Miki said, ‘Bathsheba was strong, even if she did make mistakes. She tried hard and that has to count. Trying is important. That’s how you learn.’ She was thinking how she would give anything to live and make mistakes rather than sit in the shop. Maybe she was making a mistake now, being here with Geraldine, but it felt good. Conversation made her feel larger and wiser.

‘What about Bathsheba’s love interests?’ Geraldine asked. ‘Did she conduct herself well?’

‘No.’

‘Foolish, perhaps.’

‘Yes. Sergeant Troy was bad and she couldn’t see it.’

‘Love is blind, they say. What about the way she treated poor Mr Boldwood? She ruined him, didn’t she? He was such a vulnerable soul.’

‘She shouldn’t have led him on.’

‘I agree. But how could someone like him keep themselves safe?’

‘He was who he was,’ Miki said.

‘You’re saying there’s no keeping safe?’

‘Maybe.’

‘Perhaps we all have to take risks, or we’d end up staying home and never experiencing anything.’ Geraldine looked at Miki pointedly. ‘Mr Boldwood was a little impetuous and far too passionate, but I suppose Thomas Hardy had to get rid of him somehow, or Bathsheba couldn’t have ended up with Gabriel. Prison was a dramatic place to put Mr Boldwood, don’t you think?’

‘Bathsheba married the right man in the end,’ Miki said. ‘I like Gabriel.’

‘A better ending than Tess?’

‘Happier.’

‘And we all like a happy ending.’ Geraldine pushed the book across the desk to Miki. ‘It’s yours to keep. Remember? I gave it to you.’

Miki didn’t know how to explain she couldn’t keep it. ‘We don’t have room for it at home.’

‘That’s a shame,’ Geraldine said, but in the quiet depths of her eyes Miki could see she understood. ‘I have another one for you.’ Geraldine produced a small thin book from her handbag and handed it to Miki: The Little Prince.

‘Thank you,’ Miki said. But she wasn’t quite sure what to think—the picture on the cover looked childish.

Geraldine smiled at her reticence. ‘Don’t be fooled. This book is magic. One of my favourites. For a little book, it contains a whole lot of wisdom.’ Her eyes shifted to a group of tourists, milling just outside the door. ‘Back to work,’ she murmured. Then she smiled at Miki. ‘Don’t get too wet out there or you’ll turn into a mushroom.’