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“Can I speak to Sebastian Clifton please?”
“This is Sebastian Clifton.”
“Mr. Clifton, I’m ringing from the United States. Will you accept a reverse charge call from a Miss Jessica Clifton?”
“Yes, I will.”
“Hi, Pops.”
“Hi, Jessie, how are you?”
“Great, thanks.”
“And your mother?”
“I’m still working on her, but I was calling to make sure you’ll be jo
ining us in Rome next month.”
“I’m already booked into the Albergo del Senato, in the Piazza della Rotonda. It’s just opposite the Pantheon. Where will you be staying?”
“With my grandparents at the American Embassy. I can’t remember if you’ve ever met Grandpops, he’s super cool.”
“Yes, I have. In fact I visited him when he was the chef de mission at the Embassy in Grosvenor Square, and asked his permission to marry your mother.”
“How beautifully old-fashioned of you, Pops, but you needn’t bother to ask him again, because I’ve already got his approval, and I can’t think of a more romantic city than Rome in which to propose to Mom.”
“Please don’t tell me you phone the ambassador in Rome and reverse the charges!”
“Yes, but only once a week. I can’t wait to meet Grandpops Harry and Great-uncle Giles. Then I can add them to my list and let them know you’re planning to propose to Mom.”
“Should I presume you’ve already picked the date, the time and the place?”
“Yes, of course. It will have to be on Thursday, when we have tickets for the Borghese Gallery. I know Mom’s looking forward to seeing the Berninis, and Canova’s Paolina Borghese.”
“Did you know that the gallery is named after Napoleon’s sister?”
“I didn’t know you’d been to Rome, Pops.”
“It may come as a surprise to you, Jessie, but there were people roaming the earth before 1965.”
“Yes, I knew that. I’ve read about them in my history books.”
“You wouldn’t like to run a bank, by any chance?”
“No thanks, Pops, I just haven’t got the time, what with preparing for my next exhibition and trying to organize you two.”
“I can’t imagine how we survived before you came along.”
“Not very well, by all accounts. By the way, have you ever come across a man called Maurice Swann, from Shifnal in Shropshire?”
“Yes, but surely he can’t still be alive.”
“And kicking, it would seem, because he’s invited Mom to open his school theatre. What’s that all about?”
“It’s a long story,” said Seb.
