bull about to charge. The limp handshake had been deceptive. Urquhart couldn't fail to mistake the sincerity of the other man's anger, and knew he had misjudged the situation. He flushed and swallowed hard.
'I . . . apologize, Sir. I can assure you I played no part in the leaking of these documents, and I had assumed that, perhaps, a Palace servant . . . ? I misconstrued.' The knuckles of his tightly clenched hands were cracking with frustration, while the King snorted through his nose several times, banging a hand down upon his right knee as if to expend his anger and to regain control of his temper. They both sat silent for several moments, gathering their wits.
'Sir, I am at a loss as to which devil is responsible for the leak and our misunderstanding.'
'Prime Minister, I am well aware of my constitutional duties and restraints. I have made a deep study of them. Open warfare with my Prime Minister is not within my prerogative and it is not my desire. Such a course of action can only be damaging, perhaps disastrous, for us both.'
'The damage has already been inflicted for the Government.
After this afternoon's Question Time, I have no doubt that tomorrow's newspapers will be full of coverage supporting what they believe to be your view and attacking what they will describe as an insensitive and heavy-handed Government. They will say it is censorship.'
The King smiled grimly at Urquhart's recognition of the balance of popular sentiment.
'Such coverage will only do us both harm, Sir. Drive a wedge between us, expose those parts of our Constitution which are best left in the privacy of darkness. It would be a grave error.'
'On whose part?'
'On all our parts. We must do whatever we can to avoid that.' Urquhart left the statement hanging in the air while he tried to judge the other man's reaction, but all he could see was the continuing puffiness of exasperation around the eyes. 'We must try to prevent the newspapers ruining our relationship.'
'Well, what do you expect that I can do? I didn't start this public row, you know.'
Urquhart took a deep breath to blunt the edge of his tongue. ‘I know. Sir. I know you didn't start it. But you can stop it.'
'Me? How?'
'You can stop it, or at least minimize the damage, here from the Palace. Your press secretary must phone round the editors' offices this evening to tell them that there is no dispute between us.'
The King nodded as he considered the proposal. 'Maintain the constitutional fiction that the King and his Government are as one, eh?'
'Precisely. And he must suggest that the press leaks have got it wrong, that the draft does not represent your views. Perhaps implying that it was prepared for you by some adviser or other?'
'Deny my words?'
'Deny that there is any difference between us.'
'Let me be clear about this. You want me to disown my own beliefs.' A pause. 'You want me to lie.'
'It's more a smoothing over the cracks. Repairing the damage . . .'
'Damage which I did not cause. I have said nothing in public to dispute your position and I shall not. My views are entirely private.'
'They are not private when they are spread all over the front pages of the newspapers!' Urquhart could not control his exasperation; winning this argument was crucial.
'That is your problem, not mine. I discussed my ideas only with a small circle of my own family, around the dinner table. No Palace servants. No journalists. Certainly no politicians.'
'Then you did discuss it.'
'In private. As I must, if my advice to my Government is to be of any use.'
'There are some types of advice the Government can do without. We are elected to run this country, after all.'
'Mr Urquhart!' The blue eyes were ablaze with indignation, his hands white as they gripped the arm of his chair. 'May I remind you that you have not been elected as Prime Minister, not by the people. You have no mandate. Until the next election you are no better than a constitutional caretaker. Meanwhile I am the Monarch with the right accorded by tradition and all the constitutional law books ever damn well written to be consulted by you and to offer advice.'
'In private.'
'There is no constitutional duty on me to lie publicly to save the Government's skin.'
'You must help with the editors.' 'Why?'
'Because . . .' Because if he didn't, Urquhart would be stranded and done to death by a dribble of by-elections.