The officiant coughed. “Right, if everyone’s here, we can begin.”
He said a few words about the service and the fact that Stanley’s sister had requested there be no music. He gave a brief speech about Stanley, factual information, his date of birth, where he was born, his parents and sister. He said that Stanley had worked as a chartered accountant for many years and died of a brain hemorrhage. There was no mention of Kitty or Mark, or anything to do with the library. June didn’t recognize the man being described.
“Now, seeing as it’s a short service, would anyone else like to say a few words about Stanley?” The officiant looked at Stanley’s sister, who had sat motionless throughout the ceremony. She gave a tight shake of her head.
“Anyone else?”
He looked out at the small congregation. June thought of all the things she wanted to say about Stanley, about the wonderful man he was and the kind friend he’d been. She wanted to thank him for all that he’d done, not just for the library but for her personally. Junecould feel Alex’s eyes on her, waiting. She glanced over at Stanley’s sister, who was staring forward, stiff as a rod.
“Are you okay?” Alex whispered.
June looked down at her hands and saw they were trembling in her lap. In fact, her entire body was shaking, causing her teeth to chatter. She closed her eyes and willed herself to calm down.
“Oh, for god’s sake.”
June opened her eyes to see Mrs.Bransworth marching toward the front. She stopped when she got to the lectern and took a deep breath.
“I’m not one for speeches and I hate funerals, so I’ll keep it brief. But Stanley deserves more than this pathetic affair.” As she said this, Mrs.B looked over at Stanley’s sister. June couldn’t see her face, but she saw the old woman’s shoulders tense.
“I’ve known Stanley for fifteen-odd years, but to be honest, I never paid him much attention. He always seemed too bourgeois, with his tweed suit and reading that awful Torygraph crap. But it turns out you really can’t judge a book by its cover.
“In the last few months, meek little Stanley Phelps proved himself to be a lion. A man who stood up for what he believed in and was willing to be arrested for his convictions. A true comrade who fought with his dying breath to protect something he knew was important, not just for himself but for everyone.”
Mrs.B’s voice wobbled, and she coughed to clear her throat.
“If we all take one lesson from Stanley’s life, it should be that it’s never too late to find your voice, to stand up and shout from the top of your lungs about injustice. Because if each one of us had even a little bit of Stanley’s courage and humanity, this world of ours would be a damn sight better place.”
She stopped talking and June wanted to burst into applause. Butthere was a loud, drawn-out creak, and she looked over to see Stanley’s sister standing up, leaning on her walking stick. Alex jumped up and went to help her, but the woman shook him off without a word. They all watched as she turned and made her way at a snail’s pace down the central aisle, not looking at any of them. When she reached the back of the room, she pulled open the door and let it slam shut behind her, the sound echoing round the silent room like agunshot.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
June stayed in her seat until everyone had left and then walked up to the coffin. She touched it, feeling the rough wood under her fingertips.
“Good-bye, Stanley,” she whispered. “I’m sorry I didn’t speak up today, but thank you.”
She reached into her bag and pulled out the library copy ofThe House at Pooh Cornerthat Stanley had been reading. June looked at its aged, faded cover, the plastic protector yellow and cracked, and placed the book on top of the coffin, where the flowers should have been.
Outside, Mrs.B, Vera, Chantal, Jackson, and Alex were waiting for her in a black taxi, the windows steamed up in the driving rain.
“The sister has pegged it,” Mrs.B said as June climbed in. “What a miserable old bat.”
“I hope my funeral lasts longer than that,” Vera said.
“We thought we’d go to the Plough for a drink in his memory,” Alex said as they drove out of the car park.
June stared out of the rain-streaked window as they reached the roundabout and took the exit back toward Chalcot. So this was it. She’d said good-bye to Stanley and now all she could do was sit and wait for the decision from the council meeting, helpless once again.
Unless...
“Stop the taxi!”
“What is it?” Alex said as everyone turned to look at June.
“This might sound crazy, but if we hurry, do you think we could still make it to the council meeting before they vote?”
“It started half an hour ago; they’ll never let us in,” Vera said.
“Maybe not. But we should try, shouldn’t we?”
