"Anything less," said Also, "and he would have appeared in the pulpit next to me, demanding a recount." The chairman shook hands with Fletcher.

"I didn't read out the whole of Harry's last letter to me," he said, "but I knew you would want to see the final paragraph." He slipped a hand into an inside pocket, removed the letter, unfolded it and passed it across to Fletcher.

When Fletcher had read Harry's last words, he looked at the chairman and nodded.

Tom and Nat walked down the cathedral steps together and joined the crowds as they quietly dispersed.

Ill "I wish I'd known him better," said Nat.

"You realize that I asked him to join the board when he retired from the Senate?" Tom nodded. "He wrote-hand-wrote-such a charming letter explaining the only board he would ever sit on was the hospital's."

"I only met him a couple of times," said Tom, "he was mad, of course, but you have to be if you choose to spend your life pushing boulders up a hill. Don't ever tell anyone, but he's the only Democrat I've ever voted for."

Nat laughed. "You as well?" he admitted.

"How would you feel if I recommended that the board should make a donation of fifty thousand to the hospital fund?" asked Tom.

"I would oppose it," said Nat. Tom looked surprised. "Because when the senator sold his Russell's shares, he immediately donated a hundred thousand to the hospital. The least we can do is respond in kind."

Tom nodded his agreement and turned back to see Mrs. Gates standing on the top of the cathedralsteps. He would write to her that afternoon enclosing the check. He sighed. "Look who's shaking hands with the widow."

Nat swung around to see Ralph Elliot holding Martha Gates's hand. "Are you surprised?" he said. "I can just hear him telling her how pleased he was that Harry took his advice and sold those shares in Russell's Bank, and made himself a million."

"Oh, my God," said Tom, "you're beginning to think like him."

"I'm going to have to if I'm to survive during the coming months.

"That's no longer an issue," said Tom.

"Everyone at the bank accepts that you'll be the next chairman."

"It's not the chairmanship I'm talking about,"

said Nat. Tom came to a halt in front of the steps of the bank and turned to face his oldest friend.

"If Ralph Elliot puts his name forward as the Republican candidate for governor, then I shall run against him." He looked back toward the cathedral. "And this time I will beat him."

BOOK FIVE

JUDGES

"ladies and gentlemen, Fletcher Davenport, the next governor of Connecticut."

It amused Fletcher that within moments of being selected as the Democratic candidate, he was immediately introduced as the next governor; no suggestion of an opponent, no hint that he might lose. But he recalled only too well Walter Mondale continually being introduced as the next president of the United States, and ending up as ambassador to Tokyo while it was Ronald Reagan who moved into the White House.

Once Fletcher had called Also Brubaker to confirm that he was willing to run, the party machine immediately swung behind him. One or two other Democratic heads appeared above the parapet, but like ducks at a shooting range they were quickly flattened.

In the end, Fletcher's only opposition turned out to be a congresswoman who had never done anyharm-or enough good- for anyone else to notice. Once Fletcher had defeated her in the September primary, his party machine suddenly turned her into a formidable opponent who had been soundly beaten by the most impressive candidate the party had produced in years. But Fletcher privately acknowledged that she hadn't been much more than a paper opponent, and the real battle would begin once the Republicans had selected their standard bearer.

Although Barbara Hunter was as active and determined as ever, no one really believed she was going to head up the Republican ticket. Ralph Elliot already had the backing of several key party members, and whenever he spoke in public or private, the name of his friend, and even occasionally his close friend, Ronnie, fell easily from his lips. But Fletcher repeatedly heard rumors of just as large a group of Republicans who were searching for a credible alternative; otherwise they were threatening to abstain, even vote Democrat. Fletcher found it nerve-racking waiting to discover who that opponent would be. By late August, he realized that if there was to be a surprise candidate, they were leaving it tantalizingly late to come forward.

Fletcher looked down at the crowd in front of him. It was his fourth speech that day, and it wasn't yet twelve o'clock. He missed Harry's presence at those Sunday lunches, where ideas could be tested and found wanting. Lucy and George were happy to add their contributions, which only reminded him how indulgent Harry had been when he had come up with suggestions the senator must have heard a hundred times before, but never once hinted as much. But the next generation certainly left Fletcher in no doubt of what the Hotchkiss student body expected of their governor.

Fletcher's fourth speech that morning didn't differ greatly from the other three: to the Pepperidge Farm plant in Norwalk, the Wiffle Ball headquarters in Shelton and the Stanley tool-workers in New Britain. He just altered the occasional paragraph to acknowledge that the state's economy wouldnot be in such good shape without their particular contribution. On to lunch with the Daughters of the American Revolution, where he failed to mention his Scottish ancestry, followed by three more speeches in the afternoon, before attending a fund-raising dinner, which wouldn't produce much more than ten thousand dollars.

Around midnight he would crawl into bed and put his arms around his sleeping wife and occasionally she would sigh. He'd read somewhere that once, when Reagan was out on the stump, he had been found cuddling a lamppost. Fletcher had laughed at the time, but no longer.

"Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?"

Nat had to agree with his son's assessment.

Juliet was beautiful, but not the sort of girl Luke was likely to fall for. With five other females in the cast, he tried to work out which one it could possibly be. When the curtain came down for the interval, he thought that Luke had given a moving performance, and felt a glow of pride as he sat there in the audience listening to the applause. His parents had seen the play the night before, and told him that they'd felt the same pride as when he had performed Sebastian in the same hall.

Whenever Luke left the stage, Nat found his mind wandering back to the phone call he'd taken from Washington that morning. His secretary assumed it was Tom playing one of his practical jokes when he was asked if he was available to speak to the president of the United States.

Nat had found himself standing when George Bush came on the line.

The president congratulated him on Fairchild and Russell's being voted Bank of the Year-his excuse for the call-and then added the simple message, "Many people in our party hope you will allow your name to go forward as governor. You have a lot of friends and supporters in Connecticut, Nat.

Let's hope we can meet soon."

The whole of Hartford knew within the hour that the president had called, but then switchboardoperators also have a network of their own. Nat only told Su Ling and Tom, and they didn't seem all that surprised.

"The exchange of thy love's faithful vow for mine."

The father's mind switched back to the play.

Nat found that people began to stop him in the street and say, "I hope you'll run for governor, Nat"-Mr. Cartwright-even sir. When he and Su Ling had entered the hall that evening, heads had turned and he sensed a buzz all around him. In the car on the way to Tail he didn't ask Su Ling if he should run, simply, "Do you think I can do the job?"

"The president seemed to think so," she replied.

When the curtain came down following the death scene, Su Ling remarked, "Have you noticed that people are staring at us?" She paused. "I suppose we'll just have to get used to our son being a star."

How quickly she could bring Nat back down to earth, and what a governor's wife she would make.

The cast and the parents were invited to join the principal for supper, so Nat and Su Ling made their way over to his house.

"It's the nurse."

"Yes, she gave a very sensitive performance,"

said Nat.

"No, you fool, the nurse must have been the one Luke's fallen for," said Su Ling.

"What makes you so sure of that?" asked Nat.

"Just as the curtain came down, they held hands, and I'm fairly sure that wasn't in Shakespeare's original stage directions," said Su Ling.

"Well, we're about to find out if you're right,"

said Nat as they entered the principal's house.

They found Luke sipping a Coke in the hallway. "Hi, Dad," he said turning to face them. "This is Kathy Marshall; she played the nurse." Su Ling tried not to smirk. "And this is my mother. Wasn't Kathy fantastic? But then she plans to major in drama at Sarah Lawrence."

"Yes she was, but you weren't bad yourself," saidNat. "We were both very proud of you."

"Have you seen the play before, Mr. Cartwright?"

asked Kathy.

"Yes, when Su Ling and I visited Stratford.

The nurse was played by Celia Johnson, but I don't suppose you've even heard of her."

"Brief Encounter,"

Kathy responded immediately.

"Noel Coward," Luke said.

"And Trevor Howard played opposite her,"

said Kathy. Nat nodded at his son, who was still dressed as Romeo.

"You must be the first Romeo to have fallen for the nurse," said Su Ling.

Kathy grinned. "It's his Oedipus complex,"

she said. "And how did Miss Johnson translate the part? When my drama teacher saw it as an undergraduate with Dame Edith Evans, she said she played the nurse like a school matron-strict and firm, but loving."

"No," said Su Ling, "Celia Johnson portrayed her as slightly dotty, erratic but also loving."

"What an interesting idea. I must look up the director. Of course I would like to have played Juliet, but I'm just not good-looking enough," she added Matter of factly.

"But you're beautiful," said Luke.

"You're hardly a reliable judge on that subject, Luke," she said, taking his hand. "After all, you've been wearing glasses since the age of four."

Nat smiled, and thought how lucky Luke was to have Kathy as a friend.

"Kathy, would you like to come and spend a few days with us during the summer vacation?" asked Nat.

"Yes, if it's not going to cause you too much trouble, Mr. Cart-wright," Kathy replied. "Because I wouldn't want to be in your way."

"Be in my way?" queried Nat.

"Yes, Luke tells me that you'll be running for governor."

local banker runs for governor ran the banner headline in theHartford Courant.

An inside page was given over to a profile of the brilliant young financier who, twenty-five years earlier, had been awarded the Medal of Honor, bringing his career up to date with the role he'd played in the merger between the small family bank of Russell's, with its eleven local branches, and Fairchild's with its one hundred and two establishments spread right across the state. Nat smiled when he recalled the confessional at St.

Joseph's, and the graceful way Murray Goldblatz continued to convey the impression that the original idea had been Nat's. Nat had continued to learn from Murray, who never lowered his guard or his standards.

The Courant's editorial suggested that Nat's decision to run against Ralph Elliot for the Republican nomination had opened up the contest, as both were outstanding candidates at the top of their professions. The editorial did not come out in favor of either man, but promised to report fairly on the duel between the banker and the lawyer, who were known not to like each other.

"Mrs.

Hunter will also run,"

they added in the final paragraph almost as an afterthought, which summed up the Courant's view on her chances now that Nat had allowed his name to go forward.

Nat felt well satisfied with the press and television coverage that followed his announcement, and even more pleased by the favorable public reaction on the street. Tom had taken a two-month leave of absence from the bank to run Nat's campaign, and Murray Goldblatz sent a substantial check for the campaign fund.

The first meeting was held at Tom's home that evening, when Nat's chief of staff explained to his carefully selected team what they would be up against during the next six weeks.Rising before the sun each morning, and collapsing in bed after midnight had few compensations, but an unexpected one for Nat was Luke's fascination with the electoral process. He spent his vacation accompanying his father everywhere, often with Kathy by his side. Nat grew to like her more and more as each day passed.

Nat took a little time getting used to the new routine, and being reminded by Tom that you can't bark out instructions to volunteers, and you must always thank them, however little they've done and however badly they've done it. But even with six speeches and a dozen meetings a day, the learning curve proved steep.

It quickly became clear that Elliot had been out on the stump for several weeks, hoping his early groundwork would give him an unassailable advantage. Nat soon realized that although the first caucus in Ipswich would only yield seventeen electoral votes, its importance was disproportionate to the numbers involved, as in New Hampshire at a presidential election. He visited every one of the caucus voters and never left in any doubt that Elliot had been there before him. Although his rival had already locked up several delegates, there remained a few waverers who were undecided or simply didn't trust the man.

As the days slipped by, Nat discovered that he was always expected to be in two places at once because the primary in Chelsea was only two days after the caucus in Ipswich. Elliot was now spending most of his time in Chelsea, as he considered he'd already wrapped up the Ipswich caucus.

Nat returned to Ipswich on the night of the caucus vote, to hear the local chairman announce that Elliot had captured ten of the votes while he had secured seven. Elliot's team, while claiming it as a clear-cut victory, were unable to hide their disappointment. As soon as he'd heard the result, Nat ran to his car and Tom had him back in Chelsea by midnight.

To his surprise, the local papers discounted the result in Ipswich, saying that Chelsea, with anelectorate of over eleven thousand, would be much more of an indicator as to how the public felt about the two men rather than reading anything into the views of a handful of party apparatchiks.

And Nat certainly felt more relaxed out on the streets, in the shopping malis, at the factory gates, and in the schools and clubs than he had been in smoke-filled rooms listening to people who believed it was their "God-given right" to select the candidate.

After a couple of weeks of pressing the flesh, Nat told Tom that he was very encouraged by how many voters were saying they would support him. But was Elliot receiving the same response, he wondered.

"I've no idea," said Tom as they drove off to yet another meeting, "but I can tell you that we are fast running out of money. If we're soundly beaten tomorrow, we may have to withdraw from the race, having taken part in one of the shortest campaigns in history.

We could of course let the world know that Bush is backing you, because that would be sure to swing a few votes."

"No," said Nat firmly. "That was a private call, not an endorsement."