“What can I say about Essie?” she continued. “When we first met, she was pushy. She was stubborn, and scared me half to death. Not much changed as time progressed. She wasn’t an easy person to please. But when you did, for those few seconds you managed it, what a great feeling that was. Like walking on the sunny side of the street.

“I didn’t do well at school. I cleaned houses and offices for a living. Some people looked down on me. Yet, Essie never did. She had her demands, liked her carpets cleaned a certain way, and hated the smell of grapefruit in her bathroom. But she treated me with respect, like I was a human being. If she asked me a question, she listened to my answer and considered it. Even a small gap in a door can let in a lot of light. And it made me feel special. I’m proud to be one of the few people she let into her life. The other people were you. Our relationships with her weren’t smooth. Maybe Essie could have treated people better. Maybe they could have treated her better, too...”

Ted looked down. Sven played with his cuffs, and Hank nodded.

“You probably all gave her great material for her books. She loved us all in her own way, even if she didn’t always show it.”

Liv took a moment to look down at her hands. She pictured her fingers tracing across Essie’s manuscript and dancing across keyboard keys.

“My dad, Grant Cooper, taught Essie at university and recognized her talent. I’m proud that he helped her to write. He also brought me up to be a good person, encouraging me to understand and forgive others. I’m pleased to have been Essie’s cleaner, her assistant, but most of all, her friend. I’m going to leave the last few words to Essie’s heroine, Georgia Rory.”

Liv had been listening to an audiobook of The Moon on the Water that morning, and paused it on a favorite passage. She took out her phone and played it out loud.

“I hate saying goodbye,” Georgia said defiantly. “It’s so final, like reading ‘The End’ when a book is over. I want to think there’s going to be another chapter, another story and a chance to say hello again. I prefer to say, until next time, friends...”

With those last words, Liv felt she might split in two. She furiously brushed away the tears streaming down her face. “Let’s have a toast,” she said.

“To Essie Starling,” Ted, Hank, Meg, Anthony, Chloe and Matilda chorused.

“To Essie bloody Starling,” Marlon boomed. “Long may she reign.”