Best Kept Secret

something even more irresistible,’ he said as he waited for his son to come on the line.
    ‘What can I do for you, Father?’
    ‘Young Clifton has risen to the bait and will be coming up to London tomorrow and going to Wimbledon. If Bruno can persuade him to take up my other offer, can you have everything in place
by Friday?’

    Sebastian had to borrow his mother’s alarm clock to make sure he was up in time to catch the 7.23 to Paddington. Emma was waiting for him in the hall and offered to drive
him to Temple Meads.
    ‘Are you expecting to see Mr Martinez when you’re in London?’
    ‘Almost certainly,’ said Sebastian, ‘as it was his suggestion I join Bruno at Wimbledon. Why do you ask?’
    ‘No particular reason.’
    Sebastian wanted to ask why Mama seemed to be so concerned about Mr Martinez, but suspected that if he did he’d only get the same response. No particular reason.
    ‘Will you have time to see Aunt Grace while you’re in Cambridge?’ his mother asked, rather too obviously changing the subject.
    ‘She’s invited me to tea at Newnham on Saturday afternoon.’
    ‘Don’t forget to give her my love,’ Emma said as they drew up outside the station.
    On the train, Sebastian sat in a corner of the carriage, trying to work out why his parents seemed to be so concerned about a man they’d never met. He decided to ask Bruno if he was aware
of any problem. After all, Bruno had never sounded convinced about him going to Buenos Aires.
    By the time the train pulled into Paddington, Sebastian was no nearer to solving the mystery. He handed in his ticket to the collector at the barrier, walked out of the station and across the
road, not stopping until he reached No. 37. He knocked on the door.
    ‘Oh my goodness,’ said Mrs Tibbet when she saw who it was standing on the doorstep. She threw her arms around him. ‘I never thought I’d see you again, Seb.’
    ‘Does this establishment do breakfast for impecunious university freshmen?’
    ‘If that means you’re going to Cambridge after all, then I’ll see what I can rustle up.’ Sebastian followed her inside. ‘And close the door behind you,’ she
added. ‘Anybody would think you were born in a barn.’
    Sebastian nipped back and shut the front door, before heading down the stairs to join Tibby in the kitchen. When Janice saw him, she said, ‘Look what the cat dragged in,’ and gave
him a second hug followed by the best breakfast he’d had since he’d last sat in that kitchen.
    ‘So what have you been up to since we last saw you?’ asked Mrs Tibbet.
    ‘I’ve been to Argentina and met Princess Margaret.’
    ‘Where’s Argentina?’ asked Janice.
    ‘It’s a long way away,’ said Mrs Tibbet.
    ‘And I’ll be going up to Cambridge in September,’ he added between mouthfuls. ‘Thanks to you, Tibby.’
    ‘I hope you didn’t mind me getting in touch with your uncle. And what made matters worse, he ended up having to come to me in Paddington.’
    ‘Thank God you did,’ said Sebastian. ‘Otherwise I might still be in Argentina.’
    ‘And what brings you to London this time?’ asked Janice.
    ‘Missed you both so much I had to come back,’ said Seb. ‘And where else would I get a decent breakfast?’
    ‘Pull the other one, it’s got bells on,’ said Mrs Tibbet as she forked a third sausage on to his plate.
    ‘Well, there was one other reason,’ admitted Sebastian. ‘Bruno’s invited me to Wimbledon this afternoon for the men’s semi-final, Fraser versus Cooper.’
    ‘I’m in love with Ashley Cooper,’ said Janice, dropping her dishcloth.
    ‘You’d fall in love with anyone who reached the semis,’ chided Mrs Tibbet.
    ‘That’s not fair! I’ve never been in love with Neale Fraser.’
    Sebastian laughed, and didn’t stop laughing for the next hour, which was why he didn’t turn up at Eaton Square until nearly half past eleven. When Bruno opened the door, Seb said,
‘Mea culpa, but in my defence, I was held up by two of my girlfriends.’

    ‘Take me through it one more time,’ said Martinez, ‘and don’t leave out any details.’
    ‘A team of three experienced drivers have carried out several practice runs during the past week,’ said Diego. ‘They’ll be doing a final time check later this
afternoon.’
    ‘What can go wrong?’
    ‘If Clifton doesn’t take up your offer, the whole exercise will have to be called off.’
    ‘If I know that boy, he won’t be able to resist it. Just be