Chapter 13

The remainder of the year was full of meetings, get-togethers, talking to voters, and the odd party. The political ones were now far more important than before, and the board meetings were interesting, now she was a candidate. The school meeting was extra special. It wasn’t that they hadn’t had an old scholar as an MP before, it was just that one had never been under thirty with that prospect. The Head told her, with a smile, that she would be called on to attend more of the social events if she won.

Sometimes, when Willow was laying in Garry’s arms, she would smile inwardly at the memory of her lifestyle statement, made so many years ago. She had told her mother that she didn’t want to be ordered around and would do something where she would be her own boss. Well, now, she had enough money to walk away from everything, yet was now embracing the one job where there was more pressure than almost every other position in the world, the world of politics.

With Red Wolf, she had discovered that when you had built something to a certain size and had given the staff the feeling that it was theirs, others would run the show, only needing you to give a casting vote or word of advice. She could count on her fingers the number of times she had visited the recording studios that year, not being there to record anything of her own. The songs that the Randalls wrote were only heard on the radio, or when they played the albums that they were sent by grateful bands. The thing was, when she listened to the tracks, she had as much satisfaction as if she had been on the stage, without the travel or the sweat.

The party at the Dorchester was a case in point. The Randalls received some awards as the writers of all the songs in a few albums that had gone Gold. It allowed them to circulate and talk to their clients, as well as those who weren’t. Sarah and others from the two studios were there to collect awards for recording and post-production. Their two biggest clients for the year were ‘Third Rating’ and Cauldron’, who had a swag of awards to collect, with the two newly created women looking as glamourous as the other eight, having made the recordings before their operations.

The party at Chequers was almost a pep rally, with the PM addressing all the guests to work hard in the coming year to ensure their third term. So far, he told them, they were holding the party line without any in-fighting.

That New Year, Willow and Garry were at their favourite window to watch the fireworks. They were joined by Ashley and Wendy, with John there to see the fireworks for the first time. They had a group hug at midnight, with Wendy kissing Garry and then her husband, and Willow kissed her father on the cheek and then a much more passionate one with Garry. John insisted that he deserved kisses of his own. As they watched the sparkling display, Ashley grinned.

“That’s almost as sparkling as the night we’ll celebrate your election, love.”

“It will be a pity that you’ll be in Kenilworth, and I’ll be in Beaconsfield.”

“That’s all right, we’ll meet up a few days later at Parliament. There’s a lot to do after that. You’ll need to supply a full list of assets and income. It may pay you to remove yourself from the control of Red Wolf. Leicester isn’t a problem, as you’re the landlord, with WR Holdings, and the studio now owned by another company. The fact that you allow use of the site by the council is good.”

“If I step aside in GWR and stay on as a non-executive director, will that be right?”

“It should be. It’s the same with WR Holdings and the design studio. On paper, we bought it with money from WR, which already had three properties. You’ll have to list the income from the restaurant in London. Unfortunately, you can’t offset that with what we spend with them.”

“I expect that I’ll have to list my residence as Marlow, even though that’s owned by GWR.”

“Look. When you get in, just take a list in with you on the first day, showing exactly what you have in the bank, what you have a share of with GWR and WRH, the assets you hold and the links between them. The PM will set someone to work with you on them. You have three weeks to get that in order. During that time, you’ll be given your duties. There are no promises. Everyone gets something that they are good for, the only problems being the factions who promote their favourites without any thought as to whether they can do the job.”

“So, I have about six months of comparative freedom, but busier with the campaign. I’ve pretty well spoken to all the volunteers and workers, and a lot of the voters. We’ll go to the apartment tomorrow, to see if I can talk to our neighbours about the campaign. Kevin and Hazel may take it on as a real-life project.”

“That’s a good idea. They may come up with something different. Your party office are all a bit long in the tooth, so something new may cut through the apathy that a lot of voters have. Turnout there was under seventy percent in the last two elections. That’s around twenty-five thousand who didn’t get out of bed on polling day, and there are more than twenty thousand that have settled there, since then.”

“Maybe I could have a pile of CDs at each polling booth, one each for every voter.”

“Not allowed, but a good thought.”

“Keyrings?”

“Now you’re getting silly. You can’t offer anything material; it sounds like bribery”

“All right, I could offer to hold a show in the second half of the year. Say, in Beaconsfield itself.”

“The second biggest group in your electorate are classed as Asian. You could always put on a show, before the election, with a few of your Japanese clients.”

“That’s a great idea! I’ll run it by the office to see if we could set up a short tour.”

The New Year had just the one aim, to get elected. Garry went along with it with his usual good humour, even when Willow was starting to get frazzled, not something that had been a problem before. Now, she had a project that was bigger than anything she had faced in her past years. Bigger than the University studies, bigger than setting up the studio or going on tour for over a year. This had implications that she had never seriously considered before. The one that weighed on her was the worry that she wouldn’t win, and so disappoint others who relied on her. She now realised what had worried her father. She knew, in her heart, that she wouldn’t hang around to have another go in five years.

They did organise a short tour with three of the clients from Japan. It would be only a token offering but was advertised as ‘Willow Randall presents a Red Wolf Tour’. They had set up six shows, with four in London and one each in Derby and Telford. It wasn’t a high-cost enterprise, with Willow underwriting the tour, but turned out to be very lucrative, with full houses at all six shows.

Willow was on hand when the bands arrived, had organised accommodation and booked the venues. She acted as the master of ceremonies by introducing the bands, in English, and then in Japanese, which she had been taught the way to speak. It only fell apart when some tried to engage her in conversation. She had been taught how to say, ‘I don’t speak Japanese’, in Japanese, which usually had the person talking to her in perfect English.

The tour wasn’t perfect for the electorate, as many there came from other countries rather than Japan, but it worked well enough to attract the audience for something different from their side of the world. The feedback was good enough to organise a tour for the following year, with more traditional music. They were now touring bands directly from India, which usually had a dozen or more venues around the country.

For something completely different, her birthday party was held in the under-cover parking area of the Red Wolf headquarters. She set up a lavish array of grazing tables, and the staff wandered in and out during the afternoon as other guests turned up to give her a kiss and wish her luck for the campaign. That night, and several nights after, the Randalls stayed in the apartment, and only went downstairs to eat. For them, this was the calm before the storm.

Garry had his birthday dinner downstairs, with just the two of them. He could tell that things were weighing heavily on Willows’ mind, so he coaxed her to spend a few days in the British Museum, just to have something else to occupy her mind. It seemed to work, as she was much brighter when they went back to Marlow.

For the next few months, they were wandering around the electorate, sometimes talking to the volunteers and getting posters up, but often just walking along a street, knocking on doors and speaking to whoever opened them.

This was where their own fame came into play, with everyone happy that there were a couple of pop stars at their doorstep. Most of those of voting age had their various albums, and they did a lot of signing, as well as leaving pamphlets. There was an interesting byproduct from those days. The wide range of people they spoke to also had a wide range of stories to tell. That triggered the need to write songs in the evening, which helped them relax, but also built a large bank of songs which would need careful management after the election. If she lost, they had enough to put together a band and go back on the road. It provided that ‘out’ that allowed Willow to think more clearly.

The discussions around the meal table in London had thrown up another avenue. In the month before the election day, they had booked small venues and advertised a range of meetings, based on the American ‘town halls’ where it was nearly all question and answer. They had other members of the Parliament there a few times, with the biggest venue, in Beaconsfield town, hosted by Willow, with her father and the PM on hand to talk. It was standing room only and well received, with a lot of good reporting in the news.

It all worked well, as, on election night, Willow was declared the winner with over sixty percent of the vote, and a staggering eighty-five percent turn-out. The party office was indeed the party to be at. It went very late into the early hours, with her father ringing her with his congratulations, and even the PM giving her a call.

Two days later, the Randalls had settled in the apartment, with the Roses next door. Ashley had retained the Government car and driver, and it took him and his daughter to Parliament for the first day of a new five-year term. He led her to the Party Room, where everyone was welcomed, and the PM spoke about the need to carry on the good work. Not being one to hang around, he had already decided on the main allocation of portfolios, with Ashley keeping his job.

The Secretary for Culture, Media, and Sport had been filled for the last two terms by Dame Mordaunt Modelle, a famous star from the stage and screen. She was named to continue, and Willow wondered where that left her. She had met the Minister a few times, at the Chequers parties and a few other events, and they had got on quite well, so she didn’t feel any animosity with not getting the job. She was pragmatic enough to know that she had a lot to learn.

After all the main jobs had been allocated, they mingled with drinks and talked about some of the stranger events during the campaign. Dame Mordaunt came over to where Willow was standing with Ashley.

“Willow, sweetheart, it’s so good to see you here.”

“Hello, Dame Mordaunt, congratulations on your appointment.”

“It’s another five years of hard work, dear, but someone has to do it. I’m happy that you’re with us this time. I’ve asked the PM if I could have you in my office, so we had better go and talk to his PA to see where they have put you.”

Willow followed her to where the PA was surrounded by eager new members, keen to find out if they had something meaningful to do or were just making up numbers until committees were formed that they could add their knowledge to. The PA saw the two approaching and held her hand up to the others, turning to the Minister.

“Dame Mordaunt, welcome back for another year. I see that you’ve already found Willow. Willow, you will be the Under Secretary to the Dame, and you will be located in her office. When you’ve settled, see the Home Secretary’s PA with your asset list. The Dame will set you right for other things. Is that all right?”

“Thank you. That is perfectly all right.”

The Dame took her back to her father.

“Ashley, dear. I’m taking Willow to my little den. She’s my Under, so I’ll be looking after her from now on. I’ll officially see you Friday for the affirmation.”

Ashley gave Willow a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“Well done, sweetheart. Maude will look after you. Give me a call on the internal line when you’re ready to go back to the apartment.”

The Dame gave a giggle.

“I’ll look after her. I’ve heard about that restaurant but have never had the opportunity to eat there. We’ll see you and Wendy for dinner, OK?”

She led Willow out of Parliament, and they walked to the offices in Whitehall, the Ministers’ PA and security with them.

“Dame Mordaunt, it will be good working with you. The PM had spoken to me about your office, and I wondered about my lack of knowledge about sport.”

“From now on, Willow, I’m just Maude to you. When I was handed the job, the only thing I knew about sport was to place bets on horses, usually on the advice of other actors, and usually losing. We do have people who are far more knowledgeable to assist us. I’ll tell you one thing now, my dear. I’m in my seventies, and I won’t be contesting next time, so this five years will be your training run for the job. I’ve heard that you’re a quick learner, so you should be standing in for me for some of the time by next year.”

“Thank you, Maude. I have to tell you that I loved some of your films when I was younger.”

“They made me money, Willow. I did what I had to do. I loved the stage more, as that’s real acting. I’ve been to a few of your shows, with my grandchildren. I would have to say that you’re a great entertainer. Why stop?”

Willow laughed.

“I bet it’s the same reason you retired, it became just the same old work, but different places on different days. I was happier working with others, and the management business just fell in my lap.”

“Bosh! No such thing. You would have been in the right place, at the right time, with the right skills and had already laid the groundwork, just the same as walking to your new office with me today. You may not have planned this day, but you’ve worked towards it since you were in school. I’ve read your story, and everyone says that you put in the hard yards to get things done.”

“I’ve recently read your own biography. You also went from being Maude Martin to where you now are by hard work. I’ve been involved in producing stage works, and it isn’t easy for anyone.”

“What the journos don’t know is that I had a big hand in rewriting some of the scripts, the ones where I got awards. The ones where I wasn’t allowed to make changes were the duds. I had a few, favourite, producers that were collaborators, rather than ordering you about like a servant.”

They arrived at the offices and the security guard opened doors for them. Maude nodded to the girl on the reception desk.

“Kelly, please lock the door and join us in my office for a chinwag.”

They went through to the next section, where there was a short corridor with three doors. Maude gestured to the one on the left.

“That’s the office of the PA, Janice had been with me from the beginning. We share her, but I take precedent. On the right is your office. Have a look inside. Elly had been with me for eight years and didn’t contend the election to spend more time with her family. Have a look, it’s a bit girly but that was her style. You can change it if you like.”

Willow looked inside and didn’t see too much that she didn’t like.

“This is my office. You’ll see that you have a door on the right, while Janice has a door on the left. The last Minister was a man, and I didn’t change his furniture, much more suited for a person of power.”

Willow looked at the dark chesterfield, the matching chairs, and the old-fashioned coat rack. The desk had the look as if you could land a plane on it.

“When you say power, you’re talking a capital ‘P’. I seem to remember that he was a small and weedy guy. He must have had a Napoleon complex or a very small dick.”

“From what I was told by the contacts when I took over, it was more the second, but it’s all good, and too heavy to pick up.

Kelly and Janice joined them and the four sat on the dark leather seats. Maude took the lead.

“Right, we have a full house. Willow, this is Janice, our PA. She looks after my appointments, as well as yours, Willow, if it’s a Ministerial appointment which you will be attending as my representative. Other appointments for you are handled by Kelly. Kelly does our typing and filing. We have a range of standard letters, and she will create your own letterhead, with the ‘Right Honourable Willow Randall, OBE, MP. Under Secretary of Culture, Media and Sport’ which can be the base or used to be typed on.”

“Right, Maude.”

“In here, we’re Maude, Willow, Janice and Kelly. Any problems, out with it. We have five years together, so no secrets, no gripes. Kelly, can you organise the letterhead and also a batch of business cards for Willow. All the usual. We should have a few days before the monsters circle the castle, so we had better put together the usual façade. The PM has organised a meet and greet with the political press tomorrow. We will be ready for them.”

Kelly turned to Willow.

“Do you have any preferences in tea, coffee, or biscuits?”

“Both white with no sugar. Any biscuits that come along. I’m pretty easy going. Do we have any set hours?”

Maude laughed.

“Set hours! You have to be joking. This is all day, every day, when it needs to be. If you get in by nine, weekdays, there may be places to go to and people to see on weekends. That’s usually the days we get more sports. I’ve seen more Premier League matches in the last couple of years to last a lifetime, along with horse races. The culture and media generally fill the week. Kelly will set you up with an encrypted mobile, which you should keep by you at all times. All emails come into the office for Kelly to filter and reply, if need be. For the first three months, you’ll be wishing that you got a seat on the back bench, then the bug bites you and you can’t get enough of the life.”

“Sounds like fun!”

“It is - a lot of the time. You just need to be re-elected to keep it going. Now, down to work. What have we got left over from last time, Janice?”

“There’s that film premiere that invited you, whether or not you won. There’s the ongoing discussions with the organisers of the Proms.”

“You can take that over, Willow. Some of the younger ones want to add film and cartoon music to the mix, early in the program. We’re holding our cards with that. It needs them to temper their enthusiasm and introduce it with stealth.”

“Like starting with music from that Disney film with all the classics?”

“You nail it, sister! Get them to do a children’s evening with the film in the background. You have more clout than me, having played there a couple of times. What else do we have?”

“The usual organisation of the Royal Variety Performance, Maude.”

“Another one for you, Willow. These will get your knees firmly under the desk. I think that it may be time for lunch. You two, sort out some appointments for the two of us, as equals. We’re heading back to the House for lunch. Then I’ll take Willow to hand her asset list in.”

They strolled back to the House, shadowed, now, by two security personnel.

“I had a security guy who drove me when I became famous, for a while, but having a couple stalking us feels creepy.”

“Get used to it, Willow. As a Member, you’ve become a target for every crazy out there. Each one of us have a team of four, who are kept aware of our movements by Kelly. You’ll get used to ignoring them, in the open, but getting friendly with them at the same time. Make sure that you let them know when you’re leaving your home. They don’t sit outside your house, but they are happier when they’re with you when you leave.”

“Sounds constricting.”

“It teaches you to plan ahead. You must have seen the ones that work with Ashley.”

“I did. They even sleep at the house on Rising Lane when he’s home. There was one in the car, this morning, when we were picked up to come in. So, I’d better prepare a room at Marlow for one. I wasn’t sure that I would have a car, though.”

“We’ll have a talk to the PM over lunch. With you and I working together, rather than you as an overblown PA, I’m sure we can organise a car and a regular driver, maybe one who’s part of the detail.”

They went into the members dining room, where they were shown to a table with the PM already on his soup. They were sat down and given the soup and bread. As the lunch progressed, Willow found herself being given a lot of benefits that she never expected, or even knew about. The car and driver was one, a clothing allowance was another, as she would be the poster girl of the new government. She was told that she would still liaise with Ashleys’ office for the next season of pop-up displays, and that Garry was expected to accompany her on official occasions.

The PM was keen that she would represent the government abroad, seeing that she already had a profile in a lot of countries. Maude agreed to most of the suggestions, as long as Willow was introduced to all the British dignitaries as well.

The lunch was protracted, with them going back to the office after three, after Willow had handed in her paperwork. It took the rest of the day to bring Kelly and Janice up to date with the new duties.

Towards the end of the afternoon, Willow was in her office, settling down, when Kelly knocked on her door and put her head in.

“Willow, there’s a young woman in reception. A security officer brought her to us. She says that she is also a new member, and has been allocated to us as your own PA.”

“Give me a moment. I’ll talk to Maude and Janice and see if we can have a group introduction. I suppose that she can use that smaller desk. Did Elly have a PA?”

“She did have a part-time secretary. I suppose that with you being pushed by the PM, he thinks that you’ll need a PA. It will relieve me of that side of the work.”

Willow knocked on the connecting door and told Maude that there was a new member who had been allocated to her as PA. Maude pressed her intercom and told Janice to come in, and for Kelly to bring their new companion into her office.

Marianne Gregory © 2025