First Among Equals - books

irth to a son
who would inherit the earldom. But despite enthusiastic
and then
contrived efforts Charles seemed unable to sire an heir.
Fiona was
assured by a Harley Street physician that there was no
reason she could
not bear children. The specialist had suggested that
perhaps her husband
pay the clinic a visit. She shook her head, knowing
Charles would dis-
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FIRST AMONG EQUALS
miss such an idea out of hand, no matter how much he
wanted a son.
Fiona spent much of her spare time in their Sussex East
constituency
furthering Charles's political career. She had learned
to live with the
fact that theirs was not destined to be a romantic
marriage and had
almost resigned herself to its other advantages.
Although many men
confessed covertly and overtly that they found Fiona's
elegant bearing
attractive, she had either rejected their advances or
pretended not to
notice them.
By the time Charles returned from the bathroom in his
blue silk pajamas
Fiona had formed a plan, but first she needed some
questions answered.
"Whom do you favor?"
"It will be a close-run thing, but I spent the entire
afternoon observing
the serious candidates."
"Did you come to any conclusions?" Fiona asked.
"Heath and Maudling are the most likely ones, though to
be honest I've
never had a conversation with either of them that lasted
for more than
five minutes."