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a
small lady who moved with grace. “Hello dear, nice to see you
again. We got given some history books on Thursday that I kept out
back in case you fancied any. Quite a nice selection there was.”
Nora was pleased to see Liberty.
    “That was very
kind of you Nora. Did you enjoy the biscuits I bought last week?”
Liberty asked. She earnestly cared whether or not she liked the
biscuits.
    “Oh yes thank
you, that was very sweet of you dear. I’ll go out back and fetch
those books for you love.” Whilst Nora toddled into the back
Liberty turned to look at the bric-a-brac shelves again. All the
usual culprits were assembled: conch shell paperweights, painted
fans, old teapots and a vase. The vase startled Liberty. More than
startled, it scared her. She went over and picked it up practically
shoving a man over en route. Liberty was adrift at sea clinging to
the vase like a life raft.
    Nora came back
into the shop with six books. “Right let us have a look, now we’ve
got one on Napoleon, two on The British Empire, one on The Battle
of Jenkins’s Ear, one on The Zulus, forty four volumes on Hitler,
oh and one on Troy. I left the Hitler books out back, as there were
too many to carry.”
    “Troy it is
then as I had nothing to do with it. I know everything there is to
know about the others, I helped orchestrate them.” Liberty said
without thinking.
    “Oh Liberty you
do have a wicked sense of humour. You’re only about twenty two
love.”
    “Well I am
wicked. I’m in a shock Nora. What do you think of this vase?”
    “Well it’s a
bit of holiday tat someone bought back from Corfu. I suppose you
know more about it, you always do.”
    “It depicts
Daphne, a virgin nymph who turned herself into a laurel tree to
escape the Olympian god Apollo’s attentions, only for him to wear
her leaves as a crown. It’s a genuine antiquity from the Hellenic
golden age itself. So pristine.” Liberty said before distracting
herself “How’s your hip doing?”
    “Not too bad
love, I can’t complain.”
    “No I suppose
you can’t, not when none of your fellow intelligence officers made
it out of Berlin alive whilst you got a mere shrapnel wound to your
right side. The resulting chronic pain of which threw your posture
marginally off kilter leading to the said excessive wear on your
left hip.” Liberty said anxiously.
    “I signed the
Official Secrets Act.”
    “I told you, I
started the war. I invaded Poland. Nora this vase is it a real sign
or is someone messing with my head? Who brought this in? Nora?
Nora? Oh it’s no use asking for your opinion. You’re only ninety
six.”
    Nora stood
there and didn’t know what to do. The beautiful and kind girl who
popped in every now and then had appeared to have had some sort of
breakdown and had guessed at Nora’s greatest secret that she would
otherwise have carried with her in her casket.
    “Nora, do you
know why I’ve come here every week for the past three years? On the
odd occasion I take pity on a mortal. I took pity on your father at
The Somme, and I promised on the river Styx that I’d come and check
on you every now and then. I have been demonstrably crap, bar
Berlin, and I am making up for lost time before Styx yells at me
for not keeping my promise as I am bound to.” Liberty paused for a
moment. “I bought you some ginger snaps this week. I know they’re
your favourite.”
    “Ginger snaps,
how lovely. Would you like a cup of tea dear? The book is £2.50 by
the way.” Nora said. She really wasn’t sure what to do other than
offer the poor girl a cuppa before she did herself any harm.
    “How much is
the vase?”
    “It’s nine
pounds love because it’s quite a big one.”
    “Alright”
Liberty said as she magicked some money and walked out of the shop
without saying another word.  

Forgive Me Father For
I Have Sinned
    Liberty walked in a stupor for some
time. Under her left arm she had the book on Helen of Troy (Liberty
had met her and had never