“Anyway, Michael says to give him a ring if you’re interested. I’ve got the
number. Fetch a pen.”
I tried to stop her. I didn’t like the idea of her putting shape on my life,
but she was insistent.
“Not everyone gets a chance like this. You’re twenty-four now. You’ve only
got that small amount of money your father left you in his Paris account. It’s
time you started thinking about a career and stopped working for that crooked
Pole.”
I argued with her a little more, just enough to convince myself that if I
went ahead it would be of my own volition and not because of some parental
arrangement. Then, two days later, I rang Hawkes.
It was shortly after nine o’clock in the morning. He answered after one ring,
the voice crisp and alert.
“Michael. It’s Alec Milius.”
“Hello.”
“About the conversation you had with my mother.”
“Yes.”
“In the supermarket.”
“You want to go ahead?”
“If that’s possible. Yes.”
His manner was strangely abrupt. No friendly chat, no excess fat.
“I’ll talk to one of my colleagues. They’ll be in touch.”
“Good. Thanks.”
Three days later a letter arrived in a plain white envelope marked private
and confidential.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
No. 46A———Terrace
London SW1
PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL
Dear Mr. Milius,
It has been suggested to me that you might be interested to have a discussion
with us about fast-stream appointments in government service in the field of
foreign affairs which occasionally arise in addition to those covered by the
Open Competition to the Diplomatic Service. This office has a responsibility for
recruitment to such appointments.
If you would like to take this possibility further, I should be grateful if
you would please complete the enclosed form and return it to me. Provided that
there is an appointment for which you appear potentially suitable, I shall then
invite you to an exploratory conversation at this office. Your travel expenses
will be refunded at the rate of a standard return rail fare plus tube fares.
I should stress that your acceptance of this invitation will not commit you
in any way, nor will it affect your candidature for any government appointments
for which you may apply or have applied.
As this letter is personal to you, I should be grateful if you could respect
its confidentiality.
Yours sincerely,
Philip Lucas
Recruitment Liaison Office
Enclosed was a standard-issue, four-page application form: name and address,
education, brief employment history, and so on. I completed it within
twenty-four hours—replete with lies—and sent it back to Lucas. He replied by
return post, inviting me to the meeting.
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