
on
the
weekly
Whips
7
circular
which
is
sent to
party
MPs.

During
the
course
of
the
leadership
election,
newspapers
and
opinion
pollsters
will
undoubtedly
be trying
to
obtain
your
view
as
to
whom
you
are
likely to
support.
I
would
encourage
you
not
to
cooperate, since
at
best
the
results
of
these
surveys
can
only
‘
serve
to
disrupt
the
proper
conduct
of
what
is
supposed
to
be
a
confidential
ballot,
and
at
worst
will
be used
by
the
less
responsible
press
to
make
mischief and
subject
our
affairs
to
lurid
headlines
and
comment.
The
best
interests
of
the
Party
can
only
be served
by
discouraging
such
activity.

The
majority
of
the
Parliamentary
Party
was
more
than happy
to
cooperate,
although
it
is
a
well
established
fact that
at
least
a
third
of
MPs
are
constitutionally
incapable
of keeping
anything
quiet,
even
state
secrets.

As
a
result,
the
two
opinion
polls
which
appeared
in
the Sunday
press
following
Mattie's
abrupt
departure
from Preston's
office
were
profoundly
incomplete,
leaving
the pollsters
scratching
their
heads
at
the
Telegraph's
earlier persuasiveness.
Less
than
40
per
cent
of
the
337
Government
MPs
who
constituted
the
electorate
for
the
ballot
had responded
to
the
polling
companies'
pestering
telephone calls,
which
gave
the
impression
that
the
Parliamentary