The Ghost Of Marchmont Hall (The Imogen and Hugh Croft Mysteries Book 6) by Pathak Katherine

Author:Pathak, Katherine [Pathak, Katherine]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: The Garansay Press
Published: 2015-02-16T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

The main dining room of Marchmont Hall was the venue for a drinks reception to welcome new staff. Claire Benfield was hosting the event which took place on the Friday evening of Imogen’s fourth week at the school.

She and Hugh had selected glasses of red wine from a tray and were milling about amongst the other guests. Imogen was using the opportunity to get to know the names of her colleagues, the ones who she’d seen in the staff room but hadn’t yet been introduced to.

‘It’s still a lovely campus,’ Hugh commented to his wife, looking around the room at the portraits and wall hangings.

‘Do you wish we’d sent our three somewhere like this?’ Imogen suddenly asked, not really having considered it before.

Hugh shook his head. ‘I certainly wouldn’t have wanted them to board. Are there any day pupils at Marchmont?’

‘No, it’s purely a boarding school. Many of the students come from overseas. They even stay on during the half-term holidays.’

Imogen scanned the room, noticing Stephen Ward, the Housemaster of Birchall, standing on his own by the drinks table. She gestured to her husband that they should go and join him.

‘Stephen,’ she said warmly. ‘My name is Imogen Croft. I’ve seen you around the school but we’ve not been properly introduced.’

The man was tall and athletic. His reddish hair was receding and his complexion ruddy but Imogen could tell he was no more than thirty five.

He put out his hand. ‘Ah, you’re the lady who’s been visiting Kate. Very pleased to meet you.’

Imogen introduced her husband. The two men discussed the current fortunes of Hugh’s alma mater, Stane Hall, for a short while.

‘Is Kate not with you this evening?’ Imogen enquired.

Stephen’s mouth was set in a grim line. ‘I tried to encourage her to come out. Jess Walvin is always happy to babysit. But she says she’s just too tired.’

‘Is Kate still having problems sleeping?’

The man ran a hand through his thinning hair. ‘We’ve tried everything the health visitors suggested.’ Stephen lowered his voice. ‘I had a word with the doctor here at Marchmont. He said that some anti-depressants are safe to take during pregnancy. He seems to think that might be what she needs.’

‘You should get her a psychiatric assessment,’ Hugh said gently. ‘It isn’t as bad as it sounds. Kate could be suffering from a form of post-natal depression. It would be worth getting a proper diagnosis before the new baby comes.’

Stephen looked interested, as if no one had suggested such a possibility before. ‘Can you recommend anyone - a psychiatrist perhaps? Because it’s more than just the lack of sleep. Sometimes Kate sees and hears things that nobody else does. I’m really becoming worried about her.’

Hugh laid his hand on the man’s arm. ‘I know a few practitioners in Colchester who are excellent. I’ll write down their details and get Imogen to pass them onto you.’

Stephen sighed with relief. For a moment, Imogen thought he might actually weep. ‘Thank you. I’d been running out of things to try.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.