Chapter 2: A New Beginning

For the first few days after his interview, Adam went about in on automatic pilot. He kept getting flashes of Anne Henderson behind her desk; those hypnotic blue eyes fixed on his and her full breasts shifting sensually beneath her blouse: of hot, teenage breath in his ear: of ivy, covered buildings with panelled corridors: of giggling schoolgirls in sheer black stockings and suspenders: of sly looks from lowered eyes. As the days went by, these visions faded until the interview almost seemed like a dream or had happened to someone else. Nearly three weeks passed and then two things happened which would change his life forever.

The first of these was an incident in the classroom. Shortly after his return, class 4b had been rowdier than usual and a scuffle had broken out between two of the boys. One of them had picked up a steel rule and given the other a nasty slash across the face. Both had been excluded as a result of the incident as the head, on evidence from Adam and some of the pupils, had decided that they were equally to blame. But now the parents of the boy whose face had been hurt were threatening to sue the school for negligence and the Governors were talking about an internal investigation. Adam, of course, felt he was under a cloud of suspicion, the more so as he knew he had not been paying full attention that day and partly blamed himself for allowing the situation to develop.

The second incident was the restrained green envelope which dropped on his mat one morning. Anne Henderson thanked him for attending the interview and was delighted to offer him the post of 'general science, mathematics and computing teacher' at a salary significantly in excess of his current pay. A further allowance would be forthcoming for 'additional duties to be agreed with the Principal in due course'. Nothing about this had been mentioned at the interview but he presumed that this would be some sort of standard allowance to cover supervision of dormitories, mealtimes, school outings, and so on. After all, somebody had to be on duty at all times at a boarding school. All in all he would be almost doubling his salary and be given more freedom to teach - and all in idyllic rural surroundings.

If he had received the letter at any other time, he might have considered the offer more carefully, but, as he had been leaving that afternoon, the Headmaster had summoned him and had made vaguely threatening noises about appearing before the Board of Governors. Adam suspected that he was being thrown to the lions. The Headmaster, while excellent within the school environment, always seemed to be running scared of the Board and Adam had the nasty suspicion that the Head would not back him up in the event of any aggravation. So, that evening, he went out and got drunk and the following day wrote two letters. One to Anne Henderson accepting the post and the other of resignation to the Headmaster.

The next month passed in a whirl of activity. Throwing caution to the winds, he decided to sell his flat - and, of course, had to complete all the DIY chores he had been putting off, make arrangements to store his furniture, and so on. Then there was the inevitable round of farewells. He was amused, in a detached sort of a way, about the reactions of his colleagues. The Headmaster, after an initial bout of shouting, refused to acknowledge his existence. The younger, male, teachers openly congratulated him and made comments like "Lucky dog," in envious tones. A number reproached him for throwing his career away; although he reckoned they were secretly jealous. And a few even accused him of cowardice and running away from his responsibilities. However, he was too busy to be affected by their reactions. Even now, the whole situation was taking on a slight air of unreality.

At last moving day arrived. As he locked the front door for the last time, he had a moment of doubt and panic. The sullen, grey sky did little to help and he started off in a depressed state of mind. He drove south, carefully nursing his old, overladen car and, as the miles rolled by, the weather began to improve and with it, his spirits.

After a long but uneventful journey, he arrived at Greenwood. The evening sun cast a warm, yellow glow over the high stone walls that surrounded the grounds. As he had been too distracted to notice much during his first visit, he stopped to take in the atmosphere. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves of the tall trees, a pair of wood pigeons cooed at each other and, from a copse on the other side of the road, raucous rooks gathered, flapping in from wherever they had been foraging during the day. It was an idyllic scene and he breathed a deep sigh of contentment.

Restarting the car, he drove through the gates, solidly made and in good repair, he noticed, and along the gravelled driveway. The drive twisted and turned through a small wood and then emerged into an expanse of grass, not quite cultivated enough to be called a lawn. At the far side stood the main school building. It was a scene out of time with its ivy-clad walls and deep-set windows. The doorway was a gothic arch approached by a flight of broad stone steps. He could almost see the horse-drawn coach at the front door, with liveried footmen, ushering bewigged gentlemen and elegantly gowned ladies up the steps. At that moment, two girls in the dark green blazers of the school emerged, shrieking, at a run - and the spell was broken. He laughed at himself for having such a flight of fancy and drove round the buildings until he found an area where cars were parked.

As he climbed out and stretched muscles stiff from long hours of driving, a man dressed in a brown overall came hurrying over the courtyard towards him.

"Oi. Whadda you want?" he demanded.

Adam looked at him askance. The man, like his overall, had seen better days. He was obviously the janitor.

"I'm Adam Hazel, a new member of staff," he announced.

"Oh. Sorry, sir," said the janitor, changing his tone instantly. "But you can't be too careful these days, you know. George Horwood, school janitor. So you're Mr Hazel, are you? Ms Henderson said to watch out for you and to show you to your rooms."

"Uh, thank you. It's OK to park here?"

The man looked disparagingly at Adam's battered car but said, "No problem at all, sir. You might want to drive round to your place to unload, though. I'll show you where to go."

He led Adam round the building and across a lawn edged with flower beds to a building that, at one time had been a barn or stables but was now a small apartment block. Stone stairs with a carpet runner led up and along a narrow corridor. At the far end, he unlocked a door and ushered Adam in like an estate agent with a prospective client.

"Here we are, Mr Hazel. Apartment 4."

Adam was impressed. The apartment comprised of a living room, 2 bedrooms, a bathroom and a kitchen. The ceilings were low and the rooms were not overly large but it was remarkably well appointed. He wandered around, opening doors and peering into cupboards with George hovering in the background.

"Very nice," he said, at last.

"Right you are, sir. I'll leave you to get settled in. Here's your keys. Goodnight to you, sir."

He almost backed out of the room and Adam wondered, fleetingly, if he should have tipped him.

Thirst, hunger and fatigue were fighting for pole position in Adam's consciousness. He decided that, at least, he should bring his car round to a more convenient spot for unloading. As he dumped the first armload unceremoniously on the kitchen table, hunger and thirst became the front runners and he wondered what the eating arrangements were at the school. With a curse at his own stupidity, he opened some cupboards at random. To his surprise they were not empty, as he had expected. Indeed, they were remarkably well stocked with the basics and the fridge held milk, eggs, butter, and so on. With a sigh of relief he went to fill the kettle - and discovered the note. It was from Anne, welcoming him to the school, and stating that she would see him the following morning.

Several hours later, having at least unloaded the car, he fell into bed and was asleep immediately.

It was late when he arose the next morning. He had barely finished his breakfast and was contemplating, over a second cup of coffee, what his first move should be when Anne appeared on the doorstep. Today she was wearing a loose, beige jumper, black toreador pants and a dark green jacket. Her fine, blonde hair was pulled back and tied with a black band. She looked stunning and he realised, that she was a truly beautiful woman and he was already more than a little infatuated with her.

"Good morning, Adam," she said as he stepped aside to let her in. "You've arrived safely."

"Good morning, er, Anne," he replied. "Yes, thanks. Very tiring but no mishaps."

"You found everything, then?"

Yes, indeed. It was most kind of you and completely unexpected."

"No problem," she smiled. "I thought I should show you round and introduce you to people."

"That would be fine. To tell the truth I was wondering about that very thing."

She led him over to the main building and gave him a guided tour.

The school had been originally built, as he had suspected, as the country seat of minor nobility. During the First World War it had been used as an army hospital. After a variety of owners, it had been used as a research establishment during World War II, though what kind of research Anne did not know, and abandoned at the end. The legacy, she explained, was a number of ruined buildings in the grounds that were extremely unsafe and out of bounds to all. After two decades of neglect, it had been acquired by a major corporation who had wanted to turn it into a residential training centre. They had refurbished some of the main building and then, for some reason, had abandoned their plans. The School had bought it for a song.