"All I could do was scream, 'How dare you! What have you DONE?! Put my books back!' Next came the framed certificates - for shooting the most birds on such and such a date, for First Place in running races, for Last Man Standing in some filthy tug of war against Scotland. There were statues for everything a man could jump over, either by himself or on a horse. There were awards for every game that could possibly be played with a wooden object: cricket bats, squash racquets, tennis racquets, oars, golf clubs, ping-pong bats, bows and arrows, snooker cues, lacrosse sticks, hockey sticks and polo mallets. Sidney, every single shelf - where my books had stood - was filled with athletic trophies: silver cups, gold cups, blue rosettes, red ribbons. "Well, there were no words! I was too appalled to speak. Don't mind the mess, the caretaker said he'd help me carry these down to the basement.' He nodded towards my bookshelves and said, 'Don't they look wonderful?' "He looked up and said, 'Hello, darling. There were eight boxes - eight boxes of my books bound up and ready for the basement! He was sealing the last one up with tape and string. “ threw open the door to find Rob sitting on the low stool in front of my bookcase, surrounded by cardboard boxes.
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