A Dangerous Fortune(159)
Both sides appealed to the British government for recognition, in the hope that it would help them get credit. Micky Miranda, still officially the Cordovan Minister in London, furiously lobbied Foreign Office officials, government ministers and members of Parliament, pressing for Papa Miranda to be recognized as the new president. But so far the prime minister, Lord Salisbury, refused to favor either side.
Then Tonio Silva arrived in London.
He turned up at Hugh’s suburban home on Christmas Eve. Hugh was in the kitchen, giving the boys hot milk and buttered toast for breakfast. Nora was still getting dressed: she was going into London to do her Christmas shopping, although she would have very little money to spend. Hugh had agreed to stay at home and take care of the boys: there was nothing urgent for him to do at the bank today.
He answered the doorbell himself, an experience that reminded him of the old days with his mother in Folkestone. Tonio had grown a beard and moustache, no doubt to hide the scars of the beating he had been given by Micky’s thugs eleven years earlier; but Hugh instantly recognized the carrot-colored hair and reckless grin. It was snowing, and there was a dusting of white on Tonio’s hat and the shoulders of his coat.
Hugh took his old friend into the kitchen and gave him tea. “How did you find me?” he asked.
“It wasn’t easy,” Tonio replied. “There was no one at your old house and the bank was closed. But I went to Whitehaven House and saw your aunt Augusta. She hasn’t changed. She didn’t know your address, but she remembered Chingford. The way she said the name, it sounded like a prison camp, like Van Diemen’s Land.”
Hugh nodded. “It’s not so bad. The boys are fine. Nora finds it hard.”
“Augusta hasn’t moved house.”
“No. She’s more to blame than anyone else for the mess we’re in. Yet she of all of them is the one who refuses to accept reality. She’ll find out that there are worse places than Chingford.”
“Cordova, for instance,” said Tonio.
“How is it?”
“My brother was killed in the fighting.”
“I’m sorry.”
“The war has reached a stalemate. Everything depends on the British government now. The side that wins recognition will be able to get credit, resupply its army, and overrun the opposition. That’s why I’m here.”
“Have you been sent by President Garcia?”
“Better than that. I am now officially the Cordovan Minister in London. Miranda has been dismissed.”
“Splendid!” Hugh was pleased that at last Micky had been sacked. It had irked him to see a man who had stolen two million pounds from him walking around London, going to clubs and theatres and dinner parties as if nothing had happened.
Tonio added: “I brought letters of accreditation with me and lodged them at the Foreign Office yesterday.”
“And you’re hoping to persuade the prime minister to support your side.”
“Yes.”
Hugh looked at him quizzically. “How?”
“Garcia is the president—Britain ought to support the legitimate government.”
That was a bit feeble, Hugh thought. “We haven’t so far.”
“I shall just tell the prime minister that you should.”
“Lord Salisbury is busy trying to keep the lid on a boiling cauldron in Ireland—he’s got no time for a distant South American civil war.” Hugh did not mean to sound negative, but an idea was forming in his mind.
Tonio said rather irritably: “Well, my job is to persuade Salisbury that he should pay attention to what is going on in South America, even if he does have other things on his mind.” But he could see the weakness of this approach, and after a moment he said: “Well, all right. You’re English, what do you think would engage his attention?”
Hugh said immediately: “You could promise to protect British investors from loss.”
“How?”
“I’m not sure, I’m thinking aloud.” Hugh shifted in his chair. Four-year-old Sol was building a castle of wooden blocks around his feet. It was odd to be deciding the future of a whole country here in the tiny kitchen of a cheap suburban house. “British investors put two million pounds into the Santamaria Harbor Corporation—Pilasters Bank being the biggest contributor. All the directors of the corporation were members or associates of the Miranda family and I have no doubt the entire two million went straight into their war chest. We need to get it back.”
“But it’s all been spent on weapons.”
“All right. But the Miranda family must have assets worth millions.”
“Indeed—they own the country’s nitrate mines.”
“If your side won the war, could President Garcia hand over the mines to the Santamaria Harbor Corporation, in compensation for the fraud? The bonds would be worth something then.”
Tonio said firmly: “I have been told by the president that I can promise anything—anything—that will get the British to side with the government forces in Cordova.”
Hugh began to feel excited. Suddenly the prospect of paying off all the Pilasters’ debts seemed closer. “Let me think,” he said. “We ought to lay the groundwork before you actually make your pitch. I believe I could persuade old Ben Greenbourne to put in a good word with Lord Salisbury, telling him he ought to support the British investor. But what about the Opposition in Parliament? We could go to see Dan Robinson, Maisie’s brother—he’s a member of Parliament, and he’s obsessed with bank failures. He approves of my rescue scheme for Pilasters and he wants it to work. He might make sure the Opposition supports us in the House of Commons.” He drummed his fingers on the kitchen table. “This is beginning to look possible!”