‘Diplomacy and dissimulation, those are your best tools. Use them with skill, Elizabeth, and everything will be fine,’ Cecil Williams said.
Elizabeth, staring at him intently across her desk, and listening carefully, responded, ‘I know you’re right, Cecil, and Grace Rose more or less said the same thing yesterday. She said don’t do anything, don’t be rash, don’t make enemies. Make friends.’
‘She’s a wise old lady. And what is there to do? Nothing, in my opinion. You can’t start dismissing board members, or laying down the law, that sort of thing, it will only antagonize the rest of the board. Tread softly, and most definitely very, very slowly.’ Cecil straightened in his chair, and took a sip of coffee. ‘In any case, it’s going to be a very diminished board today.’
Elizabeth looked at him alertly, surprise evident in her eyes. ‘Oh, and why is that?’
‘Charles Broakes came to see me on Friday afternoon, with a list of those who will be absent.’ Cecil took a small notebook from his pocket, glanced at it. ‘Malcolm Allen has sent in his resignation. He’s going to live in Los Angeles, to be near his daughter and grandchildren. Apparently he was recently widowed. Two members are down with the ’flu, and then there’s Rodney Nethers, who had a stroke in the summer. He’s resigned. And so has Peter Thwaites, who has just become a tax exile in Monaco. So that’s five people less. Mary is dead, and Neil Logan is suffering from dementia and has been retired by you. That means seven people are out. Rushton Douglas dropped dead last August, making eight altogether who will not be present.’
‘That’s amazing!’ Elizabeth exclaimed. Raising an auburn brow, she asked, ‘Are some of them not coming because I’ve taken over, do you think?’
Cecil shook his head vehemently. ‘No, not at all, I’m sure of that.’
‘Well, look, how do we know that two of them are actually down with the ’flu?’
‘We don’t, not really. But Rodney did have a stroke, and certainly Malcolm was widowed, and I’m certain Rushton is extremely dead. His obituary was in The Times.’
Elizabeth bit back a smile. ‘So there’ll be ten board members and me, making eleven.’
‘That’s correct, and it’s a much better number, not so unwieldly. I wouldn’t want the board to become top heavy again.’ Cecil slipped the notebook into his pocket. ‘I think Charles Broakes is in agreement with that. And by the way, he’s delighted you’ve consolidated all of the vineyards, and put him in charge of the entire division.’
‘I’m glad he is, and he’s always done a good job, from what I see.’
‘Charles agreed Robert and I should be present at the board meeting, because we do have our reports to make.’
‘Good. Anyway, he and John Norfell couldn’t really protest your presence, could they?’ Not waiting for his response, she hurried on, ‘I’m going to nominate you and Robin, by the way. I want you both on the board. There won’t be any objections, will there?’
‘I doubt it. Charles and John will agree, and so will your great-uncle Howard. The other members are either for you, or neutral at least. And I’ll be happy to be on the board. Thank you, Elizabeth, and –’ Cecil stopped as Robert rushed in from his adjoining office, and exclaimed, ‘Thank God for Francis!’
They both stared at him, and Elizabeth said, ‘What is it, Robin? What’s happened?’
She looked and sounded so concerned, Robert said, ‘Sorry. I shouldn’t have burst in like that. What’s happened is this … Walsington has been digging around in Madrid, and has found an awful lot of dirt on Philip Alvarez. Womanizing, carousing, a lot of living it up, enjoying the high life. Bad debts. But the worst part is that the Marbella Project is at a standstill. He might go down with a crash, might have to declare bankruptcy.’
‘Oh, my God!’ Elizabeth cried, her hand coming to her mouth. ‘If he goes into bankruptcy we’ll never get our seventy-five million euros back. Oh, Robin, this is terrible news.’
Cecil turned pale. His eyes were fixed on Robert, who sat down heavily in the other chair. ‘You’d better fly over to Madrid, Robert,’ he said in a grim voice. ‘As soon as possible.’
‘I agree. And, in fact, I’ve booked a seat on the first plane out tomorrow. I’m sending my brother ahead, Ambrose will leave this afternoon, meet up with Francis at his hotel. We must move fast, and take whatever action is necessary. There’s no time to waste.’
‘Agreed,’ Cecil said. ‘Walsington’s information is always accurate, you can be sure of that. I always tell him he would have made a great spy. Have you been in touch with our Madrid office?’
‘I have indeed. They are onto the case.’ He glanced at Elizabeth, and added, ‘Don’t worry … we’re on top of this.’
‘I trust you, Robin, and Ambrose and Francis. I know you’ll pull us out of this Spanish mess, if anybody can. Now, we’d better go over the items we’re going to discuss at the board meeting.’
Elizabeth sensed hostility the moment she entered the boardroom. She had been very sensitive to people and their feelings all of her life, and quickly picked up on an atmosphere in a room. And the hostility was almost a palpable thing; she felt as if she could reach out and touch it.
Surprised though she was, she kept a neutral expression on her face, and said, ‘Good morning everyone,’ as she walked towards the top of the table, accompanied by Cecil and Robert, who sat down on either side of her. They also said their good mornings, and there were responses from all of those present, genial smiles.
Once she was seated at the head of the boardroom table, Elizabeth gave them a beaming, benign smile, and began: ‘I’m very pleased to see you all here today. Welcome … to my first board meeting.’
Her dark sparkling eyes swept around the table, and she managed to keep her neutral expression intact when her gaze fell on Mark Lott and Alexander Dawson, the two board members Cecil had told her were down with the ’flu. They made a fast recovery, she thought, and instantly understood that it was from these two that the hostility sprang. Of course. Mark Lott had been particularly friendly with Mary, and a frequent guest at Stonehurst Farm. As for Alexander Dawson, she had never liked him when she had worked at Deravenels. He was a sneak, a cheat, and she had caught him out in numerous lies. They are my enemies, she thought, and made a mental note to keep them in her sights.
‘The first order of business today is the appointment of Cecil Williams and Robert Dunley to the board. As you are aware, they are my two chief executive officers, and will be running Deravenels with me. For this reason, it is essential they sit on this board of directors, and it is my honour to nominate them. Who will second this?’
‘I will,’ Charles Broakes said from the other end of the table. ‘I second Cecil Williams and Robert Dunley to become members of the board of Deravenels.’
‘I also second their nomination,’ John Norfell announced in his booming voice. ‘Those in favour raise their hands. I would like a show of hands, please.’
Elizabeth glanced around the table, saw every man present brought his hand up. She smiled. Lott and Dawson wouldn’t dare go against me, she thought, not with Broakes and Norfell behind me. Promoting them, giving them more power has seen me in good stead.
Charles Broakes looked around the table and said, ‘With a show of hands by those present today, Cecil Williams and Robert Dunley have been unanimously elected to serve on the board of Deravenels. Welcome to the board, gentlemen, and very many congratulations.’
Elizabeth, in a hurry, said, ‘I would now like to proceed with business … First with regard to the state of the company. As of today, I am unable to give you a full and accurate report, because our auditors, accountants, and analysts are still working on figures. However, I am able to tell you that although the company has suffered losses, because of earlier bad investments, Deravenels is not in serious trouble.’ She kept herself steady as she said this, knowing it was a lie, albeit a white one. She did not feel it was necessary to go into the true state of the company today, nor did she want to plunge into details of the dire situation in Spain. Why alarm anyone?
‘So you are saying that Deravenels is safe?’ Alexander Dawson asked, leaning forward slightly, his eyes on Elizabeth.
‘I am indeed saying that. Now perhaps I should outline some of our plans. As you all know, John Norfell and Charles Broakes have both been promoted, and have become directors of their divisions on an international basis –’
‘Does that mean you have given them power over the division directors in foreign countries?’ Mark Lott cut in, also fixing his steely gaze on her.
‘Yes, it does. I want Deravenels of London to be run from London. In future, the division managers abroad will deal directly with their superiors in London, instead of acting on their own when it comes to making major decisions that can affect the entire company.’ She glanced at Cecil.
‘It’s a form of control,’ Cecil explained, ‘a way of making sure that all divisions in foreign countries are run according to our plans, our vision of the future of the company. We are also going to reorganize most of the offices around the world, and there will have to be some … attrition, of course, and some people –’
‘Not wholesale sackings, I hope!’ Dawson exclaimed in a loud voice, interrupting Cecil. ‘That will certainly telegraph to the world that we might have serious problems.’
‘Some people will be let go, and some people will be retired,’ Elizabeth said in a firm, businesslike tone. ‘But it will be done gradually, over a number of months, and perhaps the whole of next year. We have no intention of alarming anybody, particularly since there is no need for alarm. Deravenels is perfectly safe, as I just said. But it must be run on an efficient basis.’ She turned to Robert, and said, ‘I would like you to outline our plans about the changes we are going to make in general, Robin.’
Unlike everyone else who had spoken, Robert stood up. He made a handsome and imposing figure as he began to explain the plans Elizabeth, he and Cecil had put in place, speaking extemporaneously, and without the assistance of notes. He was such an eloquent and precise speaker, so clear in elucidating all of their aims, everyone clapped when he had finished.
Next, Elizabeth asked Cecil to give details of their plans for closing some of the offices around the world, and the reasoning behind this. He too rose, and he addressed the board with enormous clarity, sure of himself on all the issues. He readily answered a volley of questions, and calmed any of those board members who were nervous about the closing of the offices abroad, and how this would be viewed.
John Norfell spoke about his plans and vision for the international hotel group; Charles Broakes talked at length about the vineyards, which he would now control on a world-wide basis. Both men were self-assured, knowledgeable.
Questions were asked, answers given; matters were raised that Elizabeth would have liked to avoid, but she managed to deal with everything in her usual clever and shrewd way. She had been something of an actress all her life, and brilliant at dissimulation. Certainly her talent and abilities came in useful on this cold December morning.
When the board meeting broke up at twelve-thirty, she went around the room shaking everyone’s hand and chatting for a short time. Then she quietly slipped away, leaving the board members to be entertained at lunch by Cecil and Robin in the company dining room.