At Some Disputed Barricade_ A Novel - Anne Perry [54]
“Apparently his wife is very handsome, and an heiress, and he has two sons,” Matthew pointed out.
“Yes, of course,” Thyer said guardedly, a shadow of pain crossing his face. “If he loves her, or his sons, he may be far more concerned with their feelings, and belief in him, than any continuance in high office. Blaming Corracher might seem the obvious escape.”
Matthew looked at him. If he were in truth the Peacemaker, and had engineered this whole tragedy, knowing each man’s weaknesses, then he was a superb actor. But the Peacemaker was superb. Time and again that had been only too evident.
“Do you think he’s deliberately lying in order to save himself?” Matthew asked. “It’s a pretty filthy thing to do.”
Thyer stood up, walked over to the French windows and looked out. The lavender was buzzing with bees; the scent of flowers and crushed herbs filled the air. Beyond the hedges, the mellow walls of St. John’s rose into a blue sky. It had looked like this in 1914, and probably in 1614.
“If you don’t know that men lie and betray when they are frightened of losing what they most want, Matthew, then you are unfit for intelligence work—or much else,” Thyer said softly. “The average priest or schoolteacher would tell you as much.”
“It doesn’t occur to you that Corracher could be guilty of blackmail?” Matthew asked.
“Frankly, it doesn’t. I know Wheatcroft. He is…susceptible,” Thyer said regretfully. “Can you help Corracher? Is that why you are interested?”
“Partly.” Should he tell Thyer the truth, and see what his reaction was? Saving Corracher was important. Finding the Peacemaker might be vital. Or was he allowing his own vendetta to blind his judgment? Had he lost perspective?
Thyer did not prompt him, but waited quietly, his fingers propped in a steeple, the sunlight shining on his pale hair.
Matthew plunged in. Caution had gained him nothing. “The rest is to see if you consider it likely that there could be someone else behind it, pulling the strings, as it were.”
Thyer looked startled. “I have no idea. To what end? Do you imagine Wheatcroft is sufficiently important that someone would do all this in order to get rid of him? Why, for heaven’s sake?”
“Both Wheatcroft and Corracher,” Matthew pointed out. “I think possibly Corracher is the more important.”
Thyer was suddenly motionless. Matthew could hear the birds singing outside.
“Do you mean a German, or at least a German sympathizer?” Thyer said slowly.
“They were two of the strongest standing in the way of a settlement of peace before total obliteration of one side or the other,” Matthew pointed out.
Thyer sighed. “Do you really think that is realistic, Matthew, after all we have lost? Is there not too large a section of the country who have paid in blood for victory, and will feel betrayed by any government that settles for less?”
“Does that make them right?” Matthew parried.
Thyer was watching him almost unblinkingly, his pale eyes brilliant. “It makes them the voice of the majority,” he said. “And whether that is correct or not, it is moral, since we are a democracy.”
“Is government to follow rather than to lead?” Matthew asked.
Thyer thought for several moments. “In matters where it is the people who have fought and died, yes, I think perhaps it is. Government may argue a case for something different, or lay before them arguments, facts, and reasons, but in the end we must abide by their decision. And before you argue that point, consider the nature of leading without reference to public wish. Would that not be dictatorship? I imagine most dictators believe themselves to have superior wishes to those of the people, and certainly superior information. That may even be true in the beginning, but eventually it leads to government by oppression rather than consent, and finally to tyranny.”
He flexed his fingers as if they were stiff. “And it is also supremely impractical,” he added with an oddly gentle smile, “unless you have a very great force at your