Best Kept Secret

headline on the front
page caught his attention: Eisenhower announces he will stand for president. The decision didn’t surprise Giles, although he was interested to learn that the general would be standing as a
Republican, because until recently no one seemed quite sure which party he supported, after both the Democrats and the Republicans had made overtures to him.
    Giles glanced at his watch every few minutes, but there was no sign of Virginia. When the clock on the mantelpiece struck the half hour, he turned his attention to an article on page seven,
which suggested Britain was considering building its first motorway. The stalemate in the Korean War was covered on the parliamentary pages, and Giles’s speech on a forty-eight-hour week for
all workers and every hour beyond that being treated as overtime was quoted at length, with an editorial condemning his views. He smiled. After all, it was the
Telegraph
. Giles was reading
an announcement in the court circular that Princess Elizabeth would be embarking on a tour of Africa in January, when Virginia burst into the room.
    ‘I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting, my darling, but I just couldn’t decide what to wear.’
    He leapt up and kissed his fiancée on both cheeks, took a pace back, and once again thought how lucky he was that this beautiful woman had ever given him a second look.
    ‘You look fabulous,’ he said, admiring a yellow dress he’d never seen before, which emphasized her slim, graceful figure.
    ‘A little risqué perhaps for the reading of a will?’ suggested Virginia as she spun round in a circle.
    ‘Certainly not,’ said Giles. ‘In fact, the moment you walk into the room, no one will be thinking of anything else.’
    ‘I should hope not,’ said Virginia as she checked her watch. ‘Heavens, is it really that late? We’d better skip breakfast, Bunny, if we’re going to be on time. Not
that we don’t already know the contents of your mother’s will, but it must appear as if we don’t.’
    On the way down to Bristol, Virginia brought Giles up to date on the latest wedding arrangements. He was a little disappointed that she didn’t ask how his speech from the front bench had
been received the previous day, but then, William Hickey hadn’t been in the press gallery. It wasn’t until they were on the Great West Road that Virginia said something that demanded
his full attention.
    ‘The first thing we’ll have to do once the will has been executed is look for a replacement for Marsden.’
    ‘But he’s been with the family for over thirty years,’ said Giles. ‘In fact, I can’t remember when he wasn’t there.’
    ‘Which is part of the problem. But don’t worry yourself, my darling, I think I may have found the perfect replacement.’
    ‘But—’
    ‘And if you feel that strongly about it, Bunny, Marsden can always go and work at the Manor House, and take care of my aunts.’
    ‘But—’
    ‘And while I’m on the subject of replacements,’ continued Virginia, ‘it’s high time we had a serious talk about Jackie.’
    ‘My personal secretary?’
    ‘She’s far too personal, in my opinion. I can’t pretend that I approve of this modern habit of staff calling their bosses by their Christian names. No doubt it’s all part
of the Labour Party’s absurd notion of equality. However, I felt it necessary to remind her that it’s
Lady
Virginia.’
    ‘I am sorry,’ said Giles. ‘She’s usually so polite.’
    ‘With you perhaps, but when I rang yesterday, she asked me to hold the line, something I’m not in the habit of doing.’
    ‘I’ll have a word with her about it.’
    ‘Please don’t bother,’ said Virginia, which came as a relief to Giles. ‘Because I shall not be contacting your office again while she remains on your staff.’
    ‘Isn’t that a little extreme? After all, she does a first-class job, and I’d find it almost impossible to replace her.’
    Virginia leant over and kissed him on the cheek. ‘I do hope, Bunny, that I will be the only person you will find it almost impossible to replace.’

    Mr Siddons entered the room, and was not surprised to find that everyone who had received the
To Whom It May Concern
letter was present. He sat down at his desk and
peered at the hopeful faces.
    In the front row sat Sir Giles Barrington and his fiancée, Lady Virginia Fenwick, who was even more striking in person than the photograph he’d seen of her in
Country Life
soon after the couple