‘I want…’ Her voice was a bit squeaky. She cleared her throat and started again. ‘I wanted to say thank you to everyone for all you did to save Compton Mallow library. You should all be proud and we hope to see you all on a regular basis so that we can stay open…’ There were a few calls of hear, hear. ‘And I wanted to say a special thank you to… well… someone very special for everything they did: Maggie Mann.’

‘Oh, it was nothing,’ said Maggie, but Christine beckoned her over to stand next to her.

‘No, it wasn’t,’ said Christine. ‘I would have given up if it hadn’t been for you. So I… well we…’ She turned to glance at Farah and Tom who were standing nearby looking shifty. ‘We wanted to say a proper thank you for all your help in saving the library.’

Farah rummaged under the cake table behind her and produced a large basket of flowers and she and Tom handed them to Maggie. ‘My goodness,’ she said feeling touched by the thought. ‘You didn’t need to. I mean I love a good fight…’

‘Don’t I know it,’ said Tom. He was getting cheekier by the day.

‘Speech!’ called out Bill.

Maggie addressed the crowd. ‘This village library has always had a place in my heart. Books are such an underrated essential. Every book is a key that unlocks another world, leads us down the path of a different life and offers the chance to explore an unexpected adventure. Every one is a gift of either knowledge, entertainment or pure escapism and goodness knows we all need that from time to time. Like the rest of you, I always thought the library would be here. I never expected it to be under threat. It’s a stark reminder to not take anything in life for granted. You only properly start fighting for something when you realise you’re going to lose it.’ She sighed thoughtfully. ‘Anyway, if truth be told, I was saving the library for myself as much as the community. Quite selfish really.’

‘Not at all. That’s something you’re not,’ said Christine. ‘Thank you, Maggie.’

The crowd applauded and there were air kisses and brief hugs. Maggie studied the basket of flowers. ‘This is truly lovely. I’ve no idea how I’ll get it home on the bus. But I love a challenge.’

When the excitement had died down and the cake had been eaten people started to make their farewells and disappear.

‘Maggie?’ said Tom, pulling her to one side.

‘I suppose you were in on this,’ she said pointing at the flowers.

‘Er, yeah. And there’s something else.’ He bit his lip and the gesture made her instantly concerned. ‘I did a bit of googling. And, well, there aren’t many dentists in Kent called Haseley.’

‘Tom…’ Maggie swallowed hard. ‘What have you done?’