The Naughty Girls Book Club. Sophie Hart

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СКАЧАТЬ eyes seemed to widen behind his glasses, as he looked anxiously at each woman in turn. He swallowed nervously, but his throat felt constricted, and he took a soothing sip of tea before he spoke.

      ‘I mean, it can certainly be very intimidating for a man … if that’s what women want,’ he began, nodding towards the book. ‘Someone who’s very confident and … so on. We can’t all be like Alexander Black, I’m afraid,’ he finished, his tone apologetic. In spite of his large frame, he seemed to physically shrink as he spoke, disappearing under the penetrating gaze of the women.

      ‘We don’t all want an Alexander Black, you know,’ Gracie retorted. ‘And what’s wrong with having normal sex? Why do fantasies always seem to involve all this weird, fetish stuff?’

      ‘I’ll make you a badge for next week – “Vanilla and Proud”.’ Rebecca teased, making quote marks in the air with her fingers.

      Gracie stuck her tongue out in retaliation.

      ‘Thank you, ladies,’ Estelle said firmly, bringing their exchange to an end. ‘And thank you, Reggie,’ she continued in a softer tone, thrilled that he’d actually made a contribution. ‘Well I think that just about wraps us up here. Does anyone have any final thoughts?’

      There was a moment’s pause then Sue began to speak. ‘Being a little bit older than most of you – well, all of you,’ she smiled, looking round, ‘I think I would make the point that it’s all been done before. Every generation thinks they’re the one to discover sex, and they all reinvent it in a slightly different way. In the eighties, it was all about the big, glossy airport novels – you know, the Jackie Collins-type bonkbuster. And then in the nineties, the craze was for true life confessions – whether French housewives or high-class call girls.

      ‘When I was very young, there was all that hoo-hah about Lady Chatterley’s Lover, as it was finally allowed to be published after having been banned for obscenity. But if you read it now, it’s so tame as to be laughable, almost. It’s certainly nothing like Ten Sweet Lessons.’

      ‘I’ve never read Lady Chatterley’s Lover,’ Rebecca admitted.

      ‘Me neither,’ said Estelle.

      ‘I always imagined it would be absolutely filthy, but is that not the case?’ Rebecca questioned Sue.

      ‘Well, it does have its moments,’ she conceded. ‘I think the language was one of the most shocking things in it, back then.’

      ‘Why don’t we make that our next book club read?’ Estelle burst out, with a flash of inspiration. ‘Then we could compare it to Ten Sweet Lessons, and see how the language and the styles vary. Plus it’d be a great excuse to read one of the classics.’

      ‘I think it’s a fantastic idea, Estelle,’ Rebecca backed her up.

      ‘Thank you, Rebecca. What do you think, Gracie?’

      Gracie pursed her lips, looking mutinous. ‘As long as it’s not another soppy woman being subjugated by a man with issues.’

      A smile twitched at the corners of Estelle’s mouth. ‘I’m sure there’ll be more to it than that, if we look deeply enough. Reggie, does Lady Chatterley suit you?’

      ‘That’s fine … whatever you want. As I say, I’m largely here in an observational capacity, so …’ he trailed off.

      ‘Well I’m glad we’re all in agreement,’ beamed Estelle. ‘So the next meeting will be in two weeks’ time, and the book we’ll be discussing is Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Make sure you come armed with plenty of thoughts and opinions, and I’ll see you all in a fortnight.’

      As everyone filed out of the door and Estelle locked up behind them, she couldn’t keep the smile from her face, a warm glow of satisfaction stealing over her. Tonight had been a success! There had been discussion and debate, whilst the meeting itself had been lively and friendly. And she’d made a small profit.

      She could hardly wait to get stuck into Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Estelle had enjoyed Ten Sweet Lessons immensely, half-thrilled and half-terrified by the sensations it had stirred within her – sensations she’d thought were long gone, and had doubted she might never experience again. And now the group was moving on to one of the most famous pieces of erotic literature ever written, one renowned for its explicit love scenes and scandalous use of language. She couldn’t wait to see what the next meeting would bring!

      8

      ‘Keyes … Marian Keyes …’ Gracie murmured under her breath as she paced round the library, trying to locate the right home for the copy of Rachel’s Holiday she was carrying.

      Found it! She thought triumphantly, checking the reference number on the spine and slotting it in between Cathy Kelly and Sophie Kinsella.

      She returned to the trolley she was pushing and picked out The Take by Martina Cole.

      ‘How are you getting on with those returns, Gracie?’ asked Simon, her manager.

      ‘Almost done,’ she told him cheerily, as she whizzed past him to the Crime and Thriller section, where she found one of the library’s regular patrons browsing the shelves. ‘Hello, Mr Harris.’

      ‘Hello, Gracie,’ replied the elderly gentleman. ‘Lovely day, isn’t it?’

      ‘It is indeed,’ she said happily. The sun was shining, the warm yellow light streaming in through the wide library windows. It was one of those glorious spring days when it felt like winter might finally be in retreat, and you started to believe that summer was on its way back.

      ‘Tell me, do you have the new Harlan Coben?’ Mr Harris enquired.

      Gracie frowned. ‘That’s only just been released, so it might be another few days until we get it in. Would you like me to reserve it for you when it arrives?’

      ‘If you could, I’d very much appreciate it.’

      ‘No problem,’ Gracie beamed, making a mental note to do just that when she returned to the front desk. ‘In the meantime, have you read Long Dark Road by Alex Hayter? He’s a new author, very similar to Harlan Coben. I think you might enjoy it.’

      Mr Harris took the novel from her and examined it, turning it over to read the back cover. ‘Thank you, Gracie. I like the look of this. Yes, I’ll definitely give it a whirl.’

      ‘We aim to please,’ Gracie grinned, as she set off once again.

      Gracie had worked in Clifton library for almost five years now, and although she’d initially seen it as a stop-gap after university – something to tide her over until she got a ‘real’ job – she enjoyed it so much that she’d long since abandoned any ideas of moving on. Gracie loved the calm, steady pace of the library, the regular customers that she’d got to know, and the sense of being at the heart of the community, of organising speaker meetings and book readings with local authors. Unlike many of her friends who’d left Bristol to go to university and never returned, seduced by the bright lights of London or Manchester or Edinburgh, Gracie was content with her lot in life. Born and raised in СКАЧАТЬ