Page 5 of The Secret Librarian
She inhaled the familiar smell of old books as she kept walking, slowly and deliberately taking her time. Her meeting wasn’t for another few minutes, and she didn’t want to appear too eager. Avery had only been working for the library for six months, hired almost immediately after graduating, and she was conscious that many of her peers were much older than her and certainly less enthusiastic about their work – other than her direct superior, Sophie, who was only a few years older and as passionate about preserving history as she was. They were also rather unhappy about Avery’s enthusiasmwhen it came to microfilming, and she’d learnt to bite her tongue rather than constantly spouting the many benefits of her particular line of work. Avery knew it was the way of the future when it came to saving precious texts and newspapers, but they seemed to think she was trying to reinvent the wheel, no matter what she said to convince them otherwise.
‘Avery, come this way.’
She looked up when she heard her name called, smiling when she saw Fred, the head librarian, standing beside the open door to his office. He’d always been friendly to her and seemed happy with the work she was doing, although now she was nervous that she was in trouble. She couldn’t for the life of her figure out what she might have done wrong to warrant a special meeting, and she’d spent all morning trying not to think about it.
‘Please, come in.’
Avery stepped into the office when Fred stood back to let her through, and she was surprised to see a man in a smart suit and tie seated at the table. A sense of sadness passed over her as she realised what was happening. She was about to lose her job, she could just tell. They’d even brought in a senior manager to deliver the news. She fought an overwhelming rush of emotion and tried her very hardest not to cry.
‘Avery Johnson, this is Clarke Miller,’ Fred said.
The man stood. ‘Miss Avery, I’m very pleased to make your acquaintance.’
She nodded and gently shook the hand he offered. ‘I just want to say that this has been the most wonderful opportunity, and I know that funding has been difficult to secure, but if you could just ...’ Avery’s voice trailed away when she noticed the puzzled looks on the faces of both men.
‘Avery, Miller isn’t here to fire you, if that’s what you think,’ Fred said.
She glanced at the man again, receiving a warm smile in reply.
Something shifted inside her. ‘You’re not?’
‘Quite to the contrary. I’m here because I’ve heard great things about your proficiency in microphotography, and I thought it was high time we met and had a discussion about your work.’
She swallowed, looking between him and her boss. But it seemed that Fred wasn’t part of whatever conversation she was about to have, because he’d already begun to step backwards.
‘I’m going to leave you both to talk,’ he said. ‘If you need anything I won’t be far away, so please just call out.’
Avery was going to make a joke about calling out his name in the library, but decided to keep her mouth shut. And with that, she found herself alone with a man she’d never met before, as the door clicked and she quietly sat down in the chair opposite him. She folded her hands in her lap as he settled back in his chair, elbows on the desk between them, a serious look on his face.
‘I understand that you’re concerned about the current levels of funding in the Department of Microphotography.’
‘Yes sir, I certainly am,’ she said. Was that what this was about? Library funding? If so, she wished she’d had time to prepare. ‘We can get by on rather little, but the fact is we need sufficient funds to ...’
She saw the smile creep across his face and stopped talking, feeling as if perhaps he was teasing her. He no longer looked so serious.
‘Avery,’ he said. ‘It is alright if I call you Avery?’
Avery nodded, folding her hands more tightly on her lap as her cheeks heated with humiliation. She didn’t know why he’d found whatever she was saying so funny.
‘Avery, microfilming is the way of the future as I see it,’ he said, leaning back in his chair. ‘The ability to preserve texts and books,recording them at a fraction of their original size on film, is quite extraordinary. I’m sure you agree.’
‘I certainly do.’ It was, quite frankly, a relief to hear someone share her views.
‘Well, I’m pleased to confirm that your department will be fully funded from now on, to ensure the preservation of newspaper texts and other works of historical importance.’
Suddenly Avery knew why he’d been smiling. ‘I don’t know what to say. That’s wonderful news!’ She grinned, relieved. ‘But while we’re talking about funding, perhaps a room with a window or two could be found rather than the basement? It would certainly be greatly appreciated.’
He laughed. ‘I like you, Avery. You’re exactly the kind of girl I’d hoped to meet, if I’m honest.’
She frowned, not sure whether it was a compliment or not. ‘And what kind of girl is that?’
‘A highly educated girl who’s whip-smart and not afraid to say what she thinks,’ he said. ‘Now, I know all this seems highly unusual, but I’m here to ask you a few routine questions. Unfortunately I can’t tell you what for exactly, but I can assure you that your boss wouldn’t have permitted me here if it wasn’t important.’
Avery’s mind began to race, but she simply nodded.
‘Avery, why is the art of microfilming so important to you?’
She cleared her throat, watching as he took out a pen, hovering it over his open notebook, and had the distinct feeling that whatever she said next would determine whether he continued to be impressed by her or not.
