Rubbing at her eyes, Anna put down the document before burying her head in her hands. "This is a bloody nightmare."

"I'm so glad you agree." Crowe cracked his neck. "Barrow's got something in their system. It's either a flesh-and-blood source or a worm in the computer network but he's been siphoning information for months."

"Hence why Bates has been behind for so long." Anna waved her hand at the papers. "You can't get ahead when you're being scooped."

"We've already initiated a search as part of the comb we already started when we hacked the files." Crowe only shrugged at Anna's scowl. "You told us to get everything we could and we did that. Just as, it appears, his opposition did."

"Doesn't it just warm the cold cockles of your heart to know that people suck everywhere?" Bright joined them at the table, handing cups of tea to Anna and Crowe. "I've got a way to get into Barrow's organization… if you're alright with a little bit of the family business?"

"Family business?" Anna took a sip of her tea. "Do you work in computer hacking or network hacking?"

Bright grinned, raising his drink to his lips. "Not exactly."

"Then what do you mean?"

"Flirting. He means flirting." Darke joined them, shrugging at the theatrically feigned look of shock on Bright's face. "And possibly sex."

"Guaranteed to involve sex." Crowe did not take his eyes from his screen, squinting slightly at the lines of code there.

"And how is that a family business?" Anna looked at Crowe, who shifted uncomfortably in his seat but still would not look at her.

"It means his father was a slut too." Darke supplied from her position reading through a packet of papers. Bright only grinned at the aspersions.

"You're kidding." Anna shook her head but Bright leaned toward her, raising his eyebrow and attempting a smolder.

"Do you want to find out if I'm any good?"

"Thank you for the offer but I'll pass." Anna snorted into her tea and only barely recovered herself as Gwen entered the office. "Morning Gwen."

"Morning." She nodded at the other three, "Crowe Club."

"Is that what you call us?" Bright put a hand on his chest. "After all we shared together you call us that? Reduce us to Crowe's lackeys?"

"Yes and I will continue to do so." Gwen turned to Anna. "I've got a meeting for us in an hour so I need to drag you away from your project here."

"It's for the best." Crowe stood, nodding at Gwen. "We've got work to do and nothing additional to report."

"Keep me informed when you can." Anna stood and gathered her things. "And tell me if Bright being a slut works out."

"There's no question about that, Ms. Smith." Bright winked. "It always works."

"I will warn you," Anna waited for Bright's attention. "If you happen to seduce anyone, for work, then it's technically solicitation with intent and solicitation under false pretenses… And therefore crimes punishable by law."

"Only if I get caught."

"He won't get caught." Darke shook her head, "He's got… boundaries."

"Oh?" Anna turned to Bright, "And what are those?"

"I never kiss and tell." Bright put a finger dramatically over his lips. "However… If someone would happen to say something, in pillow talk, then I might just happen to repeat that information later… But you never know."

"So it's like confidential information?"

Bright frowned and then shrugged, "Sure."

"Then, if you're going to follow that line of thinking, remember that logic if you're ever called to the witness stand... Or arrested for solicitation." Anna joined Gwen and they left the room. "He's fun."

"He's something but I wouldn't call it 'fun'." Gwen whistled as a car approached them and the driver jumped out to open the door. "That's a nice car."

"Isn't it?" Anna grinned. "I thought I'd splurge a bit and make sure the car I get comes in style."

"And it drives as beautifully as it looks, if you're curious." The driver nodded at Anna and Gwen, shaking the latter's hand. "Tom Branson. Miss Smith's driver."

"Gwen Dawson," She released his hand, "I'm not sure what official title goes on my business card anymore so I guess I'll just need to get several and shuffle them according to 'Miss Smith's' various needs."

"Gwen's a solicitor by trade and my partner by choice." Anna slid into the back seat. "Although I'm sure you count more like a nanny most days."

"Do you need a nanny?" Gwen joined her on the seat and in the immediate perusal of her phone. "Because I charge by the hour for that."

"I'll let you be the judge of that." Anna sighed, "But I've got to ask, is it nap time yet Nanny? Because I'm already exhausted."

"No naps today I'm afraid." Gwen flashed a calendar at Anna. "You've stacked the schedule today."

"Is that why you came to retrieve me from…" Anna paused, pressing her phone to her chest a second as she pursed her lips, "What did you call them again?"

"The Crowe Club." Gwen filtered through her emails.

"It's a good name for them." Anna went back to her phone. "But the question still stands, did you come in and get me because you thought I'd forget my obligations for the day?"

"Sometimes you get a little myopic in your focus and someone needs to get you out of the weeds before you can lose yourself there." Gwen tucked her phone away. "And to remind you not to schedule a single thing for Saturday."

"I've got Jai's match."

"That's what I mean." Gwen jabbed her finger at Anna. "You leave Saturday for him and him only. I don't care what else may pop up or even if there's a meteor hurtling toward the earth. Saturday is about Jai and no one else."

"Got it." Anna bit at her lip. "I wonder…"

"Huh?"

"You, mentioning Jai's match on Saturday, just gave me a thought about public appearances." Anna wagged her finger at the air, "Do we have him down for anything fun?"

"Jai?"

"No, Minister Bates." Anna clicked her tongue, "Do we have him scheduled to engage in anything fun?"

"Fun?"

"Recreational." Anna sucked her teeth a moment, "I don't think we do."

"You usually don't focus on recreation." Gwen's brow furrowed, "It's not been a part of our attack plans in the past."

"We're fighting a different battle now so maybe we need to change that.." Anna chewed the inside of her cheek, "Get him seeming more real and relatable."

"And if the Barrow campaign's burrowing technique has reached as far as our spit-balling schedules?"

"We keep that on a different network."

"Let's play on the safe side and assume he's got his fingers in our pies."

"Then, if he is…" Anna shrugged, "Can't hurt to take the risk that the great Thomas Barrow lands on his ass trying to play some football."

"I'd pay to see that." Gwen pulled out her phone again, "Let me see what we might have available for the Minister."

Anna thought a minute more, "What's our meeting in an hour?"

"We're speaking to a media consultant who might get us-"

"Reschedule that."

Gwen groaned, "Don't do this to me."

"What?"

"Don't have me cancle this meeting."

"Why not?"

"Because it took me two hours on hold just to get him on the line." Gwen turned to Anna, "I hate when you do things like this to me and it's-"

"He made you wait two hours?"

"Yes."

"After you told him who you were?"

Gwen nodded, "I was straightforward about my intentions and-"

"And he still kept you on hold to see if you'd wait for him?"

"Yes."

"Then screw him and get his…" Anna tapped her phone, "What's his name?"

"Carlisle."

"Right." Anna fired off an email, "That's the end of him."

"What?"

Anna turned to Gwen, "Anyone who disrespects you deserves to fall and that's exactly what's about to happen."

"Courtesy of your Crowe Club?"

"No." Anna lowered her phone, "I've just gotten someone else to publish something they were sitting on about him."

"Who?"

"Lavinia Swire." Anna made a face, "I'm sure she's glad she could finally shut him up after he threatened her with the Marconi Affair."

"You know Lavinia Swire?"

"We've talked at parties and I helped her through the Marconi fall out."

"You were in charge of that?" Gwen shook her head, "You were in rehab when that happened. You swore to me you-"

"I was in rehab and she called my personal line." Anna shrugged, "I owed her a favor after she did something for Mary."

"How does that…?" Gwen shook her head, "Never mind. I don't want to fall into that whirlpool, it'll just confuse me."

"You're smarter than that, you'd follow it. But, that being said, we need someone else to launch our image." Anna sucked the inside of her cheek. "There was… Mary's younger sister."

"Sybil?"

"No, the other one." Anna snapped her fingers, What's her name… Emily? Esther? Emanuelle?"

"Edith?"

"That's it." Anna nodded, "Get her ex-boyfriend Greg-somebody to get us the consultancy we want."

"His name is Gregson and I don't know if he's got the pull in the industry he used to." Gwen cringed, "Not after the scandal of his wife's death."

"Better than the scandal about his affair with Edith."

"That's not really selling him to me as a viable option for us."

"Well, since I'm debating whether I have the pull I used to I want to bet on his experience when we're backing a horse like this one." Anna leaned forward and knocked on Branson's seat, "Take us to Aldridge, Rogers, and Talbot please."

"It'll be a couple of sharp moves for that one."

"I'll trust you to get us there in good time." Anna typed away on her phone. "Just make sure you don't get us pulled over. I've not got the time for that today."

"Yes ma'am."

"The lobbying firm?" Gwen pulled a face as Anna resettled in her seat and the car turned a tight corner.

"Do you know another combination of those three names that we'd want to talk to this morning?"

Gwen whistled, "You've got a pair on you."

"What makes you say that?"

"How about the fact that we'll never get a spot on their docket."

"I'm not getting us on a docket."

"Then how will we get through the door?"

"Diana Clark."

Gwen frowned, "Who's Diana Clark?"

"She's the mother of a boy that was almost not allowed to play on Jai's cricket team but I managed to get them to add a spot and paid for his kit so he could play." Anna smiled as she replied to a text. "Sometimes it pays to know a little too much about everyone and be a little too involved in their lives."

"I'd say it's almost criminal how much you know about people." Gwen shivered, "And sometimes very creepy what you'll do to get where you need to go."

"So I'm creepy?"

"Do you have a better word for it?"

"No."

"Then you're creepy."

Anna shrugged, "I guess it's better than the term used when I outsmart them."

"Bitch?"

"No, not that one."

"High strung."

"Not that one either." Anna shook her head, "When was the last time someone said I was 'sociopathic'?"

"Not in at least two weeks."

"Then we're getting better."

"Are we?"

"We'll, they're calling us 'political consultants' now and not lobbyists so a lot of the suggestive nature of our 'under handed business dealings' aren't hanging off us like a stink we can't get rid of."

"You think that got rid of the stink?"

"I think it helped."

Gwen shook her head, "People still don't like what we represent."

"Advocacy?"

"Corruption."

Anna snorted, "It's all about the branding."

"Is that why we're going to Aldridge, Rogers, and Talbot?" Gwen twisted toward Anna, "Are we hiring them to rebrand Minister Bates for us?"

"Maybe, maybe not."

"But you'll keep your options open about it?"

"It's why we're trying to meet with them," Anna shrugged, "Especially since they owe me a favor or two."

"You got yourself a favor from Aldridge, Rogers, and Talbot?"

"Technically I got myself a favor from the Aldridge but I'll see how I can leverage that favor from the whole company and we'll see what happens."

"What did you do to get a favor from Atticus Aldridge?"

"Not Atticus." Anna let herself smile a little, "Rose."

"You know Rose Aldridge?"

"I wouldn't define it as 'know' but I did her a massive favor once. Or twice."

"And how did you manage to meet Rose Aldridge in a way that allowed you to put her in your debt?"

"She's Mary's cousin."

Gwen stopped, her fingers pausing as she typed on her phone. "She's Mary's cousin? Lady Mary Crawley's cousin?"

"Do we both know another Mary?"

"You remember her cousin's name but not her sister's?"

"Edna doesn't owe me a favor."

"Edith."

"Whatever. Point is, I encountered Rose Aldridge because she's Mary's cousin." Anna frowned, "Although, thinking about it, for as common as Mary's name is, I don't think we've got another mutual friend who has it."

"Don't be rhetorical right now. I'm too tired to handle it." Gwen pinched the bridge of her nose. "You're giving me a headache."

"We wouldn't want that when the day's barely begun." Anna leaned her head back into the seat. "And we've got special people to meet."

"Like Rose Aldridge… who happens to owe you two favors?"

"Yes."

"What sort of favors?"

"They're between she and I but I'm hoping they'll carry over to allow her husband to cut me a deal." Anna checked her things as the car pulled to a stop. "Better put your game face on."

"I don't have a game face. I'm just perpetually confused." Gwen followed Anna out of the car and Anna leaned into the passenger-side window to speak to Branson for a moment.

"I don't know how long I'll be but if you can park in their garage then I'll try to get the ticket validated."

"I've got this covered." Branson winked at Anna, "Give us a ring when you're ready for the ride."

Anna pulled back as Branson peeled away from the curb and joined Gwen so they could take the revolving door together. "He's a good investment."

"Is he?"

"You don't think so?"

"I'm not sure what I think of him yet but he seems competent behind the wheel and as long as he's tightlipped about what we might discuss in the back of the car then he's fine." Gwen paused, her fingers curling around Anna's arm to pull her to the side as she lowered her voice. "Speaking of where he might be driving us…"

Gwen swallowed and Anna raised an eyebrow at her behavior. "Does he know about your need to attend your meetings?"

"Are you going to insist on my attending them?" Anna shook her head, "We're in the middle of a campaign here and-"

"And I seem to remember you saying, not two days ago, that your last ministerial campaign led you to a relapse."

Anna bit the inside of her cheek. "There was more to it than the campaign itself. There were…" She swallowed, "My relapse wasn't because the campaign, in and of itself, were stressful."

"All the same. You need to establish a pattern of accountability and set yourself up for success through consistency."

"I've got too much to worry about to-"

Gwen held up a hand, "Whatever the problems of your last campaign were, they led you to relapse. You don't have to tell me what happened, unless you want to, but the reaction you had to what happened and your solution to that upset of your equilibrium- however temporary- are what worry me."

Anna nodded, "I understand."

"Good. Because…" Gwen let out a breath. "I don't want that kind of response now. Not when you've got a chance at a clean break and you've got a clear goal ahead of you. You've got Jai waiting for you to be successful and I don't want you to blow that. Not now."

"I promise you, I'm fine."

"If there's even a chance-"

"There's not-"

"Even the tiniest, niggling doubt," Gwen practically put her finger in Anna's face to stop Anna's interruption. "Then I'll pull the plug."

"You can't-"

"I will." Gwen's face hardened. "I'll yank you out of there, I'll leave you to battle for custody alone, and I won't speak to you again because I refuse to go another round of this with you."

"If you're serious about then-"

"I am." Gwen's jaw wobbled slightly. "I'm serious Anna. I can't go this road with you again if you fall off the wagon this time."

Anna swallowed and nodded, "I'll go to a meeting."

"Good." Gwen straightened, "I'll find one that's somewhere between the pentagram you draw with your car rides and destinations."

"It'll have to be someplace we can easily reach at a convenient time of day."

"There aren't any convenient times of day in this business Anna, you know that." Gwen looked up as a woman with a pretty face approached them. "Friend of yours or…"

"Anna!" The woman almost jerked Anna from her feet when she seized Anna's hand in her own and Anna barely recovered her balance. "It's so good to see you. Daniel's been absolutely ecstatic about cricket and Jai's been the best of friends to him on the team."

"I'm so glad Jai's father taught him right." Anna smiled and barely extracted her hand from the other woman's exuberant grip. "Diana I don't think you've met my friend, Gwen Dawson."

The women shook hands and Diana puffed out a breath of air. "It's just… I'm so flabbergasted as to why you wanted to stop by but extremely honored. I know how busy you must be in your… What do you do again?"

"I work campaign management and rebranding." Anna gave a professional smile. "It's actually why I'm here. I was hoping I could get a word with one of the brilliant people who work upstairs."

"I see." Diana's demeanor shifted from bubbly to professionally polite. "As lovely as it was to get your text, and see you in person since I've not caught you at any of the cricket practices lately, I-"

"I'm sure you've not missed my presence too much." Anna shuffled, her smile pulling tight a moment, "But the reason I've not been to any of the practices thus far is because of work. I've been in the North on an ad campaign."

"Oh?"

"And…" Anna swallowed, "It's been difficult, of late, for me to be in public. I'm sure you heard about…"

"Of course." Diana's teeth clacked together for a moment, as if wincing. "My sincerest condolences. I'm the only breadwinner in my house as well and… Well, it must be different, in your position. Ravi, before, was probably such a help in how you balanced your home life."

"He was." Anna swallowed again, practically forcing her heart to slow its incessant thudding in her chest cavity. "And thank you, for your sympathy."

"He was a lovely man."

"The best."

The awkward beat passed only a moment before Diana fumbled with the iPad in her hand. "But… And I'm so sorry you came all this way just for me to tell you this, but Mr. Aldridge is packed tight. His schedule can't be pried loose for anything short of a multi-million-pound deal and even then he's not got-"

"I'm sorry," Anna put up a hand, forcing a little laugh while risking the confused expressions of Diana and Gwen. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you. Me and my scattered brain. We're not here to see Atticus."

"What?" Diana and Gwen almost said it in sync and Diana hurried to flick over the screen of her iPad. "It clearly says here you-"

"Typing error." Anna laughed again, "I meant to type 'Mrs.' Aldridge but you know fingers and phone screens these days. They play havoc with autocorrect and then we're in this mess."

"Of course." Diana's frown loosened. "Then you're not here to see Mr. Aldridge at all?"

"Heavens no." Anna made a face, "Where would we fit into his incredibly packed schedule anyway?"

"Right." Diana gave a little awkward laugh of her own but Anna smiled through it and waited to speak again.

"Is Rose available?"

"Mrs. Aldridge's schedule is a little lighter this morning but…" Diana checked something and then nodded. "She's got twenty minutes. Unless you need to schedule something else for later. Then I can-"

"It's just a social call." Anna waved it off and pointed to the lifts. "Shall we go up? Hate to waste the valuable twenty minutes."

"Of course." Diana almost tripped over herself to regain her composure and Anna hurried in her wake to avoid the odd expression and confusion still written on Gwen's face. Even the lift ride, as muddled and awkwardly confusing as curdled custard, let them off on a floor of older, wood-paneled offices. A corridor that, thankfully, ended briefly at the door of an office that immediately beckoned them inside after Diana's knock.

"Mrs. Aldridge, I've got-"

"Diana," The blonde one with the effervescent smile rose from her desk and hurried toward the door. "I told you, in this office it's 'Rose' and not 'Mrs. Aldridge'. It's far too stuffy and the term we use for my mother-in-law."

She smiled at Anna and Gwen, her face slightly slack a moment before immediately brightening as she fully recognized Anna. "And I'm so sorry I interrupted you before you could introduce one of my oldest friends."

"Friends?" Gwen muttered but Anna barely had time to scowl her silent before Rose enveloped her in a hug.

"It's been so long." With Rose's hands on Anna's shoulder she did not have to extricate herself from the embrace but barely kept her feet as the force of the other woman's distance almost pushed her into the wall. "You look absolutely wonderful."

"And I know you're a liar, Rose Aldridge." Anna smiled at her, "Because I look professional and that's usually a step above 'you look tired' in the vocabulary of businesswomen like ourselves."

"I don't believe that." Rose stepped to the side and kissed both of Gwen's cheeks before the other woman had time to blink. "It's lovely to meet you. Any friend of Anna's is a friend of mine."

"Lucky me." Gwen quipped but Anna glared at her as Rose led them to the overstuffed, cushy chairs in her office. "I'm Gwen, by the way."

"Fabulous." Rose's wide smile reached her eyes and urged a genuine smile from Anna. "What brings you here?"

"Minister John Bates."

Rose's eyebrow rose. "I'm not familiar with him."

"He's running for Prime Minister and he's-"

"Sorry," Rose raised a hand, "I mean I'm not familiar with him personally. I know who he is as a public figure but that's about all I can offer you in terms of-"

"We're not here for an introduction, if that's where you think I'm going with this." Anna waited, noting the slight hint of relaxation on Rose's face at that. "I'm here because I'm in charge of his campaign."

Rose's entire face lengthened as her eyebrows rose in surprise and her mouth dropped open in an 'O'. "Oh."

"Exactly, 'oh'." Anna flexed her jaw, "I've been on the campaign all of… four days now and we're…"

"Floundering." Gwen supplied but only shrugged at Anna's exasperated expression. "Flailing?"

"We're struggling to bridge a gap for him."

"Public and personal persona in the day of social media?" Rose nodded, her face furrowing as her surprise gave way to the wheels turning in her head. "If you're on his campaign then the caliber of his character isn't in question."

"Very much not."

"Then it's about how to get people to believe the truth in what he's telling them and what he stands for while also reaching the people who'll fund him as he tries to care for the people who'll vote him into power." Rose leaned back slightly, tapping a finger to her lips. "That's a tough sell for anyone. Even when they are honest about all of the above."

"Exactly why we're here for your help." Anna took a breath, "You've got to have someone who could work that kind of limbo with aplomb."

"I'm flattered you think we're that skilled." Rose smiled, her face softening for a moment as a thought dashed past her eyes, "But I do think we've got someone here who could give you some guidance on how to manage your presentation."

"Your husband?" Gwen queried but Rose shook her head.

"Atticus is a banker, by training, so his interests are all corporate and capital. No, for something like this you need a media specialist who also understands the quixotic nature of public perception and the mercurial tendencies of politics."

"And you've got that kind of magician in your midst?"

"We've got one of everything here." Rose turned to Diana, still standing by the door. "Diana, could you see if Henry's available? I think he'd like to hear about this little endeavor."

"I'll check Mr. Talbot's office right now." Diana nodded and darted out of the room almost fast enough to leave the papers on Rose's desk fluttering.

"She's lovely." Rose sighed, "I just wish she wasn't in such a delicate position."

Anna winced, "It's difficult to face the decisions we make when we're a little younger and a little more naïve."

"True." Rose cringed, "Some of my decisions as a younger person would turn Atticus's hair absolutely white if he knew the full extent of them."

"You've not told your husband about things you did in the past?" Gwen's lip almost quirked up but Rose took no notice.

"Atticus knows, in broad strokes, the kind of person I was when I was younger but the details aren't really necessary." Rose smiled, twisting her wedding ring on her finger. "He knows the important parts and that's what matters. In the end it's about being honest and then trusting the other person to take you as you are. Not all the details matter in that."

"If you say so." Gwen shrugged, "I'm not married myself so I can't say I've got a dog in this fight."

"Anna knows." Rose nodded at Anna, "I still remember the story Mary told about she and Ravi met."

Anna squirmed in her chair, "It wasn't my finest hour."

"Not all of us find love in our finest hours." Rose shrugged, "I didn't find love in any of the public restrooms when I tried some of the… less reputable powders I attempted when I was younger, but you did. There's something to be said for that."

"And what I would say about that is that I wouldn't recommend it." Anna swallowed, shifting in her seat, "Not everyone's got the kind of character to work through rounds of rehab and get clean the way Ravi did. Or support others when they try to do the same thing."

"But that's what made it so romantic." Rose leaned forward, "You both grew and got better together. It's a story of mutual healing and love and that, to me, is absolutely beautiful."

"Thank you." Anna looked at her left hand and rubbed the slightly paler skin on her ring finger. "He was a wonderful person and I was lucky to have him."

Rose's face fell, "I was so sorry to hear about his passing."

"Thank you." Anna forced herself to stand as Diana returned, a lanky dark-haired man practically at her elbow. "Mr. Talbot I'll presume?"

"The very same." He shook Anna's hand and then Gwen's.

"Talbot?" Gwen queried as she took back her hand. "As in the same Talbot on the sign outside?"

"I should hope so." Talbot smiled at all of them. "Although I've not got your CVs to give me an equivalent advantage."

"Then, Henry," Rose opned her hand toward Anna. "Allow me to introduce Anna Smith. An old friend and a brilliant individual all around."

His eyes widened, "The Anna Smith?"

"Depends on what you've heard." Anna shrugged, "I only claim my name, not all the reputations attached to it."

"Since I've only heard good things I'll believe them all."

"Now I'm even more curious what things you've heard."

He grinned at her, "Things that make me a very ardent fan of your work."

"Then I'm that Anna Smith." She opened her hand toward Gwen, who also stood to shake Talbot's hand. "This is Gwen Dawson, my right-hand and invaluable partner in all business ventures."

"The ones that succeed, anyway." Gwen nudged at Anna before retaking her seat as both Talbot and Diana sat with them and Rose.

"Then I'm in the presence of greatness." Talbot clapped his hands together and leaned forward. "How can I be of assistance to you ladies today?"

"We need your help to get the Bates campaign running instead of just limping along." Anna pointed between herself and Gwen. "We've done a fair bit of work-"

"She means a boat-load but she's too polite to say it."

Anna cracked a smile at Gwen as they settled into their pattern. "Gwen's right. We've been wading through an absolute mountain of work for the last four days to even feel like we can walk against the Barrow campaign but we're…"

"Floundering." Gwen added with more confidence than earlier. "We've been hamstrung by some duplicity on behalf of the Barrow campaign and it's put us on the perpetual backfoot."

"Can you prove it?"

"Not as yet but, even if we could, we're not going to get ourselves embroiled in a legal battle when we can win this in an all-out fight." Anna shifted to the edge of her seat, directing her next words at Talbot. "We need your expertise."

"That's not something I ever thought I'd hear coming from the mouth of the Queen Cobra herself." Talbot smiled to himself, nodding as if enjoying a private thought. "And it's… It's heady being in the same room with you."

"Don't believe everything you've heard about her." Gwen warned, "She's good but we're all human and we're here because we need other humans."

"Fair enough." Talbot held his chin, leaning back in his chair, and stayed silent a moment before leaning toward Anna, his elbows resting on his legs. "Why are you involved in the Bates campaign?"

"Does it matter?"

"It does." Talbot snorted, "I know he can't possibly afford you and he's not really the kind of person for whom you normally advocate."

"Maybe I wanted a change of pace."

"Maybe but that seems small potatoes." Talbot shook his head. "If Anna Smith want's a change of pace she goes on holiday, she doesn't decide to take on the most attractive opponent in a PM election with a flawed, albeit good, man as her figurehead. So I ask again, why are you involved in his campaign?"

Anna studied Talbot's face a moment before answering. "Because sometimes you have to fight for something, even if you might lose, because it's the right cause."

"The hill on which you'll die?"

"If it comes to that." Anna chewed the inside of her cheek, "Radical change and real change are not the same thing. I believe Minister Bates represents both in balanced measure."

"Because he's uncompromising?"

"Because he's without pride."

Talbot raised an eyebrow, "A politician without pride? Now you're just talking fairytales and unicorns Ms. Smith."

"Not for him." Anna shook her head, "He's the kind of man who'll bleed and die for a cause. He'd open his own vein, sacrifice any player, make any move to see the right thing done and he'd crawl over broken glass while the nation watched if that's what it took."

"And you've learned that in four days?"

"No." Anna shook her head, "I watched it in a forty-minute interview five days ago at a hotel gym in Yorkshire."

Talbot's eyes narrowed, his face pinching, and then his demeanor relaxed. He straightened in his seat and turned to Rose, "I'll do it."

"Wonderful." Rose clapped her hands together, "Then I'll get the standard contract drawn up so we can-"

"No need." Talbot stood, straightening his suit, "I think I'm going to follow Ms. Smith's example and take this one on faith."

"Henry!" Rose's eyes widened as Anna stood to match Talbot, ignoring the open mouths of Diana and Gwen. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." Talbot extended a hand to Anna. "Are you, Ms. Smith?"

"Beyond a shadow of a doubt." Anna took his hand, "Welcome to the team Mr. Talbot. I suspect we'll do great things together."

"I sincerely hope so."