this would be a good place to observe first-hand … so to speak …’ he tailed off.
‘I see,’ Estelle replied, feeling a stab of disappointment. She’d hoped for a lovely group of people, all having a pleasant discussion about books, but now it seemed as though Reggie saw them as nothing more than lab rats.
She looked around the table, trying to gauge the reactions of the others. ‘Does anyone have a problem with that?’
Gracie narrowed her eyes. ‘I’m not a monkey in a zoo, you know,’ she said petulantly.
‘Would you rather Reggie didn’t attend the meetings?’ Estelle asked nervously.
Gracie stared at him, with a long, assessing gaze. ‘No,’ she announced finally. ‘He can stay.’
Estelle breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that she didn’t have to break up an argument before the first session had properly got underway. ‘And have you read the book, Reggie?’
‘Yes, I have,’ he confirmed.
‘Well, if you would like to interject at any point and give us your opinions, please do,’ Estelle encouraged him. ‘I’m sure the group would be the richer for it. Now, Sue, how did you find Tess?’
Sue cleared her throat. ‘Overall, I enjoyed the novel,’ she began. ‘I thought it was moving, and thought-provoking, and I felt very sorry for Tess. I’m glad I read it, but it’s not something I’d read again – parts of it were very long-winded and dull.’
‘Thank you, Sue,’ Estelle said uncertainly. It wasn’t quite the ringing endorsement she’d hoped for, but she supposed that having a variety of opinions was the point of a discussion group. ‘Would anyone like to add anything to that? Gracie?’
‘I think Tess had a hellish life,’ Gracie dived in. ‘She went through one horrible experience after another, and I don’t see how anyone could enjoy reading about a poor young woman being thrown from one miserable scenario to the next. In fact, it made me wonder about Thomas Hardy – I bet he was a real misogynist to make her go through all that. I mean, what kind of a man was he, dreaming up all those vile situations? Quite frankly, I think the way Tess was treated was utterly disgusting, and the double standard for women in those days was appalling.’
‘Okay …’ Estelle began slowly, somewhat thrown by the strength of Gracie’s opinions. ‘So, was Tess a victim of fate, or should she be held responsible for her own mistakes?’ Estelle asked, consulting the list of questions she’d hastily put together before the meeting.
‘How could any of what happened to Tess be her fault?’ Gracie shot back. ‘It was all because of that bast—’ Here Gracie broke off and looked around apologetically. ‘Sorry, Alec’s fault. And then Angel should never have treated her the way he did either, especially when he’d already had an affair with some trollop.’
‘Excellent, thank you for your contribution, Gracie,’ Estelle cut in quickly, conscious of Sue’s look of disapproval at Gracie’s choice of language. ‘And what role does the landscape itself play in Tess?’ Estelle asked, hoping she’d chosen a less controversial topic.
There was silence around the table, the only sound coming from Reggie furiously scribbling on his notepad.
‘Rebecca?’ Estelle asked, noticing that Rebecca hadn’t yet spoken. ‘How do you think the landscape affected the action?’
Rebecca giggled nervously. ‘I’m not really sure … I feel like I’m back at school, to be honest,’ she admitted. ‘Stuck in English class.’
Sue was nodding in agreement. ‘I know what you mean. It reminds me of the essays we had to write at grammar school.’
‘You know, Tess is still on the syllabus,’ Rebecca told her. ‘At the school where I teach. It’s like being a pupil coming here tonight – I guess now I know how they feel,’ she laughed.
‘Well I think it’s all misogynistic drivel,’ Gracie declared, tossing the book down dismissively. ‘Why can’t we read Caitlin Moran instead?’
‘Something more modern would be good,’ Rebecca chimed in.
‘Yes, what is going to be our next read, Estelle?’ Sue asked politely.
Estelle looked up to find everyone watching her expectantly. Even Reggie had stopped taking notes and was staring at her.
‘Umm …’ she hesitated, stalling for time. She glanced at the notebook in front of her, where she’d written:
Next week: Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Oh dear, Estelle panicked. If they thought Tess of the D’Urbervilles was dull and old-fashioned, what were they going to make of Crime and Punishment? She’d thought she couldn’t go wrong with classic, literary texts, but obviously she’d been mistaken.
Estelle badly wanted this venture to do well – she knew it was ridiculous, but to her it was almost symbolic of Cafe Crumb’s fate. If she could make a success of the book club, then perhaps the cafe might have a future.
Right now, though, she was standing on the brink of failure. Estelle could see the way everyone was looking at her, doubt and scepticism in their eyes, and she knew she had to do something drastic.
Quickly, she grabbed her handbag and began to rummage through. She’d written down some other ideas before she finally settled on Crime and Punishment – perhaps one of those might provide the magical answer she was looking for.
Damn, thought Estelle, ploughing through old tissues and emergency tampons and Joe’s letters from school. Where was the list she’d made? She finally spotted it, crumpled at the bottom, and hastily tugged it out, bringing most of the contents of the bag with it. Suddenly, the floor beside her was littered with faded receipts, loose change, packets of chewing gum – and, she realised, a feeling of shame creeping over her, a very battered copy of Ten Sweet Lessons.
‘What’s that?’ asked Sue, craning her neck to look around Reggie.
‘Ten Sweet Lessons!’ burst out Gracie, looking shocked.
‘Wait a minute, isn’t that …?’
‘Is that what you’re reading, Estelle?’ demanded Rebecca.
Estelle looked up, her face glowing like a beacon, to see them all staring at her accusingly. Oh, this was so humiliating! Here she was trying to run a serious book group, and now she’d blown her cover, revealing that all along, she preferred mass-market, low-brow erotica.
‘Sort of …’ Estelle began slowly, trying to brazen it out. But her brain no longer seemed to be connected to the words that were coming out of her mouth, and she heard herself say, ‘I was actually testing it out in advance of the next meeting. It’s going to be our next read.’
Trying to regain her dignity, Estelle bent over and picked the book up off the floor, placing it squarely on the table in front of her. ‘Yes, that’s right,’ she continued more confidently, ignoring their shocked expressions. ‘Ten Sweet Lessons by CJ Jones.
