‘I’m not being wet. It just confirmed to me all the reasons I hate the programme so much now. And that Dumped show is completely immoral, you must know that.’

‘Since when did you grow a conscience, darling? You never complained before.’

I flushed angrily. ‘Yeah, well, people change. I’ve had my eyes opened.’

He laughed without humour. ‘What – by that loser boyfriend of yours?’

‘Who?’ I shook my head in confusion. ‘Alex? He’s not my boyfriend any more, and it’s nothing to do with him. Can we not bring him into it, please.’ With a sinking feeling, I remembered pushing Charlie away the other night after Bel’s party. I realised I was about to pay for denting his pride. I took a deep breath.

‘Look, the point is, I can’t do it, Charlie. I won’t. Let me do something I believe in – or let me go.’

He looked bored. ‘Maggie, you fucked up so badly in the summer, darling, you’re hardly in a position to negotiate.’

‘That’s not fair, Charlie.’ My skin was scalding. But God, I wished I had better recall of the events. However hard I racked my brain, the episode in question escaped me in its entirety. Each time I imagined my apparent ignominy I winced inside. Harder still was accepting my memory was so impaired; it made me feel incomplete and broken.

‘Isn’t it? I’d say it was. I’d say it was extremely fair.’

‘I still can’t remember it properly.’ Which wasn’t absolutely true any more.

‘How convenient. I’m more than happy to remind you if it helps. And remember this, darling. You blew it – and then you left me in the shit. So you owe me.’

‘It just – it got a bit out of control, that’s all.’

‘I thought you couldn’t remember?’ He smiled malevolently. ‘Listen, darling.’ He leaned forward and blew smoke directly into my eyes, speaking very quietly and levelly. ‘You’d be nothing without me in the first place. Lyons would have had you out on your ear in June if he’d got a whiff of any of it. Your domestics should not affect your work, you know that, Maggie. Now it’s payback time.’

‘And if I refuse?’ I whispered.

‘If you don’t do my show, I won’t hesitate to use everything I know. And you wouldn’t want that now, Maggie baby, would you?’

I stared at him, appalled. ‘But I didn’t do anything really bad. I’m sure I didn’t.’

‘Didn’t you?’

‘They didn’t charge me in the end, I know that much,’ I said stoutly. The cigar smoke in this airless little box was making me feel ill.