‘So he’d travel over from the island? Or do you have a home nearby?’
He looked towards the window. ‘I have a place not far from here. I prefer the island but the city will be more practical during term time.’
‘I suppose this will mean a lot of changes to your life.’
He took a drink from his beer, holding her gaze over the rim. ‘Yes.’
‘So you’re usually based on the island?’
‘I consider it my home, but I spend a lot of time travelling.’
‘Will you be able to curtail that now?’
‘As much as possible.’ He dipped his head forward. ‘At least until he’s settled into school and his new life.’
Her heart panged in her chest, his consideration not completely unexpected, yet it did surprise her. He obviously read that on her expression because his smile was almost self-mocking.
‘You thought I would just carry on as I had before?’
‘I hoped not,’ she offered in response, running her fingers down the stem of her glass. ‘He’s a very special child and, after what he’s been through, I’d love to think you could make him happy again.’
‘Me too.’
‘The thing is.’ She shook her head, surprised by the admission she’d been about to make.
‘The thing is?’ he prompted when she didn’t finish her sentence.
She sipped her drink and searched for the right words. ‘He can be quite anxious; nervous. I think that’s one of the reasons I’ve always felt protective of him.’ She tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. ‘As a little boy, when he first came to Elesmore, he and I were in our first year together and I think we had the same first-day nerves.’ Her smile was laced with nostalgia.
‘Why did you decide to become a teacher?’
She sighed a little. ‘Do you think it’s strange?’
‘Unusual,’ he clarified, his grasp on the nuances of English flawless despite the fact it was a second language.
‘I suppose it is. I could have done anything, and I did. I loved my work with the space agency, but it’s teaching that I enjoy most.’ She considered how to best explain that. ‘I was given a lot of opportunities because of my IQ, but there’s something valuable about helping everyone reach their potential, even kids who have to struggle to learn to read and get their heads around early maths.’
‘And this is also why you chose a local comprehensive?’
‘Instead of some kind of toffee-nosed public school? Is that the kind of place you went to?’ she queried.
He tilted his head in silent confirmation. ‘I went to the same school as my father, and his father and his father, went to.’
She smiled. ‘Of course you did. Sometimes I forget you’re part of some kind of dynasty.’
His smile quirked.
‘I was drawn to a comprehensive, yes. I’m not so sure financial status should have any place in education.’
He sipped his beer, his eyes holding hers over the glass.
‘Additionally, I felt that a public school would be more interested in promoting me to their parent body—the fact they had someone with my academic background on faculty would have become a selling point. Elesmore knew that anonymity was one of my requirements for accepting the job.’
‘So none of the parents know about your previous life?’
‘I prefer it that way. It’s been my experience that, once people learn about that one fact of who I am, it becomes all they can see in me. I don’t particularly like that.’
‘You’re more than your IQ?’ He said it in a way that was teasing, so she smiled—an unusual response when she was discussing the pain and isolation that had resulted from her genius.