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The result was still hanging in the balance when the lobby called to tell Gus he had a visitor. To his surprise it was Rosa Hellman, the former editor of the Buffalo Anarchist. Gus was pleased: Rosa was always interesting to talk to. He recalled that an anarchist had assassinated President McKinley in Buffalo in 1901. However, President Wilson was far away in New Jersey, so he brought Rosa up to the study and offered her a cup of coffee.
She was wearing a red coat. When he helped her off with it, he towered over her. He caught the aroma of a light flowery perfume.
"Last time we met you told me I was a goddamn fool to get engaged to Olga Vyalov," he said as he hung her coat on the hat stand.
She looked embarrassed. "I apologize. "
"Ah, but you were right. " He changed the subjec
t. "So now you're working for a wire service?"
"That's right. "
"As their Washington correspondent. "
"No, I'm his one-eyed girl assistant. "
She had never before mentioned her deformity. Gus hesitated, then said: "I used to wonder why you didn't wear a patch. But now I'm glad you don't. You're just a beautiful woman with one closed eye. "
"Thank you. You're a kind man. What sort of thing do you do for the president?"
"Apart from pick up the phone when it rings. . . I read the State Department's mealymouthed reports, then tell Wilson the truth. "
"For example. . . ?"
"Our ambassadors in Europe say that the Somme offensive is achieving some but not all its objectives, with heavy casualties on both sides. It's almost impossible to prove that statement wrong-and it tells the president nothing. So I tell him the Somme is a disaster for the British. " He shrugged. "Or I used to. My job may be over. " He was concealing his real feelings. The prospect that Wilson could lose was dreadful to him.
She nodded. "They're counting again in California. Almost a million people voted, and the difference is about five thousand. "
"So much hangs on the decisions of a small number of poorly educated people. "
"That's democracy. "
Gus smiled. "A terrible way to run a country, but every other system is worse. "
"If Wilson wins, what will be his top priority?"
"Off the record?"
"Of course. "
"Peace in Europe," Gus said without hesitation.
"Really?"
"He was never really comfortable with the slogan 'He kept us out of war. ' The matter isn't entirely in his hands. We may be dragged in whether we like it or not. "
"But what can he do?"
"He'll put pressure on both sides to find a compromise. "
"Can he succeed?"
"I don't know. "
"Surely they can't go on slaughtering one another as they have been at the Somme. "
"God knows. " He changed the subject again. "Tell me the news from Buffalo. "
