until the sommelier had finished pouring the Nuits Saint Georges. Once he was out of earshot, Alan continued.
'William has over twenty - one million invested in the bank at four and a half per cent until his twenty - first birthday. We reinvest the interest for him each quarter in stocks and shares. We have never in the past invested in a private company. It may surprise you to hear, Anne, that we now carry out this reinvestment on a fifty - fifty basis: fifty per cent following the bank's advice and fifty per cent following the suggestions put forward by William At the moment we are a little ahead of him, much to the satisfaction of Tony Simmons, our investment director, whom William has promised a Rolls - Royce in any year that he can beat the boy by over ten per cent!
'But where would William get hold of the ten thousand dollars for a Rolls - Royce if he lost the bet - when he's not allowed to touch the money in his trust until he is twentyone?'
'I do not know the answer to that, Anne. What I do know is he would be far too proud to come to us direct and I am certain he would not have made the wager V he could not honour it. Have you by any chance seen his famous ledger book lately?'
vMe one given to him by his grandmothersT Alan Lloyd nodded.
'No, I haven't seen it since he went away to school. I didn't know it still existed!
'It still exists and I would,' said the banker, 'give a montys wages to know what the credit column in that ledger book now stands at. I suppose you are aware that he banks that money with Lester's in New York, and not with us? They don't take on private accounts at under ten thousand dollars. I'm also fairly certain they wouldn't make an exception, even for the son of Richard Kane.'
'The son of Richard Kane.' said Anne.
'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude, Anne!
'No, no, there is no doubt he is the son of Richard Kane. Do YOU know he has never asked me for a penny since his twelfth birthday?' She paused. 'I think I should wam you, Alan, that he won't take kindly to being told he has to invest five hundred thousand dollars of his trust money in Henry's company!
'They don't get on well?' enquired Alan, his eyebrows rising.
'I'm afraid not,' said Anne.
'I'm sorry to hear that. It certainly would make the tz - ansaction more complicated if William really stood out against the whole scheme. Although he has no authority over the trust until he is twenty - one, we have already discovered through sources of our own that he is not, beyond going to an independent lawyer to find out his legal position: ~Good God,' said Anne, ',you can't be serious.'
'Oh, yes, quite serious, but there's nothing for you to worry about. To be frank, we at the bank were all rather impressed and once we realised where the enquiry was coming from, we released information we would normally have kept very much to ourselves. For some private reason he obviously didn't want to approach us directly!
'Good heavens,' said Anne, 'what will he be like when he's thirty?, 'That will depend,' said Alan, 'on whether he is lucky enough to fall in love with someone as lovely as you. That was always Richard's strength.'
'You are an old flatterer, Alan. Can we leave the problem of the five hundred thousand until I have had a chance to discuss it with Henry?'
'Of course, my dear. I told you I had come to seek your advice!
Alan ordered coffee and took Anne's hand gently in his. 'And do remember to take care of yourself, Anne. You're far more important than the fate of a few thousand dollars.
When Anne returned home from lunch she immediately started to worry about the other two letters she had received that morning. Of one thing she was now certain, after all she had learned about her own son from Alan Lloyd; she would be wise to give in gracefully and let William spend the forthcoming holidays with his friend, Matthew Lester.
Henry and Millys relationship raised a problem to which she was unable to compose so simple a solution. She &at in the maroon leather chair, Richard's favourite, looking out through the bay window on to a beautiful bed of red and white roses, seeing nothing,