Page 8 of Wild Swimming at Croftwood Lake
‘Off the Worcester Road, down a lane near Croftwood Court.’
‘Oh, really? That’s such a nice area. Some friends of ours live down that way. Their garden backs onto the woods. Great for walks.’
‘I’ve been walking in the woods every day.’ Again, it felt too soon to admit she’d been swimming in the lake, but she was interested in finding out what Hilary might know about Archie. ‘Do you know much about Croftwood Court?’
‘Lord Harrington, Archie, helped with the Croftwood Festival last summer. He lent some of his land and a huge marquee. I think he’s doing the same this year.’
‘Does he have a family?’
‘He and his mother live in the manor house. I don’t know much about him, but I’ve always assumed he’s single. Isn’t that awful of me?’ Hilary said with a shocked expression. ‘Jess would know. Her partner, Seb, is friends with Archie.’
‘And whereabouts do you live?’
‘A couple of streets behind the church. Toby and I live on the same street and we’re sort of living between each other’s houses. I feel too old to start thinking about going all in with someone again. I like my independence and I think Toby likes that too. Having said that, we hardly ever spend a night apart.’ She grinned and sipped her coffee, her eyes darting over to Toby. ‘How about you?’ She put her coffee down, looking worried. ‘I’m finding it hard not to think of you as Nora Hartford, famous businesswoman. I’d never ask Nora Hartford about her personal life. You don’t have to tell me anything. I won’t be offended.’
‘Look. Can we pretend I didn’t walk into your shop unannounced today because I’d much rather be friends with you than sell you any pottery.’
Hilary beamed. ‘Okay. In that case, tell me everything.’
And Nora did. Everything about Julian and the slow rot of their relationship and how she felt the same way as Hilary about living with someone again.
‘So you’re not on the lookout for a man?’
Nora laughed and shook her head. ‘Not at all. I can’t think of anything worse!’ But at the exact moment she said the words, the image of Archie in his threadbare woollen jumper and tweed trousers, looking at her with his soulful brown eyes popped into her mind and she wondered whether she was telling Hilary the truth.
5
NORA WASN’T SURE that Hilary was being entirely honest when she said that the date-with-a-book club was nothing to do with actually dating. But then, Hilary was with Toby and yet still going to this book club, and that was why Nora gave her the benefit of the doubt.
Although it seemed like a lot of trouble compared to her Bristol book club, Hilary had insisted it would be worth it to be in the ‘best group’ since that meant the book club meeting was at Oliver’s.
Nora had parked her car behind the church again, having found that it was a handy spot for getting almost anywhere in the town. She headed to the library where she was hoping to sign up to the book club. Doing it via the library was apparently the ‘in’ to being in the right book club group. The library was at the opposite end of the high street to Candles and Cushions and was separated from the road by railings and then a garden with plenty of benches that might invite someone to sit and read, if it were a warmer day.
As soon as the wooden doors swung open, Nora was flung back in time to her childhood and the visits to her own local library. The smell was almost exactly the same and she immediately loved the fact that Croftwood Library had managed to survive any kind of modernisation that might have changed that. The library of her childhood had closed years ago so it was heartening to find that the same fate hadn’t touched this one.
‘Morning,’ said the woman from behind the desk that dominated the entrance. She had brown curly hair and was wearing some dungarees with a Liberty print blouse underneath, both of which Nora loved.
‘Morning. I was hoping to sign up for the book club.’
‘Wonderful! These are the book choices for this month. We always have a romance, a crime or thriller and a biography or historical non-fiction. Most of the copies are out on loan apart from this one.’ She pointed to Unruly by David Mitchell which was the history of all the Kings and Queens of England. ‘I think people are overwhelmed by the idea of that much information in one book. Most people have gone for the thriller this month.’ It was The Housemaid by Freida McFadden.
‘I’ve been meaning to read that, so perhaps that’d be the best choice,’ said Nora, keen not to have to tackle anything too taxing.
The librarian checked her computer. ‘I don’t have any in at the moment but I’ve got a handful due back in the next couple of days. I could put you on the waiting list. Do you have a library membership?’
‘I’ll need to join, please. I’ve only just moved to Croftwood.’
‘Ah, welcome to the town! I’m Lois. I live in Worcester but obviously spend quite a bit of time in Croftwood.’
‘Nora. I can’t believe this library, it’s just like the one I used to go to as a child.’
Lois beamed. ‘I know, isn’t it gorgeous? We had to fight to keep it from closing a couple of years ago. It was a bit tired and neglected but this book club is actually what helped save it.’
‘Now that you’ve said that, I remember hearing the story on the radio. Didn’t you win an award or something?’
‘We were Library of the Year. It was pretty amazing. Do you have any ID on you? I can take your details off that if you have something like a driving licence.’
Nora rooted around in her purse and found her driving licence, then wandered over to browse the shelves while Lois sorted out the membership. She tended to read thrillers most of the time but she loved a really thick book now and again having grown up stealing her mum’s Jilly Cooper novels. Polo was a particular favourite and she had a very battered copy that now she thought about it was possibly in the box that Julian had because she didn’t remember unpacking it.
