‘The tyranny of the Chatfield family is over,’ she began. ‘We now enter a new dawn, a new chapter in the history of mankind. Together, we can not only survive — we can also prosper. However, to prosper we must be organised, and we must work hard together. We must all contribute our skills for the common good.’
A murmur of agreement and much nodding of heads accompanied her words. Those closest to the wine took the opportunity to replenish their glasses.
‘We need the rule of law and we need a simple form of government based on democratic principles.’
‘Hear, hear,’ Duncan said forcefully, clearly relieved at Diana’s reference to democracy.
‘What I propose is that we elect a leader.’
‘Not another lord of Haver!’ Paul exclaimed.
‘Of course not,’ Diana assured him. ‘But we should respect our leader, whoever we choose. They will be doing a very important and a very demanding job. I suggest we simply call them Leader.’
‘Sounds a damned sight better than Your Lordship,’ Paul agreed.
‘How about Prime Minister or President?’ Cheryl asked.
‘It can’t be either of those two — it needs to be a title we can all respect,’ said Jennifer. There was another round of laughter.
‘Leader it is then,’ Diana said sharply, bringing proceedings back under control.
‘We need a committee,’ said Duncan, alarmed at how little debate was taking place.
‘Exactly,’ Diana agreed. ‘We don’t want to slip back into the tyranny of Nigel’s regime. So I suggest that the Leader be elected by all adult members of the community over the age of sixteen. The leader will be supported by a committee — let’s call it the Cabinet — consisting of one person elected by each of the Steed, Morgan and Grey families.’
‘We are the Chatfield family now,’ said Cheryl, who along with her father and sister had always resented the fact Nigel had insisted they change their family name to Grey in order to create a distinction between family groups.
‘But we’ve got used to calling you the Greys,’ Jennifer said.
‘And the Chatfield family still exists — will they get a place in the Cabinet?’ Virginia joked.
‘Absolutely not,’ Diana said. ‘Jasper, Damian and Greg can take their mother’s name, then,’ persisted Cheryl. ‘It’ll suit them. They can be called the Pratts.’
‘I agree with Jennifer,’ Diana said. ‘What’s in a name, after all? We’ve all got used to calling Paul and his family the Greys. Anyway, Chatfield has become a name to loathe. Do you really want to be called the Chatfields?’ she said, looking hard at Paul.
Paul capitulated. ‘You’re right, we’ll remain the Greys.’
Cheryl looked at her sister Bridget and shook her head.
Having ensured that Paul and his family had not reverted to the formerly powerful name of Chatfield, Diana continued with her presentation. ‘The cabinet’s job will be to make recommendations and suggestions to the Leader.’
‘Surely the Cabinet and the Leader will make decisions collectively?’ interrupted Duncan.
‘We can’t afford management by committee. We will remain in survival mode for years to come. In these circumstances we need someone able to make instant and sometimes unpopular decisions. We need to choose a leader who has good organisational skills and is able to administer justice.’
‘Well, there’s only one person with all those skills,’ Paul said. ‘That’s you, Diana. You’ve got my vote.’
Duncan shot him a look: so much for him and Paul supporting each other against Diana.
‘And mine,’ Jennifer said, as she raised her hand.
‘And mine,’ chorused the other adults in the room, also raising their hands. Only Duncan’s hand remained down.
‘If anyone else would like to put their name forward, we’ll put it to the vote,’ Diana announced. All eyes turned towards Duncan.
‘Not me,’ Duncan heard himself saying. He could see that the situation was hopeless. ‘Diana can be Leader. The decision-making processes can be decided by the Cabinet.’
‘Well, thank you everyone for your vote of confidence,’ Diana said briskly. ‘You will be pleased to know that my first decision as Leader is to declare tomorrow a public holiday.’ There was another round of applause. ‘Except for the Cabinet, of course,’ she continued as the applause died. ‘Each family can select their representative for Cabinet as soon as they return to their quarters tonight. The first Cabinet meeting will be in the ballroom at ten o’clock tomorrow morning.’
‘You’re joking!’ Duncan exclaimed.
‘I certainly am not.’ There was authority and finality in her voice.
‘What about these terrible tunics?’ Bridget asked.
‘They may not be fashionable,’ Diana replied, ‘but they wash easily and they don’t require ironing. So I intend to keep them as the standard work clothes. On Sundays and public holidays you may wear your favourite clothes.’
‘We’ll discuss the tunics at the Cabinet meeting,’ Duncan said, but his words were drowned out by the excited chatter around the table.
‘All right,’ Diana said above the hubbub. ‘Enjoy your evening and remember, elect one member of each family to be in the Cabinet. And just so that everyone thinks twice before putting themselves forward, I want each person selected for Cabinet to be back here at nine o’clock to help with the dishes.’
The dictate was greeted by more laughter.
‘Washing up is the Morgans’ job,’ said Paul.
‘Not any more it isn’t,’ Diana said firmly. ‘As I told you earlier, things are changing. In future everyone will be pitching in.’
Her edict delivered, she stood and left the room, Theresa and Susan hurrying after her.
Duncan was fuming. Putting members of the Cabinet on dishwashing duties was hardly raising the profile of their role. He wondered whether their new ‘Leader’ would be helping.
When Duncan reported to the kitchen at nine o’clock, as the Steeds’ elected member of Cabinet, he found that not only was Diana not present, neither was any other member of the Morgan family. There was just him and Paul, who had been elected as the Grey family Cabinet member.
‘So much for everyone pitching in,’ Duncan said bitterly. ‘I’m certainly going to give Diana a piece of my mind at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow morning.’
‘Well, I guess it’s fair enough that the Morgan family have a break,’ Paul said, running water into the sink. ‘After all, the Morgan girls have been washing up for the last three and a half years.’ He was obviously still feeling happy from the effects of the unaccustomed wine.
Duncan said nothing. He picked up a dishcloth and began drying and stacking the dishes his cousin had washed.
19
The next day, breakfast followed a similar routine to the previous evening’s meal.
‘Wait for grace,’ Susan reminded one of the children in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear. Again everyone was forced to hold back, waiting for Diana and Theresa to arrive. The children were hungry and automatically stood up as Diana and Theresa arrived. The adults instinctively followed the children’s lead. Duncan wondered cynically whether they were standing for the prayer or for the Leader.
There was a short delay as Diana adjusted her place setting before nodding to Theresa.
‘Dear Lord,’ Theresa began, ‘we pray that you will give our Leader wisdom to protect and guide us. We thank you for your bountiful harvest and the food you have placed on our table today. Amen.’
‘Please be seated,’ Diana said.
Duncan leaned across to Paul. ‘She should have prayed for guidance for the Cabinet, not the Leader. I’m certainly going to get stuck into her at that meeting,’ he threatened.
At ten o’clock, Duncan and Paul made their way to the ballroom. Diana was already sitting on the largest large gilt chair, which had been placed at one end of the Boulle table. Duncan and Paul were both surprised to see Theresa sitting on her rig
ht-hand side.
‘Where’s Susan?’ Duncan asked.
‘She didn’t want to be the Morgan family Cabinet member,’ Theresa said. ‘I drew the short straw.’
‘Pity you didn’t turn up to help with the dishes, then,’ Duncan grumbled as he grabbed a seat next to Theresa. Paul chose to sit in the empty chair facing Duncan, leaving a spare seat on Diana’s left.
‘Mother and I were trying to convince Susan to take the job until nearly midnight,’ Theresa explained.
‘Right,’ Diana said, clearly impatient with Duncan’s attitude. ‘I’ve been giving matters some thought and Theresa has given me her ideas. But before I finalise the agenda for today, do either of you two have any items that you particularly want to discuss?’
‘I thought we would be deciding the agenda as part of the meeting,’ said Paul.
Duncan was similarly ill-prepared. ‘I want to talk about the tunics,’ he said grumpily.
‘We’ll deal with the tunics under general business,’ Diana said dismissively, handing Paul and Duncan a hand-written agenda that read:
Key Appointments
Manager — Building Services and Utilities
Manager — Farm and Gardens
Manager — Domestic Services
Minister of Religion
Doctor
Manager — Planning, Administration and Labour Pool Resources
School Principal
Chief Justice
Frequency and format of Cabinet meetings
The Chatfield brothers
General Business
‘Minister of Religion!’ Duncan exclaimed. ‘What’s that about?’
‘We’ll deal with each agenda item in turn,’ Diana said sharply. ‘Item one is appointing a manager of building services and utilities. Duncan, I appreciate you’ve done a great job looking after the buildings over the past few years. But I’m guessing you wouldn’t mind a change.’ Duncan opened his mouth to disagree, but Diana continued. ‘I’m keen to take advantage of Paul’s electrical knowledge and would like him to take over this role.’
‘So what role do you have in mind for me? Minister of Religion?’ Duncan asked.
‘Clearly the most important role in the community in the short term is manager of the farm and gardens. The production of food is the key to our survival. With Mark having robbed the community of half the Dalton family and Nigel having wiped out the remainder, someone else needs to take over the management of the farm and gardens. I’d like you to take on that role.’
‘I don’t know much about gardening, and even less about farming!’
‘You don’t know much about electricity, plumbing and woodwork either,’ said Theresa, half joking.
‘I’ll give you training on the gardens,’ Paul said. ‘Anyway, both of my girls know what they’re doing. They’ll keep you straight.’
‘And I’ll give you training in farm management myself,’ Diana said.
‘You! What do you know about farming?’
‘I can read. Now Nigel is out of the way we’ve got access to a great library — a library stacked with books from the last few centuries that offer us invaluable insight into how things were done before modern farm equipment was available.’
‘I can read myself,’ Duncan said sourly.
‘But do you want to spend hours poring over books when I can do all the hard slog for you and just summarise the basic facts?’
Diana was well aware her cousin was no academic. Duncan grunted.
‘So are we agreed?’ Diana asked, looking him squarely in the eye. ‘Paul will be Manager — Building Services and Utilities and you will be Manager — Farm and Gardens.’
Paul looked across at Duncan. ‘I would certainly appreciate a change.’
‘Well, OK,’ Duncan agreed. ‘But I really wanted to be Minister of Religion,’ he added sarcastically.
Diana pressed on. ‘Susan has volunteered to be Manager — Domestic Services.’
‘She should be in the Cabinet, then,’ Paul said. ‘How can we discuss things and make decisions if she isn’t here?’
‘We agreed to one Cabinet member per family,’ Duncan said quickly.
‘Having her present at these meetings is a good idea, Paul,’ Diana agreed smoothly. ‘Where is Susan?’ she asked Theresa.
‘In the Crimson Gallery. I’ll go and get her.’
‘Hey, wait a minute, we haven’t taken a vote,’ Duncan complained. He looked at Paul and Diana and immediately sensed a vote would be pointless. ‘All right, but Susan doesn’t get a vote,’ he stressed.
Susan was seated at the remaining chair at the table within minutes. Diana now had her daughter Theresa at her right hand and her sister Susan at her left.
‘You don’t get a vote,’ Duncan said to Susan immediately.
‘I don’t want one. I told them I didn’t want to be in the Cabinet.’
‘You’re not,’ Duncan confirmed. ‘You’re a manager outside Cabinet.’
‘Suits me,’ shrugged Susan.
‘Right, Minister of Religion,’ continued Diana.
‘Well, I think we should vote on whether we even need one of those at all,’ Duncan said, leaning back in his chair.
‘Religion is important — maybe not to you, but it is to other people in this community,’ Diana said firmly. ‘Anyway, it’s one of the things that Nigel banned, and I want to reintroduce it to show that we have a new start.’
‘I agree,’ Paul said. Duncan rolled his eyes.
‘Religion helps give structure, it gives ceremony, it gives hope,’ Diana said piously.
‘And what flavour of religion do you have in mind?’ challenged Duncan.
‘Church of England,’ Theresa replied.
‘Well, that’s a good one to choose,’ laughed Duncan. ‘A religion founded on the balls of Henry the Eighth!’
‘The Chatfield family has always been Church of England, right back as far as Claude and Cora — probably further back.’
‘And Aunt Margaret certainly was C of E,’ Paul confirmed.
‘It doesn’t matter which religion we chose,’ Diana said quietly. ‘The history of the Roman Catholic Church and in particular the behaviour of some of its popes is hardly anything to write home about. And I certainly need say nothing about the actions of certain sects of the Muslim faith.’
‘It’s the Christian fundamentals that are important,’ said Theresa. ‘We have a new start. In time we’ll build our own church. The Church of England just gives me a familiar framework to work within.’
‘Gives me? So I take it you’re going to be the Minister of Religion?’ said Duncan.
‘I’d like to be.’
‘Maybe someone else would like to be Minister of Religion. What about Cheryl or Bridget, for example?’
‘It’s useful to have all the key posts held within the Cabinet,’ said Diana.
‘I don’t see that Minister of Religion is a key post.’
‘Well, I do. Religion will become increasingly important in the coming years.’
‘And it’s yet another post held by a Morgan,’ pointed out Duncan.
‘Well, it can’t be anyone in your family, can it?’ spat Diana. ‘When’s the last time you went to church other than for a funeral or a wedding?’
‘I think Theresa did a good job at the funeral the other day,’ Paul said quietly. ‘She deserves the role.’
‘That’s that, then,’ Diana said.
‘By the way,’ Duncan said, turning to Theresa, ‘if you’re going to do any praying, don’t forget to pray for the Cabinet. This isn’t a one-man — I mean one-woman — band.’
Diana ignored him and continued with her agenda.
‘I intend to take on the roles of Doctor, Manager — Planning, Administration and Labour Pool Resources, School Principal and Chief Justice myself,’ Diana said.
‘So now you’re a doctor on top of everything else!’ Duncan’s exasperation was evident.
‘I think I’m the one person who
has the study habits necessary to gain the knowledge required as quickly as it will be necessary.’
‘And what happens when you die?’
‘I’ll train Theresa as I go along.’
‘Cheryl has done a first-aid course,’ pointed out Paul.
‘Thanks, Paul, that’s a good point. We’ll train Cheryl as a nurse.’
Paul beamed.
‘Next agenda item,’ Diana said, moving quickly on. ‘Frequency and format of Cabinet meetings. The next meeting will be in a week’s time. Initially we’ll have a weekly meeting, but eventually they will be monthly. At our next meeting I want a written report delivered by each manager outlining a plan for the next twelve months and a detailed assessment of labour requirements for their area of responsibility.’
‘A written report,’ groaned Duncan.
‘Yes, and I want two copies: one for use by the manager themselves and one for Central Records.’
‘Central Records — is this the KGB now?’
‘We’re not going to make progress without detailed planning.’
‘Detailed planning! This is the KGB! We’ll have a five-year plan next.’
‘Good idea,’ Diana said. ‘Prepare one of those too.’
‘You’re joking!’
‘I’m not — your idea has merit. A five-year plan will give the community a sense of continuity. After the tyranny of Nigel and his sons, everything that gives them a feeling of stability and security, be it religion, a system of justice, re-establishment of a school for the children, medical services or long-term plans, is going to add to everyone’s feeling of wellbeing.’
‘And add to Paul’s and my workload!’ Duncan complained.
‘Well, if you don’t think you’re up to it…’
‘I’m up to it,’ Duncan snapped, glaring at his agenda. ‘So what’s the next item to discuss? The Chatfield brothers. What have you got planned for them — same as what you did to Nigel? How does a Chief Justice reconcile their role with committing murder?’
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