‘No, she and Liam can manage fine on their own. Miles was over there today, checking up on them, and apparently they haven’t trashed the house yet,’ Sarah said before asking a question of her own. ‘Why do you ask?’
‘I think there’s something I need to tell you.’
Scarlett
I know it doesn’t always seem like it, but I do love Mum. It’s just not as simple as it used to be when I was little and all she had to do was give me a hug and everything would be all right. And that’s all I was after I suppose, but when I told her I was pregnant, she went mad and started pointing the finger at everyone. Couldn’t she see how scared I was? I really would have told her everything, and I mean everything, but it wasn’t just my secret to share, was it?
He wasn’t exactly happy about it when he found out either, and even though he kept saying it was my choice, it was so obvious he wanted me to get rid of it. ‘Oh, it’s your body, Scarlett,’ he’d said and then, in the next breath, ‘It would be such a shame if you never got to live your dreams first.’
I’d told him I needed time to think about it. I didn’t want him getting the idea he could manipulate me and, if I’m honest, I wanted him to squirm for a bit, but, bloody hell, I didn’t realize how far Mum would go. It was horrible when she accused Bryn and I was so glad to get out of the house. I thought I’d be safe at school, but apparently not. I was in double English when she turned up.
Mr Swift was making us all sit in silence to read our revision notes, but we got restless and Linus started up some banter, except Mr Swift wasn’t in the mood and sent him straight to the Cooler, and Mr Swift never sends anyone to the Cooler. So we all stayed quiet after that and the tension was unbearable. And I thought things were tense at home! I so jumped when someone prodded me in the back, and when I looked over my shoulder, Eva used her eyes to get me to look out of the window. We had a good view of the car park and I spotted Mum’s car straight away because she hadn’t parked in a space and was blocking everyone in – not a good sign.
It was like a slow-motion film as I turned back to the front and just stared at Mr Swift, who was flicking through essay papers. There was the rustle of paper and the odd sigh, and this tapping noise from a pen nib being struck against the hard surface of a desk, muffled slightly by the piece of paper caught in between. The pen left tiny black-ink wounds on my revision sheet.
Mr Swift looked up. ‘Scarlett, be quiet,’ he hissed.
I was prepared to hold his gaze but he was already picking up his phone. I watched him frown and then his face went grey and I mean, literally grey. I don’t know why, maybe I’ve got some psychic ability or something, but I felt sick with dread. I carried on watching him, but he never looked back up again, not until Mrs Marshall, the school secretary, marched straight into the room without knocking. She had twenty-four faces to choose from, twenty-five including Mr Swift, but it was me she looked at first. Shit, I thought.
Mr Swift stood up and she whispered something in his ear. She kept her mouth covered, so we couldn’t work out what she was saying, but I had a sinking feeling I didn’t need to. Mr Swift’s grey face turned bright pink in like the space of a few seconds. Everyone was whispering by now and I felt another prod in my back, but I ignored Eva this time and kept my eyes to the front.
Mrs Marshall finished whatever she had come to say and Mr Swift took a couple of steps towards the door, but he sort of stumbled to a stop. He turned back to look at his briefcase, which was next to his desk. Mrs Marshall picked it up and handed it to him and when he took it, his hand was trembling. It was just awful and I was getting so, so scared.
The school secretary put a hand on his arm and this time I could read her lips. ‘We’ll get this sorted,’ she said. When she realised that Mr Swift wasn’t going to say anything to the class, she turned to us and added, ‘Mr Swift has been called away, but Mr Caldwell will be here in two minutes and we expect you to sit quietly in the meantime.’
Rob didn’t look up as he stepped towards the door again. Other than me, and maybe Eva, no one was interested in what was going on any more – it doesn’t take long for a group of Year 11s to get bored. When he did turn to the class, he ignored everyone else and stared straight at me. I knew what was happening, I just didn’t want to believe it. Mum wasn’t going to stop accusing people until one of them confessed.
I wanted to rush over and tell Mr Swift I was sorry, but he gave me such a look it turned my blood cold. I knew what he was thinking, even though he didn’t say a word.
This is all your fault, Scarlett.
I suppose he had a point.
21
The Accusations
When Nina arrived in the main office, Mrs Marshall was sitting behind her desk keeping guard over two closed doors facing opposite each other; one was the Head of School’s office, the other her deputy’s.
‘Is Mrs Anwar in?’ Nina asked.
‘Well, yes, but she’s in a meeting. Did you want to make an appointment, Mrs—’
‘Thomas. I’m Scarlett Carrington’s mum.’
‘Ah yes, of course. She is rather busy today, perhaps I could put something in the diary for later this week?’
Nina took a step nearer the office on the left where only a few months earlier she had thanked Scarlett’s English teacher for taking extra-special care of her daughter. ‘No, I need to see her now,’ she said, not knowing when her courage would fail.
She had almost lost her nerve when she saw Vikki in the car park and she didn’t know how she had managed to look her in the eye, knowing she could be about to destroy her husband’s reputation and Vikki’s life along with it. When Mrs Marshall pulled a face as she looked at her computer screen, Nina surmised there was a polite refusal on its way. She reached Mrs Anwar’s door before the secretary had a chance to react.
‘Please, you can’t just—’ Mrs Marshall began, but Nina was already stepping inside.
The room was bright and airy, despite the piles of books and papers crammed into every available space. The furniture was modern with a desk close to the window and a generously sized conference table that took up half the office and was currently occupied by half a dozen members of staff. All faces turned to the uninvited guest, but it was the woman with almond eyes and a warm glow to her complexion that invited Nina’s attention. If the head were annoyed or offended by the interruption, she wasn’t letting it show.
‘I need to speak to you about Scarlett.’
‘I see, perhaps—’
‘She’s pregnant.’
‘Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,’ Mrs Anwar said, shaking her head, ‘and surprised too, if I’m honest.’
Mrs Anwar looked about to say something else, but Nina ploughed on, ignoring the curious looks being cast around the table. ‘That’s not why I’m here,’ she said, as if her first piece of news hadn’t been earth-shattering in itself. ‘Scarlett’s refusing to say who the father is and I think your Mr Swift might be able to fill in some of the gaps.’
Everyone sat up in their seats with the exception of Mrs Anwar, who rose to her feet. ‘As you can see, I’m busy now, but if you like, I can speak to Mr Swift afterwards.’
‘No, I’d rather talk to him myself.’
‘All right, if you think it will help,’ she agreed. ‘I’ll send a message for him to come over during morning break and we can sit down together. In the meantime, I’ll finish my meeting as quickly as I can. If you wouldn’t mind waiting outside, I think I can wrap things up here in fifteen minutes.’ She looked to her colleagues and received nods of agreement.
‘I don’t think you appreciate how serious this is,’ Nina insisted. ‘My daughter is fifteen years old and if the school isn’t willing to cooperate then I’m going straight to the police.’
Mrs Anwar’s body stiffened.
‘Please, I need answers.’
The young woman who had been sitting next to Mrs Anwar picked up the papers in front of her. ‘If I might suggest, we only have a couple of items
left on the agenda and I think we can manage without you, Nadia. We’ll decamp to the staff room.’
‘Thank you, Jane, that’s good of you.’
‘Shall I fetch Mr Swift?’
Nina turned to find the school secretary standing behind her. She had been there for some time.
‘Yes, please, Pam.’
When the room had emptied, Mrs Anwar motioned Nina to a chair opposite and poured her a glass of water, which Nina took gratefully with shaking hands.
‘Perhaps while we wait for Mr Swift, you could tell me how you think the school might be able to help.’
‘Not the school. Mr Swift,’ Nina said, but stopped herself from saying more. She had been too quick with her accusations so far, she needed to take her time. At the very least, she wanted Rob Swift in the room before she made another accusation. ‘All I know is that Scarlett is pregnant to a married, and therefore much older man. There are only a limited number of men she has contact with who fall into that category, and I think she has confided in her form teacher.’
Mrs Anwar remained outwardly calm but her left eye twitched. ‘Mrs Thomas, we have a very strict policy about safeguarding our pupils and there are procedures to follow which protect not only the student but, to some extent, our teachers too. If Mr Swift had been aware of any issues, he would have had a duty to act on them.’
‘He knows something, and I won’t leave without answers.’
‘Perhaps the solution to this is rather obvious. We need Scarlett to explain herself.’
Nina shook her head. ‘You really don’t know my daughter, do you? She won’t say who it is – and believe me, I’ve tried. She’ll protect him at the cost of everything and everyone else. She wouldn’t even name him when … When …’
Mrs Anwar stood briefly to fetch a box of tissues from her desk and waited for Nina to compose herself. ‘This is obviously a testing time for you, Mrs Thomas, but I promise you the school will do all it can. We have specially trained staff and, of course, I’ll do my best to support you and Scarlett.’
‘And I suppose Mr Swift will be happy to help too,’ Nina added.
There was a twitch of the eye again as Mrs Anwar said, ‘What exactly do you think Mr Swift will be able to tell you?’
Nina’s breath caught at the back of her throat. From the other side of the door, she could hear movement. She was about to come face to face with the man who had ripped the heart out of her family. ‘That he’s been sleeping with my daughter.’
The door opened and Mr Swift came into the room, closely followed by Mrs Marshall, who asked, ‘Shall I organize some tea?’
Nina and Mrs Anwar were both too stunned to speak and simply shook their heads.
‘None for me, thanks,’ Mr Swift said with a confident smile. He approached the table and put his hand on the back of a chair. ‘Shall I take a seat?’
‘Actually, I’m not sure you should,’ Mrs Anwar said, pausing until Mrs Marshall had left the room and closed the door behind her. ‘Mrs Thomas has made a serious allegation and I don’t think we can carry on with this meeting, or at least not all together, not until I know the facts.’
Mr Swift straightened up, but didn’t look immediately concerned. ‘What kind of allegation?’
‘Did you know Scarlett is pregnant?’ Mrs Anwar asked.
Rob pursed his lips and bowed his head as if the news were a burden he shared with the family. ‘Yes, Vikki told me she’d spotted her at an antenatal clinic, and it was confirmed later by Sarah Tavistock, who is a mutual friend. It’s such a shame. She had— she has so much potential.’
Nina scrutinized her daughter’s teacher with new eyes as she tried to hold on to the courage of her convictions. He carried a calm and compassionate presence, or was he simply cool and calculating? It had been a joke to think how many of his students had a crush on him, but what if those feelings had been reciprocated? Bryn, by contrast, was not the obvious candidate for a schoolgirl’s infatuation. Not only was he that bit older, but he didn’t have Rob Swift’s natural ease or sophistication. Bryn was genuine and honest, how else could he have persuaded her children to love and trust him, almost as quickly as he had persuaded her?
She wished she could be sure which of the two men she had accused this morning had stolen her daughter’s heart and her innocence – or was it someone else entirely? Charlotte Tavistock didn’t think so, and despite Mr Swift’s sympathetic expression, neither did she.
‘Mrs Thomas is understandably upset, not least because Scarlett won’t say who the father is,’ Mrs Anwar continued carefully.
Rob looked surprised and pulled a face. ‘Does Scarlett need to name him? It’s no secret that she’s been dating Linus Vincent.’
When Nina spoke there was iron in her voice. She wasn’t going to be taken in by his charm like some teenage girl. ‘She says she’s never slept with him.’
Rob gave her a look as if to say, And you actually believe that? Nina wanted to slap him.
‘What Scarlett has said is that the man is married and he’s promising to look after her,’ Nina continued. She held his gaze and neither of them blinked when she added, ‘And I think that man is you.’
‘And this is where the meeting ends,’ Mrs Anwar said, looking directly at Nina. ‘I’ll speak to our Safeguarding Officer and instigate a formal investigation. We’ll need to take statements from everyone before deciding what to do next.’
‘No, let’s do this now,’ Rob said.
Nina tore her eyes away from the head to watch as Rob took a seat. He rested his elbows on the table as he leant towards Mrs Anwar and said, ‘You and I both know, Nadia, that an investigation will take for ever. Mrs Thomas wants answers now and I’m more than happy to cooperate as much as I can, if it will put her mind at rest.’
With her eye still twitching, Mrs Anwar said, ‘If you’re sure, Rob, but I warn you both: if we can’t resolve this with an informal chat, I’m going to have to step things up.’
Nina, having no desire for chat, demanded, ‘Did you sleep with my daughter?’
‘No, Mrs Thomas,’ Rob said. ‘I get on well with Scarlett, as I do with many of my students, but, apart from anything else, I’m a happily married man with a beautiful wife who’s expecting our second child.’
Nina’s thoughts turned again to Vikki standing in the car park. What was this going to do to her? She was little more than a child and the last thing Nina wanted was to put her through the kind of ordeal she herself had experienced that morning. Unfortunately, Vikki’s innocence didn’t absolve Rob of his misdeeds. She had come this far. ‘Charlotte Tavistock saw the way you kept looking at each other at the New Year’s Eve party,’ she began, ‘and she remembers what it was like to be one of your students. I’m sure you remember that too.’
Rob stared at Nina without answering and it was Mrs Anwar who broke the tension building between the two adversaries. ‘I think it best if I lead the questions from here, Mrs Thomas,’ she said. ‘Now, Rob, I’d like to say from the outset that I have the deepest respect for you as a teacher, but sometimes even the best of us make errors of judgement. You’re an honourable man and I hope you would admit to any indiscretions and face the consequences rather than put innocent people like Mrs Thomas through further anguish. Is there, or has there ever been a relationship between you and Scarlett Carrington?’
‘No.’
‘And nothing that might have been misconstrued?’
‘She’s pregnant, for God’s sake,’ Nina cried. ‘It’s not like he might have accidentally impregnated her.’
‘No to that as well,’ Rob said.
Nina caught the beginnings of a smile on Rob’s face. He had remained relaxed throughout. The bastard thought he was going to get away with it. She wished Sarah had been there to at least even out the numbers, but with a heavy heart Nina couldn’t be sure which side of the table her friend would be on. She wondered if Charlotte had spoken to her mum yet.
‘What about the extra lessons?’ she asked, feed
ing Mrs Anwar the questions she wasn’t supposed to be asking herself. ‘She was determined to prove to him how well she could do.’
‘That in itself doesn’t constitute an inappropriate relationship, simply a positive one,’ Mrs Anwar said. ‘And if it gives you any reassurance, my staff work within specific parameters when it comes to building relationships with students, which, as I said, are there to protect them as much as the student.’
‘I can’t imagine anyone who would abuse a fifteen-year-old child being interested in working within specific parameters, do you?’ Nina asked. When Mrs Anwar didn’t answer quickly enough, Nina turned to the man who had barely taken part in his so-called interrogation. ‘You have a history of being too friendly with your students, don’t you? It’s an open secret that you became involved with Vikki while she was still at school.’
‘Malicious gossip does not equate to fact,’ he said. ‘And I can assure you, as I’ve assured Mrs Anwar in the past, my involvement with my wife did not begin until after she had left school.’
Turning to Mrs Anwar, Nina asked, ‘And you simply took his word for it? Did you not consider he might be a potential danger to other young girls?’
Mrs Anwar’s features gave no indication of unease or doubt in her fellow teacher. ‘I can assure you I would never put any of my students in danger. And if you don’t mind me saying so, Mrs Thomas, there really is very little evidence you’re presenting that would make me doubt one of my most valued members of staff. Mr Swift is an excellent teacher and yes, I do trust his word. He knows the rules and he abides by them.’
Rob licked his upper lip where beads of sweat had appeared. ‘Actually, I may as well say now, I might have worked around the rules a bit,’ he said, ‘but Scarlett was failing and I wanted to help, and I did help. My interventions got her back on track, didn’t they?’
‘What exactly do you mean, “work around them”?’ Mrs Anwar asked sharply.
Rob did his best to look suitably embarrassed, as if he were about to confess a good deed. ‘Scarlett was eager to catch up and wanted to continue the extra lessons over the autumn break. We met a couple of times at the library, that’s all.’
The Affair Page 18
