By The Book

Some rules are just made to be broken... but often it takes more than one rebel to overturn the dictator

Dragging her beanie hat from her red-gold curls, Ashley scooted through the library. She hated being late for anything, even something as informal as Freda's Readers, the nickname the group had given themselves after being corralled together by self-appointed chairwoman Freda Hall.

"Here she is, my partner in crime," beamed former travel agent Paula, as Ashley rounded the last bookshelf. Both in their mid-thirties, the two women shared a taste for crime fiction in all its gory glory.

To Paula's left was easy-going medical student Michael, while to her right, looking cute in pink cord dungarees, was trainee hairdresser Shanice. Next came Freda herself, notebook at the ready. Lastly, his backpack keeping Ashley's place on the vacant chair beside him, was Yanis. The big man smiled up at her, his sky-blue eyes crinkling. Her heart gave a little skip.

She'd joined the library four months ago, looking for something to while away the sleepless hours following the loss of her husband Robert.

Spotting a book called The Island, by Victoria Hislop, Ashley had reached for it at the same moment as Yanis and they'd laughed at the clumsy touch of hands.

He'd told her the book was set in the place of his birth, Crete, and centred around the historic use of a nearby island, Spinalonga, as a leper colony. Hearing that, Ashley had insisted that he borrow it first.

"I will, but please can we meet here next Thursday, so you can have it next?" he'd said, in charmingly accented English.

She'd happily agreed, and returned a week later to be pounced upon by Freda for the reading group. They'd been meeting up regularly ever since.

"How did it go?" he murmured, lifting off the backpack so she could sit down.

Last time, she'd confided to him that she might be delayed today, as she had a solicitor's appointment to discuss some "cloudy aspects" of her late husband's will.

"Interesting. I'll tell you later."