Rules for a Successful Book Club (The Book Lovers 2)

by Victoria Connelly

  ‘How will it work if we can’t find Sean?’

  ‘Polly, I don’t think there’s a court in the land that wouldn’t grant you a divorce after your husband walks out on you and your son and, when he comes back, he behaves like a beast.’

  Polly closed her eyes. She was very near to crying again. Her mother seemed to sense this and placed an arm around her.

  ‘You’re going to get through this,’ Eleanor told her.

  ‘I know. I just feel as if I’ve made so many mistakes and I hate myself for them.’

  ‘Don’t hate yourself, darling. You’ve been so brave.’

  Polly shook her head. ‘No I haven’t. I’ve been stupid. I should never have let Sean back into our lives. I should have turned him away the minute he knocked on our door, but I couldn’t. I just couldn’t!’

  ‘You mustn’t upset yourself, Polly,’ Eleanor said, her voice calm and soothing.

  ‘I should never have exposed Archie to him, but – but – there was a part of me that thought he might have changed – that his time away might have made him different.’ She pulled a tissue out of her pocket and mopped her eyes. ‘Stupid. Stupid!’

  ‘Not stupid,’ Eleanor said. ‘You wanted to give him a chance which is more than I would have done. Nobody can accuse you of not giving him a chance to be a good husband and father.’

  Polly nodded.

  ‘Polly?’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘Did Sean–’ she paused.

  ‘What, Mum?’

  ‘Did he ever hurt Archie?’

  She shook her head. ‘No. Never. If he had, I’d never have let him near us again.’

  Eleanor breathed a sigh of relief. ‘I wish you’d told us what was going on all those years. But I should have known things weren’t right between you. I mean, I got little glimpses every now and then, but I had no idea it was so bad.’

  ‘That’s because I was very good at hiding things from you.’

  ‘Too good, Polly,’ Eleanor said. ‘You should have come to us right away. As soon as he first hit you. We could have helped you.’

  They sat quietly for a moment.

  ‘The worst thing about all this, though,’ Polly began, ‘is that I shut Jago out. I’ve been so cruel to him. I pushed him away when he was trying to help me. Why did I do that?’

  ‘He’ll understand.’

  ‘Will he? You didn’t see his face when I told him I was going back to Sean. I really hurt him, Mum! And I don’t think he’ll ever forgive me for having let Sean come between us.’

  ‘Of course he will. He loves you. I’ve never seen a man more in love,’ Eleanor said, ‘and he’ll be there for you when you’re ready to see him again.’

  Polly shook her head, torturing herself with the same questions. ‘Why did I let Sean back in? I knew I didn’t love him anymore. There was absolutely nothing left in my heart for him. I knew that and yet I still let him in.’

  ‘But he’s gone now,’ Eleanor said, ‘and you’ve got to put this behind you. Give yourself some time. Rest, eat well, sleep late, take the dogs out and walk, read, watch a funny film or two. And let us take care of you and Archie. I’ll take him to school and pick him up.’

  ‘You don’t need to-’

  ‘I want to do it,’ Eleanor said, ‘so you’re going to let me.’

  Polly gave a tiny smile.

  ‘Right?’

  ‘Oh, Mum,’ Polly said, nestling into the warm embrace of her mother.

  ‘It’s all right. You’re home now. Safe and sound.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EİGHT

  The days turned into weeks and Polly did as her mother had told her: she rested. She allowed her parents to dote on Archie, to wake him up and give him his breakfast, to make his packed lunch and to take him to school, all whilst she slept. It wasn’t easy to rest at first. It wasn’t in Polly’s nature. She was the sort to start tomorrow whilst it was still today. But, the peace and familiarity of Campion House soon encouraged her to rest – to really rest, and it felt pretty good.

  During the day, she took long walks with the dogs, wrapping herself up against the cold winds of early spring whilst taking heart at the slowly lengthening days. And, with the help of her mother, she got some advice about her and Archie’s future and how she could move forward.

  Polly could have stayed in the safe cocoon of Campion House for the rest of her life, but she knew that she and Archie had to leave at some point and get on with their own lives and that meant finding somewhere to live.

  It seemed like an age since she’d left Church Green and there’d been no word from Sean and no news from the police about his whereabouts. Once again, he had disappeared.

  There was somebody else she hadn’t heard from too. Jago. Polly had dropped him little texts to keep in touch, but his replies were no more than one word. Over and over, she’d said how sorry she was, how she should never have let Sean back into their lives, and how much she regretted pushing Jago away.

  Okay.

  That was all the reply she could get out of him and she couldn’t blame him. Not really. But still she kept on with her one-sided conversations, telling him little stories about the dogs and sending him silly photos of them. She’d tell him about her country walks, and about the muddy footpaths and the beautiful sunsets. She’d give him little updates on the garden – which plants were coming up and which seeds were going in and, slowly, Jago’s replies became longer and more frequent until she was receiving several messages a day.

  Then Polly shared something with him.

  I need to find somewhere new to live, she texted him. I have to move on.

  That’s good, he texted back.

  It was after Polly had come back from teaching her class in Bury St Edmunds one morning that she found her mum in the kitchen preparing lunch.

  ‘I don’t suppose you want to go and fetch your father, do you?’ she asked as Polly walked into the kitchen.

  ‘Where is he?’

  ‘In the garden,’ Eleanor said.

  Polly nodded. ‘Of course. Silly question.’

  ‘Think he’s doing something with some chicken manure a neighbour gave him.’

  ‘Oh, lovely!’ Polly said with a grin.

  Polly took her neat little shoes off and popped on a pair of wellies before whistling for the dogs and heading out into the garden. It didn’t take her long to find her father. The six raised vegetable beds were Frank Nightingale’s pride and joy and there he was, fork in hand, as he worked, a robin eyeing the proceedings from the hedgerow.

  ‘Polly!’ he said, looking up as she approached.

  ‘Hi Dad. How’s it going?’

  ‘Soil’s warming up,’ he said. ‘Always a heartening time of year, isn’t it?’

  Polly looked around the garden, trying to imagine it in all its summer finery and longing for those blissfully warm days when the French windows would be open and the family would take their tea outside.

  ‘How was your morning?’ Frank asked.

  ‘My students are struggling with the past continuous tense.’

  Frank shook his head. ‘I don’t know how you have the patience to teach.’

  Her eyes widened. ‘I always thought I got my patience from you, Dad.’

  He shook his head. ‘Oh, no,’ he said. ‘Your patience comes from your mother. She’s the one who brought up five children without once losing her cool. Not me.’

  ‘Rubbish!’

  ‘Why do you think I took up gardening?’

  Polly frowned.

  ‘If ever it all became too much, I’d escape out here and dig a trench or something,’ he said.

  Polly laughed. ‘Mum’s asked me to tell you to come in for lunch.’

  Frank stuck the fork deep into the ground before wiping his hands down the front of his trousers and the two of them walked across the lawn together.

  ‘Dad?’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘I’m going to Castle Clare later. To the estate agents. There’s a little hou
se on the Great Tallington Road that’s up for rent.’

  ‘You ready for that?’

  ‘I can’t go back to Church Green. It wouldn’t feel like home anymore.’

  Frank nodded. ‘What does Archie think?’

  ‘If he’s got his guitar with him, I think he’ll settle anywhere. And it’s time we made a fresh start.’

  ‘And does this fresh start involve Jago?’

  They stopped walking and turned to face each other.

  ‘I hope so,’ she said. ‘One day. When we’re both ready.’

  Her father opened his arms and Polly snuggled into them. He was so wonderfully comforting in his big tweed coat which smelled of bonfires and the earth.

  ‘Oh, Daddy!’ Polly cried. ‘It’s all such a mess.’

  ‘No it isn’t,’ he told her. ‘Well, maybe just a little bit.’

  Polly gave a little laugh. ‘It is, isn’t it?’

  ‘Nothing you – we – can’t sort out. Starting with this new place of yours. Do you want me to come and see it with you?’

  Polly shook her head. ‘Thanks, but I’d rather go alone.’

  ‘Okay. Let us know how it goes.’

  ‘I will,’ she said, and the two of them went into the house for lunch.

  Now that the idea was in her head, Polly couldn’t wait to get to Castle Clare and, after parking, made straight for the estate agents. She couldn’t see the little terraced house advertised in the window and so went inside to enquire.

  ‘You mean Lilac Row?’ the young man said. ‘I’m afraid that property’s not available.’

  ‘Not available?’

  ‘It’s already rented. Yesterday as a matter of fact. Went very quickly.’

  ‘Right,’ Polly said, furious at herself for not having moved quicker. Properties in Castle Clare were always sought after and she should have realised that she didn’t have the luxury of time.

  ‘There’s another on the other side of town. Nice Victorian semi. Four bedrooms. I can get you the details.’

  ‘Oh, no thank you,’ Polly said quickly, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to afford a place with four bedrooms. The three-bedroomed Lilac Row had already been pushing her meagre budget.

  She left the estate agents feeling very glum. She hadn’t realised it until that moment but she’d rather fallen in love with the house on Lilac Row from the photos she’d seen online of the pretty white-washed home with the sash windows. It had been easy imagining her and Archie there together, and its enclosed cottage garden would have been ideal for Dickens and, being right on the edge of town, it was handy for myriad footpaths into the countryside.

  ‘There’ll be others,’ her mother told her when she got home with Archie.

  ‘I know,’ she said.

  ‘And, in the meantime, we’re happy to have you here.’ Eleanor beamed her daughter a smile.

  It was just after Polly had collected Archie from school the next day when she got the call from Jago. It was the first time she’d heard his voice in weeks.

  ‘Hey,’ he said when Polly answered. ‘You in town?’

  ‘Yes. I’ve just–’

  ‘Picked Archie up from school? Good! Meet me by the church, okay? I’ve got something to show you.’ And he hung up.

  Polly frowned. ‘That was Jago,’ she told Archie. ‘He said he’s got something to show us.’

  ‘Excellent!’ Archie said from the back seat.

  Polly drove from the school into town, parking near the church and walking to where Jago was sitting on a bench near a yew tree. He didn’t spot them at first. He was looking at something he was holding that Polly couldn’t make out.

  ‘Jago?’ she said, feeling ridiculously nervous at seeing him again.

  He looked up, popping whatever he was holding into his pocket as he got up from the bench and walked towards her, a hesitant smile on his face. Archie broke the awkwardness of the moment by running into his arms.

  ‘Arch! How are you?’

  ‘I missed you!’ Archie said.

  ‘I missed you,’ Jago said and then he looked up at Polly. ‘Missed you too.’

  ‘And I missed you,’ she said. ‘I’m sorry for every-’

  Jago shook his head. ‘No need for that.’

  ‘But I-’

  He took a step forward and picked Polly’s hands up in his and held them. ‘I want to show you something.’

  ‘What is it?’ Archie asked.

  ‘It’s down here,’ Jago said, leading the way out of the churchyard, but still keeping hold of Polly’s right hand.

  ‘Where are we going?’ she asked.

  ‘Just a short walk,’ he said.

  It wasn’t until they were on the Great Tallington Road that Polly began to get suspicious.

  ‘Jago?’

  ‘Nearly there,’ he said.

  ‘What are we doing?’

  He didn’t answer her and didn’t say anything else until they were standing outside the house on Lilac Row: the one with the sign outside which now read ‘Let’.

  ‘Briggs has asked me to move in with him,’ Jago said.

  ‘I see,’ Polly said. ‘So you’re renting this place with him?’

  Jago shook his head. ‘He’s a slob and–’ he stopped.

  ‘What?’

  ‘And – rather crucially – I don’t fancy Briggs.’

  ‘I never suspected you did.’

  Jago laughed and then reached into his jacket pocket for the item he’d placed there in the churchyard. It was a set of keys.

  ‘Have you rented this, Jago?’ Polly asked.

  ‘I have,’ he said. ‘I wanted to show it to you.’

  Polly stood by the gate he held open for her.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ he asked.

  ‘I was in the estate agent’s yesterday asking about this property.’

  ‘You were?’

  ‘She was,’ Archie said, nodding solemnly.

  ‘But somebody beat you to it?’ Jago said with a wink.

  ‘Yes,’ Polly said with a little smile, ‘they did.’

  ‘Well, come on in and see what you missed out on.’ Polly watched as Jago opened the front door. ‘It’s a great house. Nice cosy rooms, lots of period features. The kitchen’s a bit small, but the garden’s a good size for a townhouse and the bedrooms are too.’

  Archie ran ahead of them, bombing around the bare rooms, his voice echoing as he called back to them. Jago was right. The house was great and, although Polly was thrilled for Jago, she couldn’t help feeling a little sad that she’d missed out on it for her and Archie.

  It was when they ventured upstairs that she saw it.

  ‘Your guitar!’ Archie cried as they entered the master bedroom at the back of the house. It was propped up against a wall next to a pretty Victorian fireplace.

  ‘That and a mattress and an overnight bag are the only things I’ve managed to move in so far,’ Jago said. ‘It feels a bit strange being here on my own.’

  ‘You’ll get used to it,’ Polly told him.

  ‘You think?’ he said, taking a step towards her. ‘Because I don’t think I will. I mean, not on my own.’

  ‘You can always give Briggs a call if you get lonely.’

  Jago grinned. ‘Not going to happen.’

  ‘Or we can visit!’ Archie said.

  Polly turned away, but she could feel Jago’s eyes upon her.

  ‘I’m hoping you’ll do more than visit,’ Jago said. ‘I was kind of hoping you’d want to live here with me.’

  ‘Jago!’ Polly cried as she turned to face him. ‘Really?’

  ‘You, me, Archie, Dickens. What do you say, Polly?’ he asked. ‘We could make a good life here. A new life.’

  Archie looked at his mother and then at Jago and then back at his mother.

  ‘Say yes, Mum! Go on!’

  A sudden laugh exploded from Polly. ‘You’re serious?’

  ‘Completely. I want to be with you and Archie more than anything else in the world, and I kn
ow we haven’t known each other long, but I can’t imagine life without you two now. Does that make sense?’

  ‘But–’

  ‘But what?’

  ‘This is crazy!’

  ‘Why? Tell me why it’s crazy.’

  ‘Because I’m getting divorced and everything’s a mess and I’m – I’m so much older than you, Jago!’

  He shook his head. ‘No you’re not. You’re perfect. Absolutely perfect. And whatever mess there is going on in your life, we’ll sort it out – together. Just give us a chance, Polly. Say yes. Say you’ll live here with me.’

  Polly gazed into Jago’s eyes. They were so full of love and expectancy that there was only one answer she could give him, but she had to check with somebody first.

  ‘Archie – you really think this is a good idea?’

  ‘I think it’s the best idea in the whole world!’ he said

  Polly nodded and then turned to Jago. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Let’s do it!’

  ‘Really?’ Jago cried. ‘You’ll move in with me?’

  ‘We’ll all move in with you!’ Archie shouted, launching himself into Jago’s arms.

  Jago laughed and Polly felt tears misting her eyes.

  ‘Come here!’ Jago said and Polly joined them both, ready to embrace their new life together.

  Have you read the other books in The Book Lovers series?

  The Book Lovers

  Rules for a Successful Book Club

  Natural Born Readers

  Christmas with the Book Lovers

  Get a free ebook when you subscribe to Victoria’s newsletter.

  BOOKS BY VİCTORİA CONNELLY

  The Book Lovers

  Rules for a Successful Book Club

  Natural Born Readers

  Christmas with the Book Lovers

  The Heart of the Garden

  Love in an English Garden

  The Rose Girls

  The Secret of You

  Christmas at The Cove

  Christmas at the Castle

  A Summer to Remember

  Wish You Were Here

  The Runaway Actress

  Molly’s Millions

  Flights of Angels

  Irresistible You

  Three Graces