Page 21 of A Very Bookish Murder
‘Yes, I was a librarian,’ Joyce said, ‘right up until I retired a couple of years back.’ She paused. ‘Graham and I never had children, you see, so I always worked.’
‘You must be an expert on books then,’ Ally remarked.
‘She was chief librarian,’ Penelope added in her usual loud fashion, ‘so she knows a good book when she sees it!’
‘Did the job make you think that you could perhaps write too?’ Ally asked, turning to Joyce.
Joyce nodded. ‘I’d always written essays and things, and then I began to write short stories, mainly about pioneering women and older women. I only sent some to Jodi for editorial advice, and Istillsay she copied a couple of my ideas. It’s interesting that I was not the only one. Anyway, I’m exhausted and ready for bed.’
There were general murmurs of agreement, and the women headed upstairs.
And so Ally found herself standing in front of the group of twelve women at three o’clock the next afternoon. It wasn’t as scary as she’d thought because they were all really friendly and asked lots of questions, which made it very informal.
They were particularly interested to know about Ally’s life as a TV researcher.
‘I had to keep finding out about stuff, and it had to be accurate, of course. One minute it might be to get the background of some celebrity or politician who was about to be interviewed, which could be pretty boring unless you came across some naughty incidents! Then, if it was a costume drama, say, I’d have to help the wardrobe department research the clothing, or help the props department on the interiors. Every day was different, and I loved it. The trouble is,’ Ally admitted, ‘it’s made me very nosy!’
There followed the usual questions:
‘Did you get to meet lots of famous people?’
‘Did you get to travel?’
‘Oh yes, I met a few – mainly politicians – and, before we relied on the internet for everything, I did have to travel occasionally. Usually to London but once to Avignon, in the South of France, and once to Milan.’ Ally thought fondly of her long-past trips.
‘What made you want to buy The Auld Malthouse?’ they asked.
‘It was just an old storehouse for the malt they made the whisky from, unused and unloved, and no one else seemed interested in buying it,’ Ally replied.
‘When did you first see it?’
‘When I was on holiday.’
‘How did your family react?’
‘Well,’ said Ally, ‘they thought I’d gone completely bonkers! I was sixty-six then, and it took a couple of years to buy itand convert the building and so, not unreasonably I suppose, they thought that at that age I should be sitting in my senior’s apartment knitting and doing crosswords!’ Ally went on to tell them about the village in general, about some of the characters, their attitude to incomers and their love of gossip.
‘And you met aman!’ prompted Joyce.
Ally could feel herself blushing. ‘I had a puppy, you see, and I had to take her to the vet for her jabs, andhewas on duty. I’d expected to see his son, who is the official vet round here, but he was delivering a calf or something and so his father was dragged out of retirement to stand in for him.’ Ally paused, then added truthfully, ‘Lucky for me!’
‘Wow!’ exclaimed Della. ‘New home! New life! New man!’
‘Something like that,’ Ally agreed.
‘There’s going to be a mass immigration of single women up to Locharran now!’ joked Millie.
Just then, the tea trolley arrived and everyone rushed to help themselves to refreshments. Standing a little to the side of the group and balancing a cup and saucer in one hand, Ally found herself next to the woman from Cornwall.
‘Morwenna, isn’t it?’ she asked.
Morwenna nodded. ‘That’s me. Morwenna Davies.’
‘Such a lovely Cornish name,’ Ally remarked.
‘I’m actually Welsh,’ the woman said, ‘but my mother had become obsessed with Winston Graham’sPoldarkbooks about Cornwall, and so I had to be named Morwenna. And I actually moved to Cornwall in my twenties because of an unfortunate incident.’ She glanced around and lowered her voice. ‘I knew Jodi Jones because she had an affair with my husband.’ She spoke quite matter-of-factly.
Ally felt her jaw drop. ‘She had an affair with your husband?’
