The Westwich Writers Club. 2

In the meeting room Stephen returned to his seat on the back row. Mary was chaperoned to a chair nearer the front by the elderly man who had confronted him in the bar. He gave Stephen a warning look before he sat down.

Margot got to her feet and squinted at her list.

'Ted?' she queried.

'You really ought to go back to glasses, Margot,' said Ted, as he picked up his clipboard from the floor.

Margot blushed and sat down.

Ted marched to the podium, nodded to Harriet and addressed the membership.

'Ted Hughes, not the famous one,' he announced.

A gentle titter ran round the room.

'I was going to read a new poem, but as I don't have to share reading time with my grandson tonight, I've decided to read the latest chapter of my novel instead.'

Ted patted his pockets, looked back to his seat, then patted his pockets again before eventually finding his spectacles on a thin chain around his neck. He cleared his throat and read from the clipboard.

The Westwich Writers Club. 1

'Will stared down at the lifeless body of Sir Charles Montague and smiled thinly. It was over, his tormentor was dead. He pulled his sword from the neck of his victim, wiped it on the grass and sheathed it. He looked at the brightening sky, the sun said noon, time to make for Durberry Vale, Elizabeth, and the rest of his life.'

Stephen King looked up from his manuscript and surveyed the hall. The audience of mainly elderly members stared back at him. The silence was deafening. Then from the table behind him came a solitary clap.

Margot Sugden, the writers group secretary, rose to her feet.

'Thank you for that, Stephen, I'm sure we all found it very interesting. Not many members read the last chapter of their novel on their first manuscript reading but there's no rule that says you can't.'