“How rude,” the blonde says, licking her lips and staring at me with sudden interest.

Great, I’ve got one who’s attracted to rudeness.

A plump man who’s sitting near to Charlie looks over at the redhead. “Did you say a librarian? Here? With us?” His face is red and sweaty, and his chins wobble in amazement, as though he’s stunned that someone at this table might actually have a job that requires a brain rather than a parent who owns the company.

“Oh my God,” I whisper, staring at Charlie, who has stiffened. “This is so epic.”

He winks at me before we turn back to the conversation.

“Charlie is a librarian,” Jamie says. “I introduced him to you when we sat down, Nigel.”

Nigel stares at Charlie. “Don’t think I’ve ever met a librarian before.”

Charlie, being Charlie, smiles kindly at him. “We’re not dodos.”

“Might as well be,” Nigel says and laughs loudly. “The way they’re closing the libraries. Good thing too.”

“Wondrous,” I whisper.

“I’m sorry,” Charlie says. “What do you mean it’s a good thing?”

Nigel shrugs and drains his wine. “All those big buildings sitting on prime real estate. And what for? So dole bludgers can go in and get advice on how to bleed the system. The library near my father’s house closed last year. We’d had our eye on it for years. Right in the middle of Primrose Hill. My pops bought it, knocked it down, and built executive housing on it.”

Everyone nearby smiles as if his father is Willy Wonka and giving out free chocolate. Everyone apart from Charlie.

“Didn’t he feel guilty for depriving the area of a much-needed resource?” he says coolly.

Harry stirs. “Leave it, for Christ’s sake, Charlie. It’s just a library.”

Charlie looks at Harry. “And you’re just a banker. I sincerely hope you never become endangered.”

I don’t do enough to suppress my laugh.

Nigel stares at Charlie in perplexed astonishment. “Why on earth would my father feel guilty? I’m sorry if your feelings are hurt, but libraries are yesterday’s news. They’re no use anymore. People who read do it on their devices now. Machines have taken over, and books are old hat. Everything is on the internet. So what use is a bloody big building full of books that no one reads and librarians walking around saying shush every five seconds? Better to have productive members of society using the land. People who contribute to keeping this bloody country running.”