Читать книгу An Affair of State онлайн

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"That's right, sir," Jeff said.

"I thought so. Didn't think there would be two Jefferson Wilson Bakers. Can you pull up one of those leather chairs? Don't know whether they're comfortable or not. Nobody ever sits in them." He waited until Jeff moved the chair, and then he said, "How proud your father would have been--how very proud! Guess I'll have to be proud for him. We were good friends, you know."

"I've heard him speak of you quite often."

"It was only luck that I knew you'd made the Foreign Service. Saw your name this morning in the Department bulletin. That's all that ever crosses my desk, now, the daily bulletin."

Jeff knew he should say something, but he was afraid that whatever he said would be wrong. Horace Locke was obviously in an uncomfortable position, and perhaps it would embarrass him to refer to it.

For a moment Horace Locke remained silent, too, although his clear gray eyes were inspecting Jeff, drinking in detail, analyzing, judging. "If I had known sooner," he said, "there are some things I could have--." He shook his head. "No, I couldn't have been of any help to you. Sometimes I forget I'm no longer a Division Chief. Anyway, you did all right for yourself. You're an FSO, Class V, and you're going to Budapest. That's good. What's your job going to be?"