Max and Amy talk on the phone:
‘Thank you, Max, we’ve just read the article. Knowing what you know, you were very restrained.’
‘Nobody needs to know any of that.’
‘When will you publish?’
‘Next week. But not in my magazine. You’ve heard, haven’t you?’
‘Yes. I am sorry.’
‘Never mind. After all you’ve gone through, the passing of a literary magazine is nothing.’
‘You had a great story. He still hasn’t spoken to the media at all and you chose not to go ahead. It might have saved you.’
‘I couldn’t do it. It wasn’t right.’
‘It would’ve sold copies, though, and you know it. So thank you.’
‘That’s what it was all about, wasn’t it? Choices like this?’
‘In a way.’
‘I did write about it, though. I just haven’t shown you. And I promise, no one else will see it. It’s not for publication. I had to get it all down. You and Helen. Daniel’s suicide. Malcolm’s weird novel, his false grief. Helen’s three manuscripts, her guilt, his rejection of her, her suicide on the night of his win. It’s so dark. Later, in a few years, I’ll write a book about it. A novel, perhaps. I’d love to see your diaries on it all one day.’
‘No, you wouldn’t.’
‘Amy?’
‘Yes? . . . Oh . . . No, don’t say anything. I know what you’re going to say. I need time, Max. That’s all.’
‘Where are you? It sounds like you’re at the beach.’
‘That’s Malcolm. He’s in the pool. We’re in Tuscany, just outside Lucca. I’ve dragged him here to finish his memoir. I’ll send pics. It’s gorgeous here.’
‘How’s he doing?’
‘He’s a mess. We both are. But writing about Helen seems to be helping him. We’ll be back in London in September. We’re launching All Too Human. Did you read the proof copy I sent you?’
‘It’s extraordinary, Amy. You and Malcolm have done a brilliant job.’
‘Helen was a perfectionist. Especially with this one. It meant the world to her. We hardly did a thing to it.’
‘Even so, it must have been hard for both of you.’
‘Harder for Malcolm. Helen wrote the book for him. She saw it as her salvation, a way of winning back his respect. She all but begged him to read it. But the manuscript had remained unread on Malcolm’s desk.’
‘I didn’t know.’
‘Malcolm was inconsolable when he first read it. I didn’t think he’d recover. He lost weight and interest in everything. It was too much for him. He loved her – more than anything – and he knows his cruelty brought her to self-destruction. He isn’t the man he was. He’ll never be that man again. But the work has given him a focus. He won’t let Helen down again.’
‘All Too Human cements her reputation as one of the greats.’
‘Stop, you’ll make me cry . . . Sorry, I’ll let Malcolm know you said so.’
‘I’ve written a review for The Guardian. They’ll publish it in September. I’ll send it through.’
‘No need. I trust you.’
‘Amy, just out of curiosity, how much of the M&R mess was down to your influence?’
‘I don’t know what you mean.’
‘You don’t know what I mean? The Bookseller announces a record eight-figure deal between HarperCollins and Jack Cade, and you pretend to have had nothing to do with it?’
‘That was their doing, not mine.’
‘How’s that?’
‘After all that’s happened they’re still going to publish Helen’s more commercial novel. They’re planning to call it The Winter Rose. A friend sent me a draft cover. It looks like a fucking Maeve Binchy. Malcolm is understandably horrified and has urged them to reconsider, but . . .’
‘But . . .’
‘Julia is a fucking bitch. Even though we’ve offered to pay back the advance, she’s still going ahead.’
‘So you took Jack Cade from her?’
‘After she tried to take Jack Cade from me first.’
‘So you think Julia was behind Liam’s change of heart?’
‘Of course! She would have whispered all kinds of bullshit into his ear as she stroked his cock. She knows Liam loves playing the bestselling author. She knows he hates it when anyone suggests publicly that I’ve played any part in his success. Like Malcolm did magnificently in his speech. It’s a sore point with him. That’s why he calls me his editor and never his co-author. So she convinced him to dump me. Not knowing the true nature of our arrangement.’
‘Surely Liam knew.’
‘Liam should have known. It was all in black and white. He really should have read the original contract more closely. He was, essentially, a hired gun, after all. I now have three Liams working around the clock on the new Mark Harden thriller for HarperCollins. It will be the best one yet.’
‘I doubt Liam’s okay with that.’
‘Publicly, he has to be. Publicly, he retired on his own terms. Privately, I don’t give a fuck.’
‘I don’t think he has much “privately” anymore. The tabloids are loving his decline. Gail’s interview with Hello! magazine was pure gold. Did you read it?’
‘I helped write it.’
‘You’re the devil.’
‘I wish I was. Then I’d find a way to stop Julia publishing The Winter Rose.’
‘You’ll think of something. You always do.’
‘I have Alan going over the contract and the correspondence between M&R and Helen, looking for something Malcolm and I might have overlooked. Hopefully something will come up.’
‘I’m sure it will. And what news of your own novel, Amy?’
‘Who told you about that?’
‘A little birdy.’
‘It’s coming along.’
‘Can you tell me what it’s about?’
‘It’s just a silly love story.’