"I do enjoy these visits to the Palace." "A glass of sherry, a little verbal fencing, and a bracing dose of hatred and contempt." "Most invigorating." "And today a little extra treat - no, I won't spoil it." "Wait and see." " Do go in, Mr. Urquhart." " Thank you." "Hello, Mycroft." " He's onto something." " What did he say?" "Nothing." "Just that smile of his." "Crocodiles smile like that." "It's some weeks now since you hinted at a general election." " Yes, Sir." " I'd be glad of some idea of the date." "I'm sure you would, yes." "And you will be the first to be informed, but there are some imponderables and parliamentary business to be enacted." " What business, if I may ask?" " Of course you may, Sir." "We..." "We thought about taking another look at the Civil List, amongst other things." "After a full-scale review only a year ago?" "Yes, we thought about having another look." " I trust you're not being vindictive." " Not at all, Sir." "Far be it from us to lop another million off a deserving royal family on the pretext of babies starving in the streets" "That sort of cheap remark's unworthy of you." "I hear you've been having secret talks with Opposition leaders and one or two of the less trustworthy members of my own party." "I have a perfect right." "It is my duty to inform myself of all shades of political opinion." "That hardly extends to conspiring in Chelsea restaurants and trying to organise a bloodless coup against the elected government, does it?" "Consultation doesn't mean conspiracy." " It isn't a criminal activity, is it?" " We know what you've been up to." "And my advice on that little venture is pack it in." "It won't work." " It'll all end in tears." " What are you frightened of?" "If my views are wrong, they'll be seen to be wrong." "If not, you should welcome them." "I understand you're preparing a television programme now." " May I see a copy of the text?" " No." "It's still in preparation." "I should think very carefully about all this, if I were you, Sir." "Well, I have done, Prime Minister, and I shall continue to do so." "What I would prefer is that he'd give up thinking." "Kings aren't supposed to think." "It was a great mistake sending him to university with architects, philosophers and comely young black activists." " Thank you, Miss Carmichael." " A pleasure." "He's far too fond of the sound of his own voice." "The trouble is, others like it too." "I do hate confrontations." "Somebody always gets hurt." "Time for a visit to the House of Wounded Feelings." "We have to keep our options open." " Your Royal Highness." " Mr. Urquhart." "What do you want this time?" "To assure you of my government's continuing interest in your welfare." "And to inquire if there is any way in which I could be of service to you." "Thank you." "Look, it's very good of you to take the trouble, but are you planning to spend one of those meaningless half-hours saying nothing?" "If you were planning something like that," "I'd just as soon leave it out." " I've sort of had all that." " Yes, indeed." "Yes, indeed." "Thank you." "Any chance of my asking simple questions and getting straight answers?" " You could try, ma'am." " I want to know what he's up to." "In my view, he's playing a dangerous game." "He's playing politics." "His usual Line, but he's taking it further." "He's coming into direct conflict with the elected government." "And his advisors, who should be restraining him, seem to be egging him on." "I take it you no longer have any influence there?" " I never had." " Pity." " Or anywhere else." " There you are too modest." "What's going to happen, Mr. Urquhart?" "I'm afraid that by his actions His Majesty is going to injure himself." "You mean you're going to injure him." "Do you really want to destroy the monarchy?" "I do not want to destroy the monarchy." "You have nothing to fear from me." "Nor does your son." "You need friends, ma'am." "You need strong friends whom you can trust." "I sought no quarrel with your husband." "I wished to be his friend and now I wish to be yours." "The breach between him and me can be healed if he wills it." "Whether he does or not, you and your son will not suffer." "I think you understand me, don't you?" "Yes, I do." "But can I trust you?" "You know you can." " Mother?" " Yes, darling?" "I VOW TO THEE, MY COUNTRY)" ""Look, stranger, on this island." ""Now the leaping light for your delight discovers." ""Stand stable here and silent be, That, through the channel of the ear," ""May wander like a river The swaying sound of the sea."" "I love my country, but I fear for what is happening to it." "Pollution is the word that comes to mind." " Wow!" "That's really, really bad news." " Oh, come on, Charlie." " The man's telling the truth." " Oh, Quilly, what do you know?" "The man's making a stand." "Got to respect that." "Pollution in the most literal sense of our seas and rivers, of our roads, our cities, caused by cynical exploitation of natural resources, but also a deeper, more insidious form of pollution." "Moral pollution." "What one might almost call pollution of the soul." "This permits the cynical exploitation of human resources, the waste of human talent, the destruction by design or by neglect of human hopes and aspirations." "The erosion of human dignity and those values I have always felt to be peculiarly ours, ours in these islands." "The values of fairness, of human kindness, that sense that we are all equal in the eyes of God." "That to be human means to be bound together in mutual trust and dependency." "That sense that what will survive of us is love." "Love in its broadest sense." "Nowadays I find that I sleep badly." "And my waking hours are troubled by a pervasive sense of unease." "There is a new spirit abroad, a deeply disturbing and depressing spirit." "We are beginning not to care about each other anymore." "Some of us who have jobs and homes and money regard the unemployed as a little less human than ourselves, the homeless as a little less human than ourselves, the very poor as a little less human than ourselves." "We begin not to notice them, to harden our hearts, even to blame them for their hardship as if they weren't quite human, as if they didn't feel pain and hunger quite as we do, but they do." "They do." "I don't want to rule over a country where people don't care about each other." "I'm not a political animal, but it seems to me that we must find a new way to live together in this land of ours." "Things are going to have to change, I want to be part of that change." "Let us begin to make that change...now." "The excitement outside 10 Downing Street is scarcely less than that outside the Palace." "The King's broadcast has brought out a truly extraordinary public response." "Crowds are out in the streets in London and all major cities in support of the King's opposition to Francis Urquhart's hard-line policies on welfare." "We're just waiting now for the Prime Minister to arrive from Chequers." "And here he comes now." "Good morning!" "Nice to see you up so early." " Could you give me a few words?" " Happy to." "Is there a complete breakdown between the Palace and Downing Street following the King's savage criticisms?" "Absolute nonsense." "His Majesty and I enjoy excellent relations based on a free and frank exchange of views." "That is not the way it's being seen by Buckingham Palace." " They see it as close to civil war." " They may think that if they're silly." "Here's the way I see it." "His Majesty is as much entitled to his views as you or I." "He's an idealist." "I like him all the better for it." "He's actually a very nice man." " I want a full report on this!" " Which aspect?" " All aspects." "Where's Mr. Stamper?" " Waiting for you." "And Mrs. Harding." "Right." "I want no calls for the next hour." "Out!" "Out!" " What's the damage?" " We've underestimated him." " It was first-class propaganda." " What are the polls saying?" " 10% swing against the government." " 10%?" "People are so very fickle." "They don't appreciate what I've done for them." "It's just a temporary blip." "Come the election, they'll vote for low taxes." "I hope they will, Tim." "So far your efforts have been remarkably unsuccessful." "What is Brynford-Jones playing at?" "!" ""Time for a change of heart"!" "I thought he was neutered!" "Bullerby's rag has lost its brains! "King of hearts"!" " Well, you know the pit bull..." " No, I left that to you." "I'm extremely disappointed!" "You can have my resignation any time." "I just want you to do the job I thought you were capable of!" "Could we have a word in private?" "No, I don't think that'll be necessary." "And I've got rather a lot to do this morning." "Perhaps we should consider the possibility" "SDthat he may be in the right." "Stamper?" "The King." "He may be right, Sarah." "But he's not right." "What he said had no intellectual content, no thought." "It's compassion babble." "Go on." "Well, no one likes distress and poverty." "But he'd plunge the whole country back into debt." "We'd be back into subsidising indolence and apathy," "Dand penalising talent and industry." "He's put it on the agenda, though." "Compassion, I mean." "He's really done it, I'm afraid." "Compassion's here to stay." "Is he, um, very angry?" "You could say that, yes Forget about that knighthood, for a start." "Do you know, I don't think" "I thought about that at all when I was writing that leader." "I feel quite proud of that, in a way." "Ah, well." "Trouble is, unless you toe the line now, that other business has to come out." "What other business?" "You indecently exposing yourself on Stirling railway station!" " Stamper, for pity's sake!" " Nothing personal." "Rules of the game." "But the heat's on now." "He's calling in all favours." "FU's on the warpath and the price of coffins is gonna raise!" ""Huckleberry Finn." The only book I ever read right through at school." "Or later, come to that." "And a total waste of time that was, too." "Do you ever wonder if the whole game's worth the candle?" " Almost every day now, Tim." " Really?" "He can be such a swine, Bryan." "I don't think he appreciates how much he owes to me." "Do you ever think about the future, Tim?" "The next PM taking over from FU?" "Not anymore." "Not enough of a power base." "Who's heard of me?" "I spent my whole political Life as Urquhart's stooge." "Some of us appreciate your qualities, Tim, and would support you, if the opportunity arose." "No one's invulnerable." "That's true." "Thanks, Bryan." "Who knows, eh?" "What did you talk about with her?" "Did you talk about politics?" "Sometimes." "I used to let her ask me questions." "It was a sort of game we had." "Do you mind me asking about her?" "I'd rather you asked me than anyone else." "Did you love her very much?" "Do you wish it was her here now, not me?" "Don't answer that." " Sarah..." " Forget it." "It's all right, forget it." "I feel stifled." "I feel as if I'd like to open the curtain and stand at the window." "Looking out." "What is it you want to see?" "Nothing." "I'd just like to be able to do it." "Don't worry, I wasn't going to do it." "You don't have to worry about me." "I think I'll go home now." "Is that all right?" "Of course, if that's what you want to do." " I think I should." " You're not regretting this?" "Oh, no." "It's not easy, but I'm not regretting it." "It's all far too interesting for that." "I think it's the most interesting thing I've ever done." " Good." " You mustn't worry, Francis." "I told you I want to learn everything I can from you." "And then you'll leave me." "Well, nothing lasts forever, does it?" "I think I'd better take a shower." "I must absolutely reek of you." "I don't think Andrew would approve." "That OK?" "Of course." "No, it isn't easy." "It is interesting, but it isn't easy." "So many people gather in these rooms where lovers meet, so many ghosts, so many silent witnesses from my past life and her present one." "Sometimes it seems they suck up all the sweet, fresh air and I can't breathe." "I wanted to make her my slave." "and now I almost feel in danger of becoming hers." "The reaction's brilliant." "BBC figures, Sir." "Went like a dream." "I must say, I feel greatly encouraged." "Thank you." "Both of you." "No, it was you, Sir." "You wrote your own words." "You sounded like yourself." "You said what everyone wants to hear." "Well..." "I hope so, Chloe." "I don't think there is much doubt, Sir." "I've seen the poll for tomorrow's "Standard"." "Up to a 12% swing now." "And the press and TV coverage is better than we could have hoped for." "It's very warm, very friendly." "The best the Firm has done for years, if I can put it that way." " But..." " I beg your pardon, Sir?" "There's a reservation there." "What is it?" "I don't see how you - how we - are to go on from here." "Urquhart has a general election." "The date will suit himself." "Is the Palace intending to side with the Opposition?" "I can't do that." "I can't enter party politics." "You already have done, Sir." "It's the best thing that could have happened." "No." "Bloody nonsense." "It's my duty to take soundings." "I'm encouraging all political parties to adopt more humane, caring and rational policies." "That is utterly consistent with being a constitutional monarch." "The people see you as the only man who has the stature, moral authority and the sheer guts to take on Urquhart and win!" " And they're right." "He's your enemy!" " I won't listen to any more." "Leave us." "I'm sorry, Sir." "I will not..." "This is not some petty, personal blood feud." "And I am not a politician!" " She's wrong, isn't she?" " I think so, Sir." "You're seeking to lead and influence public opinion." "People can change." "I know that." "Of course, the Urquharts of this world aren't about to change." "Chloe was right about Urquhart." "He is your enemy." "I think he'll be utterly unscrupulous." "Invasions of privacy, for example." "And, in that connection, there's something about me you ought to know." "No." "Whatever it is, I don't want to hear it." "Your private life clearly has nothing to do with your ability to do your job." "The hell that wife of yours put you through, you'd have been entitled to a nervous breakdown." "I know what it feels like." "You're a rock, David." "An absolute rock." "Always have been." "Best man I know." "Look here, if you're trying to tell me that you've found..." "someone else, and you're shagging yourself silly, jolly good luck to you, whoever it is." "Nothing to do with your job, full stop." "Now, if you want to confide in me as a friend, well, that's something else." "I don't think so." "If it's not a problem for you, Sir, it's certainly not one for me." "In fact, I'm happier now than I've been for years." "Oh, good." "I'm delighted, David." "Oh, yes!" "Wow!" "She must have been the last virgin left in the EEC," "I should think." "Over 12, I mean." " Did they take her word for it?" " Brucie, that is beastly!" "How should I know?" "Do you want me to ask her?" "God!" " Would she tell you?" " You're just so disgusting." "It's not for me." "It's for history." "Oh, ya, I forgot." "You old hypocrite." "What a little pig you are, Brucie, with your sack of money!" " Little Brucie!" " For God's sake, Charlotte!" "Please can we get on?" "Now..." "It's better for her to mate with the strongest bull." "Number two bull chases number three away from a female and then claims her for himself." " Was he seeing anyone else at the time?" " At what time?" "Oh, right." " Of course he was." " Who?" "God, I can't remember." "Loads of people." "You haven't really got this, have you?" "Look, if you're one of his lot, you just send for anyone you want." "It's a thingy - perk of the job." " Silly old Bullers!" " You can't remember any names?" "Oh, honestly!" "I didn't know this was going to be such hard work." "Oh, Liddy, of course." "Liddy Baker-Harvington." "Oh, and Poo, Poo Bender." "Do you know Poo?" "You'd adore her." "Poo's a sport." "Try anything once, Poo." "Point of principle." "Oh, and, um..." "Oh, God." "This is so exhausting!" "Bully, Bully, can't we stop and have another little rest?" "Mm!" "You're not letting things slide too far?" "There's not much to be done at the moment." "We've seriously underestimated him." "He's turned out to be quite a performer." "But, then, life would be very dull without its little ups and downs." "No rest for the wicked." "By the way, I'll dine at the House this evening." "Of course, I'll go down to the country." "You don't need Corder, do you?" "No." "I'll give him dinner and "Siegfried"." "That'll be jolly." "Very good value, Corder." "I think so, too." "Prime Minister's Question Time." "Very frightening." "Like being mugged by a guinea pig "Is the PM aware...?"" "Is the Prime Minister aware, as he certainly should be if he's read a newspaper this week, listened to the radio or watched TV, if he's talked to any ordinary man or woman in the street this week," "which I very much doubt because he wouldn't like what they've got to say..." "Too many words." "He'll never learn." "Is he aware that the vast majority of people, from His Majesty himself to the homeless beggars in the streets, are fed up with him and his discredited policies?" "When, when will he go to the country, as he has continually hinted that he will, and give them a chance to vote him out and vote in a government that cares about people?" "I'd like to assure you that the government is well aware of the problems so eloquently expressed by His Majesty and his little..." "I mean, the Right Honourable gentleman." "The government is now in a position to address those problems in measures to be announced next week." "U-turn!" "U-turn!" "After which..." "After which we shall humbly submit to the verdict of the British public at the polling stations." "It's all very well tormenting the intellectually challenged." "but we have been pushed into a U-turn, and the media is going to say so." "All the Opposition have to do is to get a new leader, play all the court cards and we could be in serious trouble." "Back to the welfare state without passing Go." "Dismal egalitarianism running rampant with a royal seal of approval." "Thank God for the House of Lords!" "This debate is about fox hunting'." "It's about much more than that." "There are wreckers in this land who want to do away with what we hold most dear, whether it be the time-honoured customs of our country, or the great tradition of charity to our less fortunate fellow men," "or even the sacred tradition of the monarchy itself." "My lords, this is the first time" "I have been moved to speak in this House in 15 years." "I only want to say this." "Don't meddle in things that don't concern you." "That's fox hunting." "Do something about poverty and injustice or you'll have a bloody revolution on your hands!" "And, finally, don't blame the royal family!" "It's not their ruddy fault!" " Crisis?" "What crisis?" " The constitutional crisis." "The Lords siding against the government." "A storm in a teacup." "This is not the Middle Ages." "Chap has too many at lunchtime, then the publicity-mad bishops join in!" "Well, that's what the House of Lords is for, isn't it?" " Prime Minister in?" " Yes." "Hang on..." " Sorry to butt in, FU." " Yes, Tim." "What is it?" ""What is it?" We've got a crisis on our hands!" "We're trailing 14 points and suddenly everyone's calling us names!" "The troops are getting very jumpy." "I need to tell them something positive!" "We go to the polls three weeks from tomorrow." "All right with you?" "Oh, bloody excellent!" "We just need to get things moving." "The chaps'll soon fall into place." "I mean, who really cares about tramps and beggars, for God's sake?" "Oh, I've got Staines to do a point of order." "Who?" "Staines." "You know, always keen to please." "Can you stop him?" "No." "He'll have already started by now." "What's the matter?" "I wish you'd consulted me first, Tim!" "Staines is about to become a problem." "Earlier this afternoon, Madam Speaker, in another place, a noble lord accused this government" "of all kinds of wickedness." "Fox-hunting peers get a better view from their high horses, I suppose." "Like the royals in their Bentleys." "And that gives them the right to lecture us?" "How dare they!" "How dare they challenge the people's elected representatives and try to claim a moral superiority over ordinary, decent folk!" "How dare they!" "Who do they think they are?" "We know who we are and what we're for." "Who are they and what are they for?" "To live off our backs and read us sermons on how to live?" "Do we actually need moral sermons from a degenerate aristocracy and a discredited royal family?" "Buggery, actual bodily harm, gross indecency." "A number of lesser charges, nearly all of them under-age." "Nearly all of them with young offenders in custody or in care." "Apparently, he regarded it as a perk of the job." " Mr. John Staines?" " Yes?" "My name is Hackett, sir." "Detective Inspector Hackett." "We'd like you to come and help us with some inquiries." "Mr. John Staines, the MP for Stansted, is still being interviewed by senior police, having been charged with a number of sexual offences." "Earlier, he made an impassioned speech rebutting recent attacks on the government and criticising the lifestyle of the aristocracy and the royal family." "What a shame." "Apparently, it was a very good speech." "It won't carry quite so much moral authority now." " You're very calm." " These things are sent to try us." "I never cared for him." "Stamper's boy." "Tim's not the world's most brilliant judge of character." "He's running out of luck." "If any of this dirt sticks to Stamper, I'll drop him like a hot brick." "It might be a very good thing." "We could do with a scapegoat." " I thought he was your oldest friend." " He is." " Staines felt it was a perk of the job." " Apparently so." "Is that what I am?" "Do you see me as a perk of the job?" "Of course not." "You might as well say I am a perk of your job." "We have freedom of action." "We choose each other." "How did Mattie Storin see it?" "What?" "What is it?" "You have nothing to do with her." "That relationship was utterly different." "What you and I have is unique." "Mattie Storin is dead, Sarah." "She's gone for good." "It isn't easy, this." "It isn't as easy as I thought it would be." "I'm spending too much time thinking about you." "Not the job you." "And people in your past." "Like Mattie Storin." "I seem to have become unhealthily obsessed." "And I'm afraid I'm in some danger of falling in love with you." "Oh, come on, David!" "This is silly." "Yes, I'm sure it is." "It's just upset me, that's all." "This Staines business." "He was there, in that club." "With that kid, with one of his kids." "Toting him around and showing him off, as if to say, "Look what I've got!"" "He was almost offering this boy like a packet of cigarettes." "Then he said..." "I can't remember exactly, but the implication was, "We're all at it!"" " That what you and I do is the same." " It's not, David!" "Yes, I know." "My client, who is completely innocent of these very serious charges, is anxious to offer you his very fullest co-operation in your inquiries." "Not asking for a deal, are we?" "He is in a position to offer you very extensive and detailed information relating to this particular inquiry and to others you may be interested in pursuing." "Run it! "Enough is enough!" "Old England gives warning to Essex Man."" ""We care for the kids," says Staines, and is arrested for buggering them!" "Hint, hint, hint!" ""Fox-hunting lord Quillington rebuked by the stainer from Stansted!"" " The pit bull roars approval!" " I heard that!" "You're fired!" "Now...this is the story." "You've got the King against the Prime Minister, you've got, "Don't blame the royals", and Urquhart's plan to bring down the monarchy." "And...they have all played the personal morality card, every one of them, which means, in my book, everybody's private life is up for grabs!" "Everybody's!" "This is absolutely excellent, Sarah." "It attacks the problem of the inner cities, it tackles unemployment and puts layabouts under strict discipline." "Original, bold and practicable!" "And this is the only copy?" "Yes, I haven't discussed it with anyone." "Let's keep it that way." "Timing is everything." " I'm extremely impressed, Sarah." " Thank you." "Oh, no, I can't, really." "Not this evening." "We've got people coming." "I wish I could stay, honestly." "It's just not possible." "Of course." "It's all right, Sarah." "I understand." "I am sorry." "I got held up." "I'm so sorry." " You selfish bitch!" " I'm sorry you're upset." " Is that all?" " I still love you." "I can smell him on you, Sarah!" " How could you do it?" " I don't know, I don't know!" " I don't understand it myself!" " Give him up!" "Just give him up." "Now!" " I can't." " What about me?" "What about me?" "You bitch!" "Hello." "Here's some advice, Sarah." "Stop now or you'll end up like Mattie." "Mattie was a brilliant young journalist." "Brilliant, but unstable." "I met her first several years ago when she came to interview me." "I liked her very much, right from the start." "I found I was incapable of resisting her." "I had thought that my feelings were entirely platonic." "She showed me they were not." "She showed me they were quite otherwise." "Krajewski used to be first class, but he's come seriously unstuck." "Completely paranoid now, you know." "Peddles conspiracy theories which don't quite stand up." "Supposed to have IRA contacts, but nobody's quite sure." "We tend to give him a wide berth." "I suppose I could arrange a meeting for you if you thought it was worth it." "Yes, please, Bryan." "I'd be very, very grateful." "Take everything he says with a big pinch of salt." "I think he's off his head." "They bug the phones, the buildings." "You have no idea." " So who do you work for?" " Francis Urquhart." "But this isn't for him." "This is purely personal." "Mattie Storin...was a lovely girl." " She was Francis Urquhart's mistress." " I don't know." "Yes, yes, yes, she had to be." "But then again it's..." "It's so hard to get my..." "I think he killed her." "Or he had her killed." "What?" "!" "We knew he killed O'Neill." "Put rat poison in his cocaine." "Really!" "That's just absurd!" "Think what you like." "I can't prove it now." "All Mattie's tapes were stolen." "Sounds crazy, doesn't it?" "You think I'm crazy." "I don't know." "Are you?" "Yes, I think I probably am a bit." "What I don't know is why the bastards haven't killed me." "It's very...unsettling." " Just waiting for them to do it." " Go to the police." "It's the police they'll probably employ to do it!" "Violently resisting arrest." "Found hanged in his cell." "I wish they'd bloody well get on with it!" "They'll probably kill you, too, now." "I'm off." "Best of luck." " Come in." " Sir Bruce is here, Prime Minister." " Good." "Excellent." "Show him in." " Sir Bruce?" "Bruce!" "Good to see you." "Thanks for coming in at such short notice." " Always a pleasure." "Afternoon, Tim." " Hello." "I see you've been reading the paper." "No hard feelings?" "Things need airing." "Of course they do." "Quite right." "Do sit down." "Would I be right in thinking you're on some sort of morality crusade, Bruce?" "In a sense, yes." "A debate about morality in public and private life." "Why not?" "With everyone's private life subject to scrutiny?" "Well, if it's all right for the royals..." "Who could argue with that?" "How are you getting along with the princess?" "Very well, surprisingly enough." "We thought so, too." "Stamper has some photographs he'd like to show you." "The technical quality is rather poor in some of them." "Other way up, I think, Bruce." "That's it." "There's a video, too." "I was very doubtful about the morality of infringing your privacy, but after what you've just said..." "How much for the prints and the negatives?" "Bruce, please." "A little loyalty from our friends is all we ask." "Just a helping hand in these rather trying times." "Oh, well!" "Of course." "We weren't actually gonna put the boot in, not in a serious way." "These are tough times for all of us." "We gather the memoirs are revealing." "Bloody dynamite." "And not just about her, not just about the younger generation." "Staggering stuff." "They're all bloody at it!" "Always have been." "Print them." "I can't do that." "I made a solemn promise." "Not while the princess is alive." "Francis..." "It would destroy her." "And not just her." "She doesn't deserve that." "No, perhaps you're right." "We'll just have to make do with these, won't we?" "All right, you bugger!" "Ding dong, ding dong." " And as for you, Stamper..." " What?" "Just like old times." "The body found on waste ground last night was today identified as John Krajewski, a freelance investigative journalist." "The killing bore the hallmarks of an execution by the Provisional IRA, but was claimed by a group previously unknown " "the London Irish Branch." "John Krajewski had a distinguished career in journalism, having worked as a reporter, sub-editor and deputy editor for many newspapers." "Sarah, Sarah, I'm surprised at you." "You actually went to meet him?" " Why would you want to do that?" " It's embarrassing." "I got a bit obsessed about Mattie Storin." "I was jealous of her, I suppose." "I thought if I found out a bit more it would help." "And did it?" "Help, I mean?" "Yes, I think it did." "What strange creatures we are." "The things we feel we have to do." "He said he knew he'd be killed." "He didn't say he meant the IRA." " And what else did he say?" " Nothing much." "He said Mattie Storin was a lovely girl." "She was a lovely girl, but she's not with us anymore." " That was all he said?" " More or less." "You do trust me, don't you, Sarah?" "Yes." "Yes, I do." "Good." "But they all; all of them, betray us eventually." "They love us, but not quite enough." "They trust us, but not quite enough." "And we trust them to be entirely human, meaning less than trustworthy." "Which means that we can never quite entirely sleep." "As the cat's eyelids flicker, some part of us must stay awake always." "Ready, as the coiled spring is ready." "Bully, you don't know what you've done." "You didn't even tell me first!" "God!" "I knew you were a bit of a toad, but I never, ever believed you'd do anything so completely crappy!" " Bully, how could you?" " I feel as bad about this as you do." "Urquhart had me over a barrel." "My arse was on the line." "What about MY arse?" "Doesn't my arse mean anything to you?" "It means a great deal to me." "More than I can say." "But in the final analysis, when the chips..." "Just shut up!" "Just bloody well shut up!" "God, Bully, I can't believe what you've done." "Quilly's going to kill you." "He means that." "He's serious." "And I shan't try and stop him!" "Over the last few weeks, the integrity of this government and of Parliament has been subjected to an organised and virulent attack from various sources." "You might think that some of those who made accusations were not perhaps in the ideal position to throw stones, living as they do in glass houses, or, should I say, glass palaces?" "You might very well think that." "It would not be proper for me to comment." "Most of you will be aware of the so-called revelations in "The Clarion" today." "Many of you will deplore, as I do, the prevalence of muckraking in our tabloid press." "But for muckraking to happen there has to be muck to be raked." "And, sadly, this commodity is not in short supply amongst the English aristocracy, and, very sadly, in the royal family itself." "This is very damaging stuff." "No, it's not." "We're getting to him." "He's running scared." "A poll to be published tomorrow shows that a majority now favour further drastic reductions in public funding for the monarchy." "I am not at present prepared to accede to this and remain, in spite of everything, a loyal servant of the Crown." "But..." "I should like to leave you with these questions." "What is the monarchy for?" "Where has it gone wrong?" "And how can we help the monarchy to serve the country better?" " How much does Bullerby have?" " Everything the princess told him." "A lot of it's hearsay, but there's enough to bring down the monarchy for good." " Damn you!" "Is that what you want?" " No, Sir." "I think, I'm sure, in fact," "I could persuade him to suppress the more sensitive items." "The price being my silence?" "You might see it in those terms." " All right, do your worst." " I beg your pardon, Sir?" "People don't want any more muckraking." "The whole nation is sick to death of negative campaigning and dirty tricks." " They want something positive." " You have given your word, Sir." "Not to make any political speeches, and I shan't." "But I shall make it very clear that I oppose you bitterly and all you stand for." "I used to think you were an honourable man." "Not anymore." "You are intellectually and morally bankrupt." "I should like to formally request a dissolution of Parliament in preparation for a general election." "Granted, Mr. Urquhart." "Why do this?" "What can be in it for you?" "You really don't understand, do you?" "I do believe you're frightened of me." "You believe that if it gives you any comfort, Sir."