"My apologies for this undignified reception, young man," she had said. "Somebody will be here to deal with you shortly."
"Her voice was loud and intimidating, but she gave me a warm smile.
"Are you one of the owners?" I asked.
She laughed aloud. "Why no
– I'm Aunt Gladys. Most people just call me Aunty. Chief cook and bottle-washer for the boys since they were both in nappies. It's young Mr Albert that you will be wanting to see."
Aunt Gladys went behind the counter and pulled down a speaking tube that was hanging from the ceiling. Puckering up her lips, she sent a piercing whistle down the open end, and then, taking a deep breath, she bellowed down the tube.
"ALBERT, SHOP!"
Her voice was so loud that I could have sworn the chandeliers rattled. Wherever Albert was, he could not have failed to hear. She put the tube down and gave me such a demure and ladylike smile that I could hardly believe it was the same woman. I took an immediate liking to this larger-than-life character and returned her greeting.
"He'll be with you shortly, my dear. Please take a seat. Browse through the books if you like; they are all for sale. Make me an offer if one takes your fancy; most are first editions."
She gave me an exaggerated wink and moved away to continue her work in another part of the shop.
Back to the present.
Everywhere was quiet now, and since Montana disappeared, I needed something to settle my mind. I turned my attention to an antique oak bookcase beside the half a dozen chairs and a small coffee table for the use of waiting clients.
On the shelves stood lines of beautifully bound books.
The complete set of the Chronicles of Narnia, my favourite childhood reading, and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Tom's Midnight Garden, The Labyrinth Gate, and others, side by side with a shelf of Greek and Roman classics, including The Odyssey and The Aeneid, and books on ancient philosophy and myth.
As well as fiction, I am interested in classical civilisation and all things ancient. The past shapes the present and the future, and it is wrong to think of them as separate zones or something. There are no borders to cross; it is like going from one country to the next; it is all one world. I also have a great interest in how ordinary people lived after the Industrial Revolution and the unfair class system that kept the wealth of a country in the hands of the few.
I am a complex person, and people tend to jump to the wrong conclusions. I have always been quiet and introverted, keeping myself to myself and getting on with my work. I have a reputation for being dull and studious, and some people call me a swot, but I don't study just to pass examinations. I want to acquire knowledge about the world and discover my own identity in the process because it seems clear to me that we know extraordinarily little about who we are. Not only me, of course; I am nothing special, but all of us.
School was never a happy time for me, and I became increasingly withdrawn. I was always the youngest in my year, and the older boys often bullied me.
Dad said I should take a year out before going to college to toughen myself up a bit and see the world. That was fine with me. I thought I might get the chance to visit ancient ruins and even have an adventure or two. I'm not a complete geek.
I got into the habit of keeping my mouth shut when I was small, but young people mistook my shyness for me thinking I was superior. I have never once thought that I was better than anyone else—quite the opposite—but people gave me a tough time, and not just at school.
My dad was quick to fly into a temper, and he took it out on me. My mother said that it was his artistic temperament, and I soon learnt to keep out of his way. I was often lonely and used to read to cheer myself up. I even got into the habit of pretending that the characters I read about in books were real friends, especially in school stories. Sometimes I made up adventures with myself, having lots of friends and being popular at school.
But now that I had met Montana, the world was a different place, and I was full of hope for the future.
Somebody was speaking to me.
I left my thoughts and returned to the present.