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‘Jeez, Sofia, now it all makes sense! For a town that prides itself on gossip, I seem to be the last to know. Who forced Agnes’s hand?’
Sofia grimaces. ‘The council. They weren’t happy with her employee performance review or something.’
I take a mug of steaming-hot tea from Sofia. ‘But why? I’ve looked over the finances and she did everything she could to cut costs and make the library viable.’
She pulls out a stool beside me and opens up the biscuit tin, which is full of home-made jammy dodgers. ‘I don’t want to speak out of turn. I’ve learnedthatfrom the People Library, and it’s just gossip I’ve overheard …’ Her voice peters off as if she doesn’t want to say anything more.
I place a hand on her arm. ‘You can tell me, Sofia. I won’t take it as gospel, but it might help me understand Maisie a bit better.’
Sofia pulls a face. ‘OK, well like I said, this is just the usual chitchat down the grapevine, but word is she was fired because there were a number of complaints about her.’
‘For what?’
‘She wouldn’t let everyone in the library – she had certain rules, like how they were dressed, and who they were. It riled a few people up.’
I remember back to Harry and how he wasn’t permitted entry. ‘Right. Well, no wonder Maisie took my arrival so badly.’ I take a biscuit from the tin, unable to resist the strawberry scent of jam.
‘Yes, quite unfortunate in this instance. She’ll come around.’
I take a bite and the biscuit crumbles all over me. I give Sofia an apologetic wave. Will Maisie come around? If only I knew. ‘I don’t know if she will to be honest, Sofia. But I’m determined to work it out with her.’
Sofia motions for me to wait, while she takes tea and biscuits out to Harry. When she returns she says, ‘So how are you and Finn going? Don’t thinkthathasn’t been discussed about the place.’
I’m so distracted about Maisie I answer without thinking. ‘Oh, where to start. I’m falling for the guy, no two ways about it, but I’m not sure there’s a future. I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to stay in Willow Grove.’ My dad springs to mind. He hasn’t answered my calls, which is so strange. He usually hates texting, says his fingers are too wide for the tiny keys but has used that as his method of communication lately.
Sofia’s expression registers shock and I realise my mistake.
‘Why wouldn’t you stay? Aren’t you so close to saving the library?’
I quickly backtrack. ‘Yes, yes, we’re very close. What I meant was that nothing is guaranteed yet, that’s all.’ I let out a tinkling little laugh. ‘Don’t want to count my chickens and all that. If we don’t manage to save it I’ll have to leave I suppose, have to move on to another library …’Do I need to start sowing the seeds of a reason I might just up and leave? The thought of such a thing makes me choke up so I turn away and fidget with my bag.
Sofia still notices and gives my back a rub. ‘Never mind, dear. We’ll save the library, don’t you worry about a thing.’
Chapter 23
CHARLOTTE
‘At first, all we knew was a new couple had purchased the castle and had it completely restored before they arrived in town. Who has that kind of money? We all wanted to know. It wasn’t long before he introduced himself. Jacob was the most charismatic man I’d ever met. His silky voice, the way he talked, I believed he could do no wrong. We didn’t see much of his wife, Sofia. I don’t know why. But Jacob kept popping up, wowing us with these grandiose stories about how he’d made his fortune, how he was this hotshot in finance. Made a bunch of money on Wall Street, retired early and ended up in the UK. We took the bait, all of us.
‘It was up to me to approve him for the treasury job. My job was to check the references, do some digging to make sure it was all above board, but I didn’t. I still kick myself every day about my stupidity. He spun a story about how that part of his life was over – you know the millionaire high-flyer finance guy who’d made his money and run. He claimed that if his former colleagues knew he was taking a lowly treasury job in a small town, they’d think he’d squandered all his money away or something! It makes me sound so naïve in hindsight,but the way he spoke was almost hypnotising. I didn’t want to embarrass him by calling his references over a town council job! And I was so grateful we had this mastermind working for our treasury! I figured we were the lucky ones, with his knowledge and skillset, he was over qualified for the job so who was I to make checks on him? What if he changed his mind in the interim? No, it was best to get the ball rolling. The treasury was in dire need of sorting out, and there was no time to waste.
‘At first the spreadsheets were a wonder – he’d made magic out of mud! He told us what to cut back on, what to fund. Told us that we overspent on council wages – that didn’t go down too well, but we listened. We followed his orders. To find out later that he’d fooled us all! Jacob didn’t have a penny to his name. It was all Sofia’s. The Wall Street gambit was a lie. He’d never been in finance. Once upon a time he’d been an electrician but lost his licence for dodgy practices – no surprise there.
‘When I confronted him he said he had a gambling addiction. It was no problem, he had accidentally used the wrong account, is all. He had some trouble accessing money from his US banks, but he’d get a wire transfer and it would be paid back in full. What sort of finance whiz accidentally uses the wrong bank? Alarm bells were ringing so loud I couldn’t hear myself think. He begged me to keep quiet, the money would be there the next morning when I returned to work. That was the longest night of my life. I should have vetted this guy. The hammer would come down on me. By the time I pieced it together it was too late. The money was gone. All of it.
‘The next day arrived and I was at work before sunrise. Of course, he didn’t show up. He was gone already. Gone while I lay in bed the night before,guilt roiling in my gut. He left everything, just like that, including his long-suffering wife. The fog lifted and I went into survival mode. Self-preservation at any cost. I was so damn angry, so I turned that anger in Sofia’s direction. I’m ashamed to say, I led the pack when it came to her not being included in anything. I made up the worst rumours about her and they caught fire and exploded. I didn’t want to see her face and be reminded of the terrible choices I’d made.
‘I don’t think Sofia will ever forgive me, and rightly so. But if I had the chance then I’d admit my part in it all and apologise for my behaviour. It wouldn’t be enough but it would be a start. The only person to blame for him dazzling me with make-believe is myself. When Sofia repaid the money, I should have celebrated. I only managed to keep my job by the skin of my teeth because of her. Because she stipulated that as long as no one was fired because of him she’d repay every single penny. And yet I still made her pay, in other ways. I’m ashamed of myself. I should be on my knees thanking that woman. And you know, I’m going to try hard to prove to her that I’ve changed. And I’m sorry. I’m so truly sorry for the hurt I’ve caused. There’s no excuse, just a million apologies.’
I have a moment spare to call Teddy, so I head to a cubicle. Dad still won’t answer my calls and Mum’s phone always goes to voicemail. For two tech-savvy people, it’s odd. But I have good news to share, and I want my brother to be the first to know. ‘Hey, Teddy! I have great news! We just hit the target of 507 new members and well ahead of schedule too.’ I check the date.‘September 26th, not too shabby is it?’ For the longest time the October deadline didn’t seem achievable, and now here we are! ‘I’m so thrilled I almost want to crack a bottle of champagne. In fact, I just might because this calls for a celebration.Champagne for one and all!Although it’ll take me all week to fill out the funding paperwork … But it’ll be a labour of love.’
There’s silence at the end on the line so I press on, wanting Teddy to realise how hard this was to achieve. ‘For a while, I didn’t think we’d get there but it was the human books that saved us, saved Willow Grove library! This will be a townwithbooks forever more!’
‘Wow, that’s great timing actually. I mean congratulations and all but I was about just about to call you. Dad had another abnormal ECG. They’re still trying to get to the bottom of it. Mum is not coping too well but is still coming into work at sunrise before going back and forth all day to visit him.’
‘Neither of them are answering my calls. Is this why? What’s the big secret?’
He sighs. ‘They’ve been arguing incessantly about you. Dad wants to let you live your life in Dullsville but Mother is insisting that Astor will crumble without your magical touch. You’re the face, Elodie!’ His voice is heavy with frustration.
