House of Cards (47 page)

The
shouted
questions
from
the
journalists
were
identical,
and
he
waved
a
hand
to
quieten
them
so
that
his answer
could
be
heard.
The
hand
also
contained
a
copy
of that
morning's
Telegraph,
and
for
a
moment
it
looked
as
if he
were
giving
a
victory
salute
which
only
encouraged
the scramble
still
further,
but
eventually
he
managed
to
bring
a degree
of
calm
to
the
proceedings.

'Ladies
and
Gentlemen,
as
Chief
Whip
I
would
like
to think
you
had
gathered
here
because
of
your
interest
in the
details
of
the
Government's
forthcoming
legislative programme,
but
I
suspect
you
have
other
things
on
your mind.'

The
gentle
quip
brought
a
chuckle
from
the
journalists and
put
Urquhart
firmly
in
control.

'I
have
read
with
considerable
surprise
and
obvious
interest
this
morning's
edition
of
the
Telegraph.'
He
held
it up
again
so
that
the
cameras
could
get
a
clear
shot.
‘
I
am honoured
that
such
a
significant
and
authoritative
newspaper
should
hold
a
high
opinion
of
my
personal
capabilities
—one
which
goes
far
beyond
my
own
judgement
of
the matter.
As
you
know,
I
had
made
it
clear
that
I
had
no intention
of
standing,
that
I
thought
it
was
in
the
Party's best
interest
that
the
Chief
Whip
should
stand
above
this particular
contest.'

He
cleared
his
throat.
'Generally
that
is
still
my
view.

However,
the
Telegraph
raises
some
important
points which
should
be
considered
carefully.
You
will
forgive
me if
I
don't
come
to
an
instant
or
snap
judgement
out
here
on the
pavement.
I
want
to
spend
a
little
time
consulting
with a
few
colleagues
to
obtain
their
opinions,
and
also
to
have
a long
and
serious
discussion
with
my
wife,
whose
views will
be
most
important
of
all.
I
shall
then
sleep
upon
it,
and let
you
all
know
tomorrow
what
decision
I
have
reached.
In the
meantime,
I
hope
you
will
allow
me
and
my
family
a few
hours
of
peace
to
think
about
things.
I
shall
have nothing
more
to
say
until
tomorrow.'

With
one
final
wave
of
his
hand,
still
clutching
the newspaper
and
held
for
many
seconds
to
satisfy
the screaming
photographers,
Urquhart
withdrew
into
his house
and
shut
the
door
firmly.

By
Monday
evening,
Mattie
was
beginning
to
wonder whether
she
had
been
too
hasty.
After
storming
out
of Preston's
office
she
had
persuaded
herself
that
she
had resolved
all
her
personal
and
professional
problems
in
one grand
gesture
-
no
more
Krajewski,
certainly
no
more Preston,
just
the
story
to
concentrate
on.
Yet
now
she
was not
so
sure.
She
had
spent
a
lonely
weekend
identifying
the newspapers
for
which
she
would
like
to
work,
but
as
she
did
so
she
quickly
realised
that
none
of
them
had
any
obvious
gaps
in
their
political
reporting
teams
which
she
could
hope
to
fill.
The
newspaper
world
is
highly
competi
tive,
and
although
she
could
offer
youthful
energy
and
talent
in
abundance,
she
had
just
thrown
away
the
track
record
of
experience
on
which
most
editors
hire
their staff.

She
had
made
many
telephone
calls
but
they
had
led
to few
appointments;
she
began
to
discover
that
somebody was
spreading
a
story
that
she
had
stormed
out
in
tears when
Preston
had
questioned
her
judgement,
and
sensitive feminine
outbursts
do
not
generally
commend
themselves to
the
heavily
male-dominated
club
of
newspaper
editors.

It
did
not
help
her
mood
that
the
Bank
of
England
had pushed
up
interest
rates
sharply
to
protect
sterling
from speculators
while
a
new
Prime
Minister
was
selected, leading
the
building
societies
that
morning
to
threaten
a rise
in
the
mortgage
rate.
It
made
her
realise
that
she
would have
no
apparent
means
of
paying
for
it.
It
was
difficult enough
with
a
salary.
Without
one,
her
affairs
could
very soon
become
impossible.

And
she
was
also
lonely.
Her
bed
was
once
more
an Arctic
outpost
fit
only
for
penguins,
and
gave
her
no comfort
from
her
other
problems.

Yet
the
story
kept
taking
over
and
pushing
to
one
side any
thoughts
of
dismay
in
her
mind,
while
the
Telegraph's
editorial
intervention
had
given
it
a
totally
new
twist. Throughout
the
early
evening
she
had
watched
the
various television
news
programmes,
all
of
which
were
dominated by
speculation
as
to
whether
Urquhart
would
stand,
and informing
a
generally
unaware
audience
about
what
a Chief
Whip
actually
does
and
who
Urquhart
was.