Page 3 of The Cotswold Christmas Bookshop

‘Really?’ Isla asked, concerned.

Miriam nodded, worry etched in her features. ‘Are you in a rush? Or do you have time to stop for a coffee?’

‘Of course, I do. I have all the time in the world.’

Over their hot drinks, Miriam explained how Jonathan had suffered a series of mini-strokes earlier in the year and how he hadn’t fully regained his health. This had impacted on the business because, with only Penny working as a part-time assistant, they’d had to close the shop for several days when Jonathan had been in hospital and Miriam had needed to be at his side.

‘It all happened so quickly that we didn’t have time to arrange cover so things lapsed here, I’m afraid. We’re still catching up now, but there’s always so much to do.’ Miriam blew out a breath that caused her fringe to flutter in front of her eyes. ‘Anyway, how’s the job going?’ she asked, looking relieved to change the subject. ‘Have you signed any future bestsellers recently?’

‘Well, this is one of my authors,’ Isla said, gleefully, turning to pick up a dual timeslip novel, called The Forgotten Wife, that she’d spotted on a nearby table. A wave of sadness mixed with pride washed over her, seeing the book she’d worked so hard on, fending for itself out in the big wide world. She could have had no idea back then that she would suddenly find herself jobless. She would miss her authors, some of whom had become close friends. Running her hands over the cover of the book, her fingers smoothed over the contours of the golden embossing. ‘It’s a wonderfully gripping story. I’m glad to see it has pride of place here.’

‘We’ve already sold several copies, but we’ll be sure to keep them stocked now we know it’s one of yours. Do you need a stool, Jon?’ Miriam’s brow furrowed as she caught sight of her husband, who was rubbing at his hip with a pained expression on his face.

‘I might have to,’ he said, reluctantly accepting the seat offered by his wife. ‘This bloody leg of mine. It hasn’t been the same since I had the stroke. It keeps giving way beneath me.’

Isla hated to see Jonathan in such a bad way; he’d always been such an energetic and vital person, hurrying around the shop in search of one particular tome or another, but now it was as though all his strength had been stripped from him. Miriam looked ashen too, no doubt from the strain of worrying about her husband.

‘Could you not get some extra staff in, just to help you run the place for a few weeks?’

‘We’ve been looking at all our options, haven’t we, Miriam?’ Jonathan said solemnly. ‘Business has taken a bit of a nosedive this year.’

‘Yes.’ His wife let out a heavy sigh. ‘We’re going to muddle through until the new year and then decide on the best course of action. What Jon’s recent ill health has taught us is that time is precious. We’ve spent a great portion of our life within this building. It’s been our whole raison d’être for over thirty years, and you know how much we’ve loved it, but we have to consider how we want to spend the rest of the time we have together. We’ve always wanted to go travelling. If we don’t do it now, then when will we do it?’

Isla nodded as though she understood, but she was still trying to make sense of the ramifications of what Miriam was telling her. It sent a ripple of unease along her body as she wondered what all those options might be.

‘You can’t be thinking of selling up?’ Isla didn’t like to pry, but she couldn’t stop herself from asking.

‘Well… that would be a last resort,’ muttered Jonathan, while at the same time, Miriam announced firmly, ‘Quite honestly, I think it would be the best solution all round.’

Isla spotted the challenging glance between the pair of them and realised it was obviously a sensitive topic.

Isla deftly moved the conversation onto their respective plans for Christmas, the local news and Miriam was just asking about Isla’s busy life in London when a young man appeared at the counter.

‘I wonder if you can help me. I’m looking for a book. I was out with my girlfriend in London and she spotted it in a store window as we walked past and she mentioned that she wanted to read it, but I can’t for the life of me remember the title. It’s her birthday tomorrow. All I know is that it’s about a rabbit.’

It wasn’t an unusual request. People would often come into the shop searching for a particular book, but without knowing what it was called or who it was by. The customer might know the colour of the jacket or have part of the author’s name, or even a vague description of what it was about, but often the details were painfully scarce. Jonathan and Miriam were used to doing a bit of a detective work, to read between the lines, to help the customer find exactly what they were looking for.

‘Do you know if it’s an old book or a recent one?’ Jonathan asked.

‘Sorry,’ said the man, with a shrug. ‘I’m not being much help, am I? Although I would recognise it if I saw it.’

‘Well, the obvious one that comes to mind is Watership Down. I know we have a copy of that somewhere.’

Before the man could protest, Jonathan was off, determined but laboured, the weakness in his leg clear to see as he made his way slowly through the shop, steadying himself on the door frames as he went.

A few books sprung into Isla’s mind too as she stood there trying not to get in the way. It was at least a distraction from worrying about the Finches and the future of the bookshop. As she looked around, she could see the signs that perhaps Jonathan and Miriam weren’t coping as well as they might. The layout of the shop had always been higgledy-piggledy, that was part of its charm, but it was even more cluttered and disorganised than normal. The shelves needed a thorough dusting, there were cobwebs in the high corners of the rooms and the front paned windows were grubby and dirty. Behind the counter, there were boxes of unopened books and a big pile of post that needed seeing to as well. In all the other shops Isla had visited this morning, the festive season had well and truly arrived, but here, there wasn’t a decoration anywhere or a Christmas-themed display in sight.

‘Right…’ Jonathan was back, out of breath and with a tight smile on his face. ‘Was it either of these?’ he asked hopefully, laying two books on the counter.

‘No,’ said the customer, viewing them with a grimace. ‘I wish I could remember what it was called. Not to worry. It’s my own fault for not paying attention at the time. I’ll have to buy her some toiletries instead.’

‘Sorry to have not been of help,’ said Miriam as the man made a move to leave the shop.

‘Just a thought,’ said Isla. She couldn’t help herself. Old habits die hard. ‘It wouldn’t be Raising Hare would it, by Chloe Dalton? That’s a fairly recent book; it’s a true story about a woman who strikes up an unlikely relationship with a hare.’

The man stopped and turned to look at her, raising a finger to the air.

‘Actually, that rings a bell. Do you have a copy?’ He directed his question at Jonathan.