We could see them through the pub’s open door. She had her hands on Nathan’s shoulders but he was looking away from her. He put his hand on her chest to keep her from hugging him and spoke slowly to her, then turned and walked away. She followed in the same direction and that was all we could see from where we were sitting. I had thought that we had all been having a good time that night.

‘I’m rooting for him,’ I said. ‘He’s a nice boy.’

I looked at Jonathan. He was staring down into his pint. ‘You don’t see many of them around,’ he said.

Though he was still sleeping in the living room I wasn’t seeing all that much of him. He was distracting himself from his marital problems by going out most weeknights. There was always some gig or opening to go to – and Jonathan’s misery had been good for business: he’d found a heap of new clients on his nights out. He was getting into fights too. On one occasion I noticed grazed knuckles on him and a swollen lip.

‘I’m sort of a nice boy,’ I said to Jonathan.

‘You’re thirty-five!’ he said.

‘I’m thirty-three!’

‘You look thirty-five.’

‘You look forty-six.’

‘You don’t look like a nice boy is all I’m saying,’ said Jonathan. ‘Most women don’t want nice. They want men.’

‘That’s not true at all. And if it is, it’s just Stockholm syndrome. Do you and Mary have something going on?’

‘No, course not. I haven’t given up on Julia.’

‘Good.’

‘Mary and I are going out next week, though.’

‘What?’

‘Not a date. I’m borrowing her. Not borrowing her, exactly – that sounds wrong. I’m taking her to party where she’ll meet lots of cool people and have a good time, and where Julia will probably be.’

‘And she knows this?’

‘I didn’t mention Julia. She might think that was a bit weird.’

‘Have you considered that you might be better off without Julia?’

‘What? No.’ He pulled his phone out and unlocked it, looked at it and put it down again. He had been doing this every couple of minutes. He was waiting for something. I wasn’t sure if it was Julia or drugs.

*

On the following Friday I went to Soho for lunch. The dining room in the club was busy and Susannah seemed to know everyone there.

Her role in the company, she told me, was unfortunately not as important as it once was – without demoting her they had hired someone above her. She had to make sure he didn’t take over the relationships with her bestselling authors or she’d become replaceable.