The Watchful Wife by Suzanne Leal

Author:Suzanne Leal [Leal, Suzanne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2023-05-13T00:00:00+00:00

23

THREE WEEKS AFTER THE CRUCIBLE closed, that’s when it happened.

I didn’t know. Not at first; not until I’d arrived home from school to find Gordon had beaten me to it.

‘Did you get an early mark?’ I asked, my voice still bright.

He shook his head but said nothing.

‘Cup of tea?’ I tried.

Another shake of the head. So I made just one cup of tea—for me—and sat at the table beside him.

‘A couple of the Year 9s tried it on today,’ I told him.

He didn’t react. Not at all, not even a nod or a murmur. He just stayed very still, his eyes on the table, hands clasped tightly in front of him.

Perhaps he hadn’t heard, I thought, so I tried again. ‘Some of the Year 9s,’ I said, more loudly. ‘They tried it on.’

This time he lifted his head. ‘I’m finished,’ he said, his face pale, eyes ringed with shadows.

My fingers curled more tightly around my tea cup as my body turned cold. What did he mean? What was he trying to say? Was he ill? Was he dying?

‘Finished?’ I echoed.

‘They won’t let me back.’

My mind raced on, faster and faster. Because of an illness? What illness?

‘What do you mean?’ I asked, my voice very high. ‘What on earth do you mean?’

I would lose him, I thought, my heart in my mouth. I’d managed to find him and now I would lose him. How could I possibly bear it?

So when he said, ‘Ellen, I’ve been suspended,’ at first I relaxed.

Suspended. Not ill. Not dead.

‘Why?’ I managed to ask. ‘What happened?’

‘A complaint. From a student.’

What student?

He didn’t know; he hadn’t been told. Couldn’t be told. To protect the child, that was why. ‘In case I approach her,’ he said.

‘Her?’

‘It’s a girl. The one who made the complaint. At least, that’s what Philip implied.’

‘Philip?’ I heard myself echo.

‘Philip Malcolm.’

Yes. Of course. Philip Malcolm. Dr Philip Malcolm.

‘Oh,’ I said.

‘It’s been referred to the police,’ he added. Now he was crying, which shocked me as much as what he’d just told me. For Gordon was not one for crying—not then, at least—and this was the very first time I’d ever seen him in tears.

‘The police?’ I whispered.

He was sobbing now, quietly though, very quietly. Soon, I would also master this close to soundless weeping.

For now, though, a slow dread had begun to roll through me. ‘What sort of complaint?’ I asked him.

When he didn’t answer—when he couldn’t—the dread overcame me and I struggled to catch my breath. Straining for air, I started to rasp while my heart beat faster and faster, pushing and pushing in time with the throb, throb, throb of my blood until I feared it would burst through my ribs.

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.