‘We can come again another time if you’re all busy?’ asked Nick, half hoping he’d found a way out of the meeting he was dreading.
‘No, it’s fine. Suzanne is expecting you. Follow me and I’ll take you through to her office.’
Nick squared his shoulders, stepped into the lobby, and tried to mentally prepare himself for the inevitable humiliation.
Chapter 23
Kitty walked Nick and Emily along the corridor, trying to convey a level of confidence she didn’t feel. The staff meeting had been OK, mainly thanks to Sam, who had gone out of her way to include Kitty in conversations she would otherwise have been excluded from. Kitty was walking a tightrope of trying to be friendly while not revealing too much of herself, and although it was only ten a.m. she was already exhausted.
It wasn’t that the other staff were unfriendly, more that they were happy as they were and not willing to open up to an outsider. And it was just Kitty’s luck that her predecessor, a woman called Jen, had been a much-loved member of their group, and by the sounds of it, the staff’s social secretary. She’d lost count of the times Jen had been mentioned with a hint of wistfulness, and had been left with the distinct impression her presence at the school would be tolerated as a stop-gap until Jen returned from her maternity leave. The fact she’d accidentally chosen Jen’s mug to make coffee in hadn’t helped. Apparently, each staff member used their own mug, not that anyone had told Kitty this. She couldn’t see a problem in using a mug belongingto an absent member of staff, but in this place, said mug was clearly out of bounds.
‘Here we are.’ Kitty stopped at a closed door. ‘This is Mrs Arnold’s office. She’s the head teacher here, Emily, and she’s been looking forward to meeting you.’
Before Kitty could knock, the door flung open and Suzanne Arnold beamed at them. ‘Come in, come in, excuse the mess.’
Although the head teacher had smartened herself up since Kitty’s first visit to the school, her blouse could have done with an iron, and had come untucked from her trousers. And even this early in the day, Suzanne’s hair was escaping the clip holding it off her face, giving the impression of someone not exactly scatty, but who rushed from task to task often without taking a breath. Likewise, the office was more cluttered than messy, with piles of papers and thick lever-arch files covering most surfaces.
‘Grab a couple of extra chairs from the corridor, would you, Kitty?’
‘Of course.’
‘I’ll help,’ said Nick, following Kitty into the corridor.
Kitty noticed Nick’s skin was covered in a sheen of sweat and his striking hazel eyes were darting around as though looking for an escape route. He was pale, and fumbled with the chair he picked up, almost dropping it twice as they re-entered the office.
Suzanne was sitting cross-legged on the floor beside Emily, mid-conversation. Not for the first time, Kitty thought how unusual it was to find someone in leadership with an early years background. It was one of the things that had attracted her to the school, along with the fact that it was as far away from London as she could get.
‘Where would you like the chairs?’ asked Kitty.
‘Oh, put them here.’ Suzanne jumped up with the agility of a much younger woman and helped Emily to her feet. ‘I wasjust telling Emily about the Forest School sessions we run. My apologies, Mr Andrews, I haven’t properly introduced myself.’ She offered Nick her hand, and he mumbled his own greeting. ‘Right, take a seat and let’s get the formalities over with.’ She grinned at Emily. ‘When we’ve done that, we can move on to the fun part of looking around the school.’ Smiling at Nick, she said, ‘Do you have the identification documents we asked for?’
Nick pulled out a folder from his bag and handed it over. Kitty was impressed by his organisation. Of course, Carla would have made sure he had everything he needed. The Nick she was witnessing today was yet another version of the man she still couldn’t read properly. There was no cockiness, nor sullenness. In their place was what Kitty assumed were nerves, his movements tentative, his eyes lowered. Even his voice had been reduced to a low murmur. Kitty frowned, trying to get the measure of him. There was nothing intimidating about Suzanne Arnold, so unless he had a phobia of authority figures, she couldn’t understand why he was behaving like a boy about to be sent to detention.
‘So,’ Suzanne addressed Nick, ‘the process of enrolling Emily as a temporary pupil at our school is a straightforward one. After this meeting, I’ll call her school in Plymouth to tell them what’s happening, but I can’t see them raising any objections.’ She switched her attention to Emily. ‘We’ll be delighted to have you at Saffron Bay Primary for a few weeks, Emily, and I’m sure you’re going to make lots of new friends.’
Emily frowned. ‘Can Edward come too?’
‘Edward?’ asked Suzanne, throwing Nick a questioning look.
‘Her teddy,’ he explained. ‘I believe Edward would like to come to school with Emily, if you have space for him too.’
Suzanne grinned, and Kitty felt a rush of warmth for Nick that took her by surprise. So, he could be thoughtful when he wanted to be.
‘I’m sure we can find room for Edward.’ She smiled at Emily, who returned the smile and planted a triumphant kiss on her teddy’s head. ‘Now, if you could just fill in a few forms for me, Mr Andrews, we can get started on the tour.’
Nick’s hand flew to his head, and he winced. ‘Sorry,’ he said, ‘it’s my head. I get these sudden migraines sometimes.’
Kitty wondered if an incoming migraine explained the change in his behaviour. Yet, something about the sudden attack didn’t ring true. She’d experienced hormonal migraines most of her adult life, and Nick’s reaction surprised her. There was no flinching at the lights, no paling of his skin, no slurring of his words. It didn’t add up.
‘Oh dear,’ said Suzanne. ‘Perhaps we should postpone this meeting?’
Nick shook his head. ‘No, I’ll manage if I can see through the stars. Perhaps Kit… Miss Brown, could read the form for me and tell me where to sign?’
‘That’s fine by me,’ said Kitty.
‘In that case, Emily, would you like to start the tour with me, and these two can catch us up once they’ve finished their boring form-filling?’
Emily jumped off her chair by way of an answer and left the office at Suzanne’s side without a backward glance.
