True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop

by Annie Darling

  ‘Except Sebastian,’ Posy pointed out because she hadn’t mentioned Sebastian for at least five minutes. ‘Anyway, Nina, remember we had that rule about you not dating customers after Desperate Dan.’

  Desperate Dan had been a loyal customer back when the shop had been called Bookends until Nina had gone on two dates with him, decided that he was too vanilla for her tastes and dumped him. He’d come in every day after that, not to buy anything, but to sit on a sofa gazing at Nina and offering to fight any man that dared approach the counter so she could ring up their purchases. Lavinia had had to ban him for life.

  Verity sipped her tea and stared out of the rain-splattered window.

  ‘That was a deep sigh, Very,’ Posy noted. ‘You’ve been awfully quiet these last few days. Quiet, even for you. I was beginning to think you’d taken a vow of silence until I heard you telling Merry to shut up on the phone.’

  ‘I’m fine.’ Verity left it there until Tom gave a pointed cough and she was forced to look up from deep contemplation of the knees of her jeans to see all eyes on her. ‘Really I’m fine. I had to be very sociable at the wedding on Saturday and now I’ve used up my quota of words for the month.’

  It also felt as if she’d used up all her reserves of energy too. Not just from all she’d witnessed; the unpleasant encounters with Marissa, the heart-to-heart with Harry, Johnny’s desperately sad confession, but from trying to make sense of it all too.

  ‘Very, you don’t look fine. You look like you’re about to burst into tears,’ Nina said gently. ‘And last night you went to bed as soon as we came upstairs.’

  ‘Though to be fair, you do often look like you’re about to burst into tears,’ Tom remarked. He leaned forward to peer at Verity sitting on the sofa opposite. ‘Some girls have resting bitch face but you have resting mope face.’

  ‘Hey! You’re not allowed to call women bitches.’ Nina took great delight in punching Tom on the arm.

  ‘I didn’t call anyone a bitch. It’s a thing; resting bitch face. You know it’s a thing.’

  They argued about it for a while, Posy inevitably taking Nina’s side because Tom was the only man on staff, and part-time too, so it was important that he knew his place in the pecking order.

  It took a while for them to register the tinkle of the bell above the door that signalled that they might actually have a customer. Not Verity’s problem, in fact, she should probably escape to the quiet of the office where there wasn’t anyone to mind that she had a face like a wet weekend in Skegness.

  Nina hoisted herself up from the depths of the sofa. ‘Welcome to Happy Ever After. Are you looking for anything in particular?’

  Verity had her back to the door so she couldn’t see their visitor but then she heard a pleasant, cultured, unfamiliar male voice say, ‘I’m looking for a young lady by the name of Verity.’

  Posy and Tom both widened their eyes dramatically and Verity swivelled round to see a tall man in a cream-coloured suit. He was in his sixties (but a very well-preserved sixties) and before Nina could gesture in Verity’s direction, he looked at Verity and his eyes lit up as if he knew his search was over.

  Despite her general ennui (or what any one of her sisters called her misery-guts-itis) Verity was intrigued and maybe a little unnerved. Did she owe someone money? Was she being sued? But she’d led such a blameless life. She got to her feet. ‘Hello?’ she enquired nervously.

  ‘Hello!’ The man strode over hand outstretched so Verity found her own hand grasped in a firm but not crushing grip. ‘I’m William. What a pleasure it is to meet you!’

  ‘I’m Verity and er, it’s nice to meet you too,’ Verity replied. ‘I’m sorry, have we met before?’ The situation wasn’t entirely unfamiliar. ‘Are you one of my father’s parishioners? Or perhaps you were at theological college with him?’

  ‘I’m afraid I’ve never had a calling,’ the man, William, said. He took Verity by the arm so he could gently pull her into the first side room as Verity’s three colleagues craned their necks and strained their ears so they didn’t miss a thing. ‘I’m sorry to turn up like this. I’m Johnny’s father. No! He doesn’t know I’m here,’ he added quickly as Verity felt her features rearranging into a horrified pattern.

  ‘Um, er, why are you here?’ Verity asked.

  ‘I thought I’d rather take the two-birds-with-one-stone approach while I was in town. You see, I bumped into Wallis last week … Lovely girl. Was singing your praises and then I spoke with young Harry yesterday …’

  Verity had to cling to the nearest bookshelf for support. ‘You speak to Harry? Is that a regular thing?’

  William nodded. She could see his resemblance to Johnny now. Not just in his height and ranginess, but in the jut of his cheekbones, the same oceanic bluey greenness of his eyes. ‘Oh yes. Harry gives me lots of advice about where to invest my pension. And of course I’ve known him since he was eleven. He and Johnny were thick as thieves and would get up to all kinds of mischief. But yesterday when we chatted, well, you can imagine my surprise when he told me that my Johnny was seeing, and I quote, “an absolute sort”, when Johnny hadn’t said a word to his dear, doting dad.’

  Verity had never been described as ‘an absolute sort’ before. It was more the kind of compliment that Nina got from her gentleman callers. ‘Was it a medium-sized surprise?’

  ‘A huge surprise,’ William clarified. ‘Not once in five years have I heard of even the suggestion of a girlfriend. Not since he was seeing Katie. She was very nice, but alas, it was not to be.’ He shook his head sorrowfully, then caught Verity’s eye and visibly brightened. ‘And now, here you are!’

  ‘Oh, I wouldn’t say I was a girlfriend exactly,’ Verity mumbled, her cheeks as red as the cover of a face-out copy of a collector’s edition of Madame Bovary on the shelf she was leaning against. ‘Johnny and I are just friends.’

  ‘Friends with benefits?’ William asked hopefully and Verity wondered if she might be having an attack of the vapours. ‘Because who knows where that might lead? I’m not getting any younger and I would be very happy if there was even an outside chance that I might have grandchildren before I’m completely decrepit.’

  Verity thought she might need smelling salts quite soon. ‘Just friends,’ she repeated maniacally. ‘It’s very early days. Very, very early.’ She couldn’t bear the look of disappointment on William’s face and the subject needed changing immediately if not sooner. ‘Was there another thing? You said two birds with one stone. Who’s the other bird?’

  ‘Just so you know, I’m not the sort of chap who ever refers to women as birds, but I was after a present for a “friend” of mine.’ William put quotes around the word with long fingers. He had a twinkle in his eye that was hard to resist.

  ‘What kind of present?’ Verity asked, hoping she could guide William back into the main room where they had vintage display cabinets full of gifts and she could offload him onto Nina, though Nina was hardly the soul of discretion. She’d pump William for information about Johnny and …

  ‘A present for a very dear lady. A book, obviously. I’m not sure what she’s read and what she hasn’t. She has quite classic tastes but then again, she can also be quite eclectic.’ William scratched his head. He had a rather magnificent mane of snowy white hair only beginning to recede ever so slightly, which boded well for Johnny, who would still probably be in love with Marissa when he was in his sixties.

  Books. That was safer ground. And there was one book that could always be guaranteed to please the recipient. ‘Pride and Prejudice,’ Verity said firmly.

  ‘I’m sure she must have read it. Hasn’t everyone read it?’

  ‘Johnny hasn’t,’ Verity said, seeing her chance and grabbing hold of it with both hands. ‘It’s why we’re only friends. I could never love a man who didn’t love Pride and Prejudice.’

  The twinkle in William’s eye burned a little brighter. ‘I shall make him read it immediately.’

  Verity turned away to hide her smile
because she was sure it would only encourage him. ‘We have some gorgeous gift editions,’ she persisted, pulling a couple from the shelf. ‘This one has a cloth cover in a textile design from the year it was first published. Beautiful end papers too.’

  ‘Oh, that is rather splendid.’ William took the book from Verity. ‘And you really think it wouldn’t matter if she already had it?’

  ‘I currently have seven copies of Pride and Prejudice,’ Verity confessed because there was something about William with his twinkling and his ready smile that made you want to confide in him. He would have made a wonderful vicar if he had ever had the calling. ‘The one that I’ve had since I was twelve, a spare for when that one finally falls apart, one collector’s edition and four to foist on people I meet who haven’t read it yet. I’m sure that if your friend has read Pride and Prejudice, she loved it and if she did love it, then she wouldn’t mind having another copy.’

  William pondered her words as Verity heard Posy say loudly from the main room: ‘I don’t believe it! Verity is hand-selling books in there. It must be the End of Days.’

  ‘I’ll take it,’ William decided.

  ‘Great.’ They were done here. Verity took a step towards the arch that led back into the main shop, keen that William should follow her, but he placed a hand on her arm.

  ‘Oh dear, this is rather awkward,’ he said, which were six words that never led to anything good.

  With a silent prayer, Verity halted. ‘What’s awkward?’ she asked even as she cringed at the thought of what William’s answer might be.

  ‘My friend, Elspeth … She really is much more than a friend. Possibly a friend in the way you and Johnny are friends …’

  ‘No, but we really are just friends,’ Verity said a little desperately. William patted her arm like he didn’t believe a word of it.

  ‘Your secret’s safe with me,’ he said conspiratorially. ‘And I hope my secret will be safe with you because, goodness … I hardly know where to begin.’

  ‘You really don’t need to explain anything to me,’ Verity said, but she was very confused. This Elspeth, William’s dear friend, didn’t fit in with what Johnny had told her at the wedding. That William was so devoted to his wife, had been so devastated after her death, he’d vowed never to look at another woman. Not that Verity blamed William for breaking his vow but it did mean that … ‘You haven’t told Johnny.’ It wasn’t a question but a gentle statement of fact. ‘He doesn’t know about Elspeth.’

  ‘I’m afraid not.’ William’s twinkle had gone and he suddenly looked so dejected that all Verity wanted to do was make him feel better. ‘I was so sad after Johnny’s mother, Lucinda, died. Sad doesn’t even come close, really. I was broken-hearted, a broken man, and for such a long time afterwards I was adamant that I’d never love again. That I wouldn’t want to. And I still believe that I’ll never love anyone as I loved Lucinda but there are different sorts of love, aren’t there?’

  ‘I think so,’ Verity decided. ‘It would be pretty unfair if you only had one chance at love. My mother always says “Broken hearts make the best vessels.”’ She frowned. ‘Usually when one of my sisters has split up with a boyfriend. You are allowed to find love again. Life would be very lonely if you weren’t.’

  Verity’s words had obviously moved William because he took her hand and squeezed it gently. And Verity was moved by her own words even though they went against everything she believed: that one could live a perfectly content sort of life without any kind of romantic attachment.

  ‘I hope the fact that you’re in Johnny’s life means that he’s changing his way of thinking on the subject of love,’ William said rather alarmingly. ‘It’s probably my fault that Johnny’s set so much store on this idea of one true love, of a perfect soulmate, like swans who mate for life.’

  ‘Is it swans?’ Verity said, playing for time. ‘I thought it was penguins.’

  ‘Maybe lobsters too. Lucinda and I always told Johnny how lucky we were that we found each other. That we were meant to be.’ William was not to be dissuaded from discussing his son’s theories on love. ‘So he set his cap at Marissa, I take it you met her at the wedding …?’

  ‘I did,’ Verity said and she couldn’t help the way her top lip curled, but it was no match for the way that William’s nostrils flared at the mention of Marissa’s name.

  ‘She’s a nice enough girl, a little petulant for my liking, but Johnny always persisted with this idea that she was the only woman for him, when she quite patently wasn’t. Thank goodness she saw sense and married Harry instead. They’re far better suited, but I did wonder if Johnny was still holding a torch for her.’ William shuddered at the notion and the fact that he wasn’t a fully paid-up member of the Marissa fan club made Verity like him even more. ‘She’s not and never has been what my boy needs.’

  ‘Your boy would be mortified if he knew we were discussing him like this,’ Verity pointed out softly because this conversation had to end right the hell now. Short of talking about sex (dear God, no) Verity didn’t see how it could get any more uncomfortable. ‘You barely know me. And I barely know him. Honestly, we’ve been seeing each other, only as friends, for a few weeks.’

  ‘But you’ve met all his chums and you’re such a lovely girl,’ William protested.

  And Verity did want to grill him further, poke and pry and ask what Lucinda had really thought about Marissa because, according to Johnny, his mother had considered Marissa to be perfect daughter-in-law material, but it would be an absolute violation of … something. Johnny’s privacy. Lucinda’s memory. Husband/wife confidentiality. She held the cloth-covered edition of Pride and Prejudice in front of her like the protective talisman it usually was. ‘Now, would you like the book gift-wrapped? We have some beautiful hand-painted cards that you might want to have a look at too.’

  With that, and her hand firmly at the small of his back, Verity guided William back into the main shop where Posy, Nina and Tom suddenly became very animated, pulling books from the shelves, then shoving them back willy nilly so Verity knew that they’d spent the last ten minutes shamelessly eavesdropping on her conversation.

  16

  ‘A report of a most alarming nature reached me two days ago.’

  William’s visit, followed by the sun deciding to put in an appearance the next day, shook Verity out of her funk.

  But if she was still walking about with her resting mope face on, it was because her heart was still hurting on Johnny’s behalf. He was so unhappy even though he had so many people focussed on his happiness; William, most of his friends, even Harry, though obviously Harry had an ulterior motive. He’d much rather Johnny was happy with a woman who wasn’t Harry’s wife.

  To show that there were no hard feelings after all the hideousness at the wedding reception, Verity texted Johnny to let him know that she was out of town for the weekend, not that they’d made any plans.

  At my parents’ for wedding prep bootcamp. With all four sisters. Pray for me! Will be in touch next week.

  Then, she decided, next week, though the thought of it pained her and even though they weren’t having a relationship, they were still going to have to have A Serious Talk about where this was headed and about other people’s expectations. As it was, Verity was pretty sure that Johnny regretted blurting out the deepest secrets of his heart to an almost stranger. She wouldn’t be at all surprised if he never contacted her again. Which made her poor heart carry on aching and …

  ‘Hey! Vicar’s daughter!’ Verity stopped her pondering when someone rudely snapped their fingers in her face. It was Sebastian, who knew perfectly well what Verity’s name was, and he also knew, because Posy told him repeatedly, not to snap his fingers in people’s faces. ‘You don’t get paid to daydream!’

  ‘I wasn’t daydreaming, I was thinking,’ Verity hissed and she made a big show of staring at her computer monitor, which thankfully showed a spreadsheet and not Con’s wedding Pinterest board. She even bashed away at her keyboar
d a whole lot of word salad that she then had to delete.

  ‘… and I had to get a locksmith round because Morland was right, no one could find the keys, and even that wasn’t enough to satisfy her …’

  Sebastian was yammering on about who knew what? How could Posy stand it? Posy was a chatterer too but at least it was interesting chat about books and amusing things that Sam had done and …

  ‘You haven’t been listening to a single word I’m saying, have you?’ Sebastian suddenly demanded. ‘I wonder why I bother sometimes.’

  ‘I’m very busy,’ Verity explained, hammering at her keyboard again. ‘Was there something specific you wanted from me?’ She heard Sebastian’s annoyed growl and perhaps she should be more helpful. After all Sebastian was married to Posy and Posy rather seemed to like him and Posy did pay Verity’s wages. ‘Sorry, it’s just these are very important spreadsheets.’

  She looked up to see Sebastian pinching the bridge of his nose. ‘I already said, your bloke’s outside. You need to go and distract him, take him a cup of tea or something, because he’s giving Morland ideas and I live in terror of Morland’s ideas and … where are you going?’

  Verity was already on her feet and at the door of the office. ‘Johnny’s outside? And anyway, he’s not my bloke and why didn’t you say something?’

  She didn’t wait to find out his answer, but she did hear a small explosion as if Sebastian had spontaneously combusted …

  The little mews was bustling with people so that it was hard to remember that it used to be deserted on even the loveliest summer days like this one. People were sitting on the benches and there was a small queue outside the tearoom – Verity could not wait for the day that the council finally granted them permission to have a small number of tables and chairs outside.

  But none of the people in the mews were Johnny. Verity stood motionless for a moment until she saw two people come out of one of the shops on the other side of the courtyard and she did a double take.