Libraries had burnished the reputations of so many men throughout history, and guaranteed them a place in it: Bodley, Beinecke, Ashurbanipal, and all the others who’d dreamed that dream. Therewas a reason that American presidents founded libraries after leaving office, even if they weren’t readers.
“My library is a gift to the nation. I believe I have a moral obligation to use my privilege for good, when and where I can.”
He sounded like a press release. I thought I knew better. “You’re afraid of dying.”
“I will die, like everyone else.”
“But your name will forever be attached to the library. That’s as close to immortal as a man can get.”
“Is it so terrible that a project appeals to a man’s vanity if that is far outweighed by its contribution to society?”
Was it terrible? Probably not. Wasn’t life a series of compromises? I felt very tired. The throbbing in my foot was insistent.
“Anya, I badly want you to be part of this because I want this to be our family’s legacy, not just mine. Please consider it.”
I looked out the window. I had no idea where we were. The streets outside looked smart.
I thought of Mum, just getting by from one medical appointment to the next, from one health crisis to the next, living in desperate fear of her treatment options running out, or of being unable to access the right drugs, reliant on Viv, who was great, but a huge cost herself.
I said, “I’ll do this on one condition.”
“Anything.”
“My mother has lymphoma. Stage IV. She’s one of the unlucky ones with a poor prognosis. I want you to help her. I want you to get her the best treatment in the world. There’s a trial. In the US. A new drug that’s showing incredible results for her type of the disease, but we have no hope of getting it here. I want you to get her put on the trial.”
“I would love to.” He didn’t sound surprised. He already knew she was ill.That cut me to the bone. “Will she let me help?”
I’d rather die than beg him for charity. Literally.
“No. That’s your challenge. Figure out how to help without her knowing.”
“I think I can do that,” he said.
“If you can, we have a deal.”
Diana
Diana watched London crawl by as she sat in the back of the town car. She wasn’t unhappy to be in traffic; it was a chance to close her eyes for a few minutes, to catch her breath. This was starting to feel like the longest day of her life.
Charlotte rode ahead, in the same car as Bridget Farley and Bridget’s assistant. They were traveling in convoy from Bridget’s office to the site in South London that the Institute was hoping to lease.
The visit had been Bridget’s idea, one that had occurred to her during their meeting. “There’s a wonderful young architect I’d like you to meet. She’s up and coming. I think she’s a promising talent and a project like this could make her career. Let me see if she can meet us at the site.”
Of course, Bridget’s engagement with the project was a good sign, and of course, Diana couldn’t refuse, even though she was itching to check on Anya.
Diana considered whether to message her but decided against it. She would give her time and space for a little longer. She hadn’t had a chance to discuss Anya with Charlotte yet. Charlotte would doubtless argue that they should scoop Anya up immediately and put pressure on her, possibly threaten her, but Diana thought she knew Anya better. She was confident that she could handle this herself. If this time pressure could be removed, she’d have the whole thing in hand already.
She yawned, staving off exhaustion. Sometimes, the Larks’ mission felt like a house of cards that she had sole responsibility for.
She reminded herself again that the Kats had clearly come to the same conclusion about the path to findingThe Book of Wonder. If they hadn’t, they wouldn’t have gone to so much trouble to findthe embroidery, and Eleanor Bruton wouldn’t have holed up on a remote Scottish island with it. The Larks just needed to stay at least one step ahead of them, to reach the prize first.
Her phone vibrated. A notification from Magnus. She read his message—Anya’s on board.She was hugely relieved but also unsettled that he had got to Anya before she did. She had too many plates spinning, she knew, but she supposed Shakespeare was right when he wrote that all’s well that ends well, and this was good news, if Magnus was right. He tended to be a bull in a china shop when it came to negotiations, but with Anya he could pull emotional levers like no one else, and he was undoubtedly manipulative enough to do so.
So, Anya was a problem solved for now at least, which was excellent. It reminded her that it was important to hold her nerve and not assume that she needed to be the one to put out every fire. Sometimes, she caught a break. Sometimes, just when she thought the center wasn’t going to hold, things went her way.
The car stopped. “This is it,” the driver said.
They were in a wasteland, in north Greenwich, a site on the edge of the River Thames almost opposite London City Airport. Diana had seen photographs, but she hadn’t appreciated what an amazing location this was until now. It would be the perfect place for the Fellowship to construct its flagship building for the Lark Foundation. An appropriate setting for them to bring their mission out into the open, with the means and structure to make meaningful improvements to women’s lives.
