Chapter 1

"Caroline?

"Yes, Beverly?" Caroline Elliott shifted her gaze from the report on her desk to the speakerphone located at the left top corner of her desk.

"Your luncheon with the first year teachers begins in fifteen minutes."

"Right. Just reviewing their CV's now. The Blackburn Dining Room, is it?"

"Every year." Beverly's voice held the traces of a wry smile.

"Cheeky, cheeky." Caroline tutted. "I'll be there on time, thank you."

Caroline adjusted the readers on her nose and resumed scanning the document, her mouth turned up in amusement. Truthfully, she'd be lost without Beverly and she appreciated the fact that their relationship was built on mutual respect for precision and punctuality. The fact that Beverly suffered no fools, even Caroline when the situation warranted, only increased the headteacher's appreciation. In fact, if Caroline were completely honest, she was a little afraid of Beverly.

Dr. Caroline Elliott believed in sound structure. It was what drew her to chemistry, with its balanced equations, isomerism and predictable spin characteristics. It was what drew her to education, with its tight curriculum, ordered days and competent faculty. The four CV's in front of her were an example of the ideal that Caroline sought for Sulgrave Heath. Advanced in their fields of study, these new instructors would hopefully contribute fresh life to the somewhat staid faculty Caroline had inherited three years ago when she arrived at the Independent School. Newly appointed as Headteacher she had been ready to inject a healthy dose of innovation to the curriculum while holding fast to tradition. It was a difficult balance, and lately Caroline found herself losing ground to the naysayers who hated change. She could use some help.

"Gavin Kent, Julia Harris, and Roger Edworthy: I hope you are up to the challenge." Caroline murmured as she closed the folder. Three of the four newcomers were fresh out of University. For their first year at Sulgrave Heath Caroline's biggest concern was the ability to separate a student's education from a student's life. Objectivity was one of the hardest challenges a first year teacher would face.

The fourth new faculty member, Kate McKenzie, had come as a highly recommended Language and Music Teacher from a post at Garforth Academy up Leeds way.

Caroline remembered the phone call with Nigel Hawkes, the Headteacher at Garforth. He had sounded almost crushed to be losing Kate's steady hand with the students.

Ms. McKenzie had shone throughout the interview process, with the exception of Frederick Bosdale, the seventy-three year old Latin instructor, who judged her to be 'unequivocally remiss in her approach to discipline'. Upon that sound assessment Caroline offered Kate the job without an ounce of apprehension. Truth be told, she looked forward to watching the inflexible Latin teacher struggle with the fresh approach to student involvement and self-evaluation that Kate so passionately supported.

Caroline placed the folder in the top right drawer of her desk, removed the readers, and stood, straightening her blouse before donning a tailored suit jacket.

Yes, she was glad that Ms. McKenzie had relocated to Harrogate. Caroline had sensed that the job at Sulgrave Heath had been a welcome opportunity to escape a town that perceived Kate as a central character in a tawdry story. Nigel wasted no time informing Caroline that Kate had gone through a very public divorce two years prior. Her husband was a local barrister and had made life uncomfortable for his ex-wife, flaunting a mistress before the ink had dried on the final decree dissolving their eight-year marriage.

Caroline turned from her desk and let her gaze linger on the courtyard just outside her window. She frowned. Nigel had been almost like a teenager in his need to spread gossip about Kate's humiliation and divorce.

It was human nature, she knew, but it certainly wasn't the most attractive thing about human nature. She suspected she was angry on Kate's behalf because of her own circumstance, but, nonetheless, she felt a certain kinship with the language specialist. It would be good to use Kate as a mentor for the new teachers, reporting to Caroline on a regular basis about their integration into the daily flow of Sulgrave Heath. This would also allow Caroline to assess how Kate was blending into the fabric of the school. Based on her previous performance and references, Caroline suspected Kate would be a strong candidate for Head of Department when the chair was vacated in two years' time.

Caroline sighed. If only life outside Sulgrave Heath were so black and white. But John and his Judith brought a lot of grey and red. Between the questions from her sons, recriminations of her mum and her own uncertainty regarding the future, Caroline was feeling squeezed from all directions. As Headteacher she couldn't afford to let it show, and that was the hardest pressure of all. The dissonance of the professional woman who left no question unanswered versus the betrayed wife who feared the answer that would forever change the future created a tension that grew into a headache almost every-day.

She rolled her shoulders to release some of the stress. "Right then, time to welcome the new recruits."

..

Kate glanced at the clock and shook her head in irritation. "Bloody meetings," she muttered. "Doesn't matter the school, there are too many hours spent sat in meetings and not enough time spared for preparation." With a quiet sigh, she turned away from lesson planning and reached for her cardigan.

It was vexing, this order to make an appearance at a first year's luncheon. While, technically, this was her first year at Sulgrave Heath, she was a twelfth year teacher with more than a few honours bestowed. Headteacher Elliott and Mr. Vance, the Head of Department, had seemed comfortable enough with Kate's referrals and work history, to grant her A-Levels responsibility for French. They'd also agreed to a heady degree of freedom developing a junior competition choir as she saw fit. So when she'd received the invitation to the luncheon, written in Caroline's precise penmanship, she'd been surprised and a little intimidated. Was she found lacking in some way that troubled her new administration? Or, worse, had she misjudged the professional environment at Sulgrave Heath?

When she'd decided to leave Garforth, she'd looked for schools with charters that reflected her own philosophy of education: namely, rigorous curricula in a consistent but warm environment. Dr. Elliott's bearing all but screamed stability and strength and, while she was most definitely regal in carriage, Kate had sworn she detected a twinkle of amusement during the interview when Kate's opinion had differed from the Headteacher's views. Her blue eyes made it hard to look elsewhere.

Suddenly, Kate was second-guessing every nuance of the interview. She was certain that the Latin teacher had blacklisted her, but she'd thought she and Dr. Elliott had gotten on well. Now she was unsure, and beginning to feel off centre. It was a feeling she'd come to know all too well these past three years.

She had nearly come undone after the last miscarriage- would have, had it not been for Helen. Helen, the midwife who sat with her while she sobbed, held her as she grieved, and kissed her until she began to feel again. Helen, who had broken her heart just as it had begun to mend.

She stood and slipped the cardigan over her shoulders, buttoning the top two buttons before rubbing her arms vigorously. "Bloody cold room," she told herself. She would not indulge in self-pity, so this sudden chill had nothing to do with the life she'd left behind. Absolutely nothing.

"May I walk with you?" A shy voice stirred Kate from her musings and she turned to the door, a smile replacing the furrowed brow.

"Julia! How good to see you! Doing all right with your planning? And yes, I'd be glad for the company. I was just about to head out."

Julia's face registered such an expression of relief that Kate nearly laughed out loud. As she pulled the classroom door shut, she asked, "Looking forward to beginning of term?"

"To be honest, I feel overwhelmed." Julia admitted. "It's all so much more than I bargained for. The department meetings, the pre-term parent conferences, the guidance assessments. And now lunch with Dr. Elliott! I'm just ready to get on with it, and move past the bloody anticipation!" She suddenly twisted her hands together and blurted, "What if I'm rubbish at it?"

Kate tilted her head as if considering the question. "Mmm. Now there's a pretty pickle. Your students scarred for life, and you sacked before the end of the first month, I'd imagine."

Julia stared at her in disbelief. "Why would you say such a horrid thing?"

Kate gently tapped the younger woman's shoulder, "Exactly. Listen, you teach Chemistry, right?"

Julia nodded.

"Dr. Elliott's chosen field of study?"

"Yes."

"Does she strike you as the sort of woman to hire an idiot, especially in her own field?"

"No. But having a firm grasp on my subject doesn't mean I will be a good teacher!" Julia despaired.

"No," Kate agreed. "But you wouldn't be here unless people, and very smart people at that, believed in you for good reason." She stopped and turned to the flustered woman. "Listen, I remember feeling similar my own first year. It is terrifying thinking about all the what-ifs and should-dos and could-have-beens before term even starts. And then, to imagine yourself completely alone, shut in a room with twenty pupils circling like hungry lions and you, fresh and plump from a full service buffet."

Julia nodded wordlessly.

Kate stifled a smile and went on. "It's then that you must believe in yourself; your intelligence, your instincts, your compassion. You must realise that you are not alone. Trust that you can ask for help and it won't be considered weakness, Julia. You don't have to go through this all on your own. None of us who've stuck around for the duration did it all on our own."

She tucked her hand under Julia's elbow and steered her down the hall. "Now, we mustn't keep Dr. Elliott waiting."

"Ms. Mckenzie?"

"Kate."

"Kate…thank you."

"No worries. One last thing, Julia. It's very important." Kate paused for heightened effect.

"Yes?"

"You must never, ever show fear. Students feed on fear."

Kate chuckled at Julia's panicked expression. After a moment the younger woman laughed ruefully. "I'm a mess."

"Admitting it is the first step. You'll do just fine, love. Now, hurry along." She tugged on Julia's elbow as they turned the final corner, both giggling like schoolgirls.

Kate looked up just in time to see Caroline pause before entering the dining room. For a brief moment their eyes met and Kate could swear she saw a nod of approval.