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‘If there’s one thing I don’t need this morning, it’s an encounter with my old headmistress.’ And Flora’s aunt.
‘I don’t see why. Nothing I said ever worried you when you were young,’ Ann said crisply, closing the door behind her and making her way to the chair. ‘And I don’t suppose that’s changed just because you’ve grown up. And, anyway, it seems that no lecture is needed. You’ve made quite an impression since you returned to Glenmore, Conner.’
‘Bad, I’m sure.’
‘You know that isn’t true.’ She looked at him steadily. ‘Evidently you’re a reformed character. I’ve come to find out if you’re as good a doctor as they say you are.’
Conner sighed. ‘Is this like classroom testing?’
‘You flew through every exam you ever bothered to take, Conner MacNeil. But while we’re on that subject, there’s something I want to say, so I may as well get it out of the way before we start.’ Ann took a deep breath. ‘We didn’t help you enough. I didn’t help you. That’s been on my conscience for many years.’
Conner’s eyes narrowed. ‘I sense that this conversation is about to make both of us extremely uncomfortable so why don’t we just skip straight to the part where you tell me your symptoms?’
‘In a minute.’ Her voice was quiet and Ann shook her head slowly, a hint of sadness in her eyes. ‘You were the brightest, most able boy that ever passed through my school, Conner MacNeil.’
‘And we both know I passed through it as quickly as I could,’ Conner drawled lightly. ‘I made a point of not resting my backside on the chair long enough to get bored.’
‘You had a brilliant brain, but you were so disruptive and angry that it took me a long time to see it. Too long. By the time I realised the extent of your abilities it was too late to harness them because you were almost totally wild. You were off the rails, fighting everyone. No one could get through to you. Not the teaching staff. Not your father.’ She paused and took a deep breath. ‘We didn’t know how bad things were for you at home. You covered it up so well. We thought your father was the one struggling with you, not the other way round.’
‘I certainly didn’t make his life a picnic.’
‘He let you down. We all let you down.’
Conner kept his expression neutral. ‘This is history and you know I hated history. Science was my subject. I never saw the point of lingering in the past.’
‘There’s a point when the past is affecting the future.’
‘It isn’t.’
‘Isn’t it? Are you married, Conner MacNeil? Are you living with some warm, kind, stable woman who is carrying your child?’
Conner sat for a moment, eye to eye with his old headmistress. ‘My marital status has nothing to do with my father.’
‘Of course it does. Are you pretending that it didn’t affect you? Your wild behaviour was a reaction to everything that was happening at home, I see that now.’ She shook her head again. ‘I’ve been teaching for thirty-one years and you were the only child who passed through the doors of my school that I just couldn’t cope with. The island couldn’t cope with you. We all let you down and for that we owe you an apology.’
‘I don’t suppose the people whose property I destroyed would agree with you.
‘You certainly left your mark on the place. And you’re still leaving it, although this time the damage is more subtle.’ Ann straightened her shoulders. ‘My niece is in love with you. I suppose you know that?’
Conner swore softly and Ann’s mouth tightened.
‘Behave yourself! Just because you’re a grown man, it doesn’t mean that I’m prepared to accept that sort of language.’
‘What are you going to do? Put me in detention?’ Conner gave a short laugh. ‘Did she tell you that?’
‘No. In fact, I doubt she even knows herself. But I’ve heard the way she talks about you. Her eyes sparkle and every story that falls from her lips involves something you’ve done. Every other word she speaks is your name. So what are you going to do about it, Conner?’
Conner rubbed his fingers over his forehead. ‘I expect I’ll walk out and leave her crying. That’s what I usually do.’
‘Perhaps.’ Ann’s tone was calm. ‘Or perhaps you’ll see sense and realise that a warm, soft, kind woman like Flora is just what you need.’
‘It doesn’t matter what I need. I do know that whatever she needs, it isn’t me.’
Ann smiled. ‘So you’ve learned to think about someone other than yourself. That’s good, Conner. And don’t underestimate Flora. She’s shy, not weak. There’s more to her than meets the eye.’
Conner’s hand dropped. ‘So I’ve discovered.’ He thought of Flora half-naked in the sea. Flora turning up at his barn wearing only underwear under her coat. Flora riding him lightly, her brown curls tumbling over her shoulders.
Ann was giving him the look she reserved for very naughty students. ‘I just thought someone should tell you that you don’t have to live up to your reputation. From what I’ve seen, Bad Conner has a good side. Why not develop it?’
