‘Of course it is,’ said Jemma. ‘Please, Raphael, tell me what’s wrong.’
‘You can read it for yourself,’ he said, and reached out his free hand for the coffee. Jemma relieved him of the letter and replaced it with the cinnamon roll, which he looked at with curiosity, as if he ought to know what to do with it.
Jemma skimmed the letter. The text beneath the seal said From the European Head of the Keepers’ Guild. Words and phrases jumped out at her:
Following several complaints…
…unbecoming conduct…
…neglect of duty…
…failure to manage effectively…
…formal written warning…
Jemma looked up from the letter. ‘What does it mean?’ she said. ‘I can tell it isn’t good, but what is it saying?’
A bark of something like laughter erupted from Raphael. ‘What it means, Jemma, is that I’ve been reprimanded by my boss. What that means, in layperson’s terms, is that it’s over. It’s all over.’
Chapter 14
‘Over? What do you mean, over?’ Sick dread filled the pit of Jemma’s stomach. Whatever the answer was, she didn’t think she would like it.
‘I shouldn’t be sad,’ said Raphael. ‘I’ve had a good run. Two hundred years is quite something, when you think about it.’
‘But the letter says it’s a warning,’ said Jemma.
Raphael looked up, then downed half of his espresso in one go. ‘I know it says that, but in practice, once you’ve had a warning, that’s it. Your card is marked. You’re on borrowed time.’
‘But I don’t understand this letter,’ said Jemma. ‘What unbecoming conduct, exactly?’
‘That’s not so much me as the others,’ said Raphael. ‘The accusation is that I haven’t been sufficiently in control of them.’ The corner of his mouth twisted in a wry smile. ‘It isn’t exactly a fair system, but it’s what we’re used to.’
Jemma blinked. She had a horrible feeling that her push for equal opportunities and better employment rights had directly caused Raphael’s warning, not to mention the anger and resentment of the people it was meant to help. ‘It’s all gone so very wrong,’ she murmured, and buried her head in her hands. She felt if she were in a black hole of despair, and wanted nothing more than to be buried in it and left alone. This is my fault. I thought I was helping, but obviously not. I didn’t even understand what I was dealing with.
A few moments later a tentative hand touched her shoulder. ‘It’s not the end of the world,’ said Raphael. ‘I’m sure there are other things I could do. I mean, I could just run the bookshop. It could be a sort of retirement.’
Jemma removed her hands and stared at him. ‘But – but you’d die,’ she said.
‘Most people do,’ said Raphael. ‘That wouldn’t happen immediately. At least, I hope not.’
‘No,’ said Jemma, looking about her as if she might spot something in the room that could help. ‘There has to be a way. There has to.’
‘I don’t think there is,’ said Raphael. Then he sighed. ‘I must admit that I didn’t expect the reaction I got. Dissent or disagreement, perhaps, but not such anger. I did indicate that I was happy to discuss the matter, but not one person has taken me up on that.’ He ran a hand through his hair. ‘I should probably prepare for a challenge. That will be the next thing.’
‘Well, it shouldn’t be,’ said Jemma. ‘The system shouldn’t work like that.’
‘Ah, but it does,’ said Raphael, and bit into his cinnamon roll for consolation.
‘I’ll try and think of something,’ said Jemma. ‘I’ll do whatever I can to help. This is my fault, and if I can fix it, I will.’
Raphael patted her arm. ‘I do appreciate it, Jemma, but I’m not sure what you can do. I don’t mean that as a slight, not at all; I don’t see what anybody could do.’
Jemma sensed the conversation could go round in circles for hours if she let it. ‘I’m going back to my shop,’ she said. ‘But I’ll keep thinking about it, and if I have any ideas I’ll be in touch.’ She got up and studied him. ‘Are you sure you’ll be all right?’
‘Of course,’ said Raphael. ‘Folio is here.’ He tickled the cat under the chin and received a purr in return. ‘I’ll go downstairs in a bit and look after the ground floor. It’ll probably do me good to think about something else.’
‘I think you’re right,’ said Jemma. ‘One of the customers might give you an idea. Or maybe a book. I’m sure I saw some employment law textbooks—’
Raphael laughed. ‘I’m no expert on employment law, but I’d hazard a guess that the Keepers’ Guild runs on an entirely different legal system,’ he said. ‘Anyway, you get back to your bookshop. Books to sell, people to serve.’
Luke raised his eyebrows when Jemma emerged into the main shop, but she shook her head. It was too big and too horrible to explain. ‘I’ll do the best I can to help,’ she said. ‘Hopefully I’ll have a brainwave.’
‘I hope you do,’ said Luke. ‘I miss Raphael, you know. While he’s not in the shop that much, at the moment he’s not here in a completely different way.’
Jemma nodded, and the tinkle of the shop bell as she left sounded like a death knell.
***
Jemma’s feet dragged as she walked down Charing Cross Road to The Friendly Bookshop. When she arrived, though, she found it looking far from friendly. The window was completely empty, the spotlight shining on an absence.
‘What’s going on?’ she said, as she opened the door.
Maddy stood behind the counter, packing books into a box. The former window display, if Jemma wasn’t mistaken.
‘What on earth are you doing?’ A couple of customers were browsing, but Jemma had reached the point where she didn’t care what the customers thought. ‘Why are there no books in the window?’ Then she saw that the shelves at the front of the shop, the shelves she had filled with her lovely new books, were also completely bare.
‘It isn’t working,’ said Maddy. ‘The fiction isn’t working.’
‘Yes it is,’ said Jemma. ‘We’re selling more books, and making the same money as the bookshop did before.’
‘But what about the expense?’ said Maddy. ‘What about the cost of all those books, and the redecoration? I doubt you’ve taken that into account. I suspect you’ve been looking at the profits and ignoring the costs.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ snapped Jemma, and a woman nearby, flicking through A Brief History of Time, jumped. ‘I’ve lost count of how often you’ve made changes without asking me first, and as far as I’m concerned, this is the last time.’
Maddy came out from behind the counter and faced her. She stood tall, and two spots of colour burned on her cheekbones. ‘And what will you do, exactly?’
The words Fire you were on Jemma’s lips, but she couldn’t bring herself to say them. What if she were in the wrong and Maddy sued her for unfair dismissal? Or what if she went through the accounts and found that Maddy was right, and she had overspent, and she had made a mess of things yet again? But she drew herself up too and glared at Maddy. ‘I’m sending you home,’ she said. ‘I’m not prepared to tolerate an employee who constantly undermines me. I suggest you think about that before you come in tomorrow. If you do.’