"He's French," Ross agreed. Even the purist old guard that may enjoy Maxime's conservative bent was likely to balk at the fact of his Frenchness. He nodded at her consideration of Lupin. "Lupin has always been — competent, and a good leader," he said, "It's hard to say what he would want to do as Minister." Lupin was a bit of an enigma to Ross, in that way — would he govern as a conservative or as a centrist?

"You and I know Macmillan well," Ross agreed. They did not need to discuss him overmuch. "I'm most curious about Crouch, and Dempsey." An odd position to be in, but he did not think he understood Dempsey well, and he knew Crouch but was not sure how the man would be as a minister.