Page 47 of New Beginnings At Pencarrow Bay
It appeared that Lindy had been waiting for her, because as Peggy crossed the terrace towards the front door, she sprang out, an anxious frown on her face. ‘Peggy,’ she said, with what sounded oddly like relief. ‘Good. I wanted to catch you before you came into the house– I don’t need Ada hearing this.’ She tugged Peggy’s arm, guiding her towards the stone bench, situated under the huge palm tree in the far corner of the terrace garden, away from theroad and the house. The crowds were still milling up and down, but this was a sheltered, private spot, and out of the quite strong south-westerly that had begun to blow in from the Atlantic.
This must be about Felix, Peggy thought, heart sinking.
Once they were seated, Lindy turned sideways so she was facing Peggy and pulled her phone out of her pocket. ‘You need to see this,’ she said, turning the screen to Peggy and handing her the device.
Peggy peered, against the sun, at the email. Her breath caught in her throat.
The email was from: [email protected]
The subject line read: Peggy Gilbert
To Mrs McDonald,
I hate to spread unpleasantness, but I have heard you are employing Ms Gilbert, and I feel I should warn you about her. She left Great Ormond Street Hospital, where she was an English teacher, under a cloud.
There were serious allegations made against her, by more than one child, of bullying.
The hospital did not want any form of scandal sullying their spotless reputation– they have always depended on charitable support and the goodwill of donors– so they covered it up.
I would suggest you call her boss, head teacher Christine Prendergast, to confirm. But she has now left the hospital school and I’m afraid you will come up against a brick wall with those in charge.
I’m sorry to be the bearer of such grim news.
Sincerely,
A well-wisher
Peggy closed her eyes and took a long breath, trying to still her heartbeat. When she opened them, Lindy was staring at her. ‘I’m sure it’s not true,’ she said. Her tone was curious, her intense blue eyes boring into Peggy.
‘No,’ Peggy replied. ‘No, it’s absolutely not, Lindy. But Sienna Rybicki got virtually the same email last week. Because she’s thinking of employing me at her forest school in the autumn.’
‘Right,’ said Lindy, slowly. ‘So who is this person? Why are they spreading such lies?’
‘Your guess is as good as mine. Sienna’s put her tech guy on to it, but no luck so far… How did they even know I was tutoring Ada?’
Lindy thought for a moment. ‘I mean, I’ve told lots of people about you. Ada’s really benefited from your brilliant teaching. But this sounds like someone from your hospital past, no?’
Peggy barely heard the compliment. She felt weary and tearful. This was not a one-off, as Ted had suggested and she had hoped.Who else is going to get one of these vile missives?Even if Sienna and Lindy professed not to believe it, word would surely get out and people would begin to wonder.Theymight begin to wonder.
‘I haven’t a clue who it is. I’ve racked my brains till I feel I’m going insane, but I’ve come up with zilch. I genuinely don’t know what to do,’ she said miserably. ‘I can send you a copy of the letter my boss wrote when I retired. It’s notthe sort of letter a head teacher would write to someone who’d been accused of bullying.’
Lindy frowned. ‘No need for that, Peggy. I absolutely believe you.’
Surprised and touched, Peggy exclaimed, ‘You do?’ She felt immediately guilty for questioning whether Lindy’s accusations against Felix were true.
‘Of course. Ada would have said if there was a problem. I trust you.’ She patted Peggy’s knee. ‘But this is very serious, dear. A reputation is everything in your line of work. I hope Sienna’s person finds something soon.’
Peggy nodded wearily. She had a strong urge to get away, go home, bury her head, stop talking about the problem. She was in no mood to teach Ada, although she knew she would– she didn’t want to let the child down.
‘Listen, I’d offer you a cup of tea… you look very pale. But I’m sure you’d rather get off home and talk to Ted. Let’s skip the lesson today.’ Her smile was so understanding, Peggy couldn’t prevent a tear from running down her cheek.
‘Thank you. You’re being very generous.’ She wiped her cheek and swallowed hard. ‘I’m just terrified the village will get to know and start whispering.’
‘Trust me, I know exactly what that’s like.’ Lindy spoke with feeling, but didn’t elaborate.
‘How are things?’ Peggy asked, reaching out briefly to touch her hand. It felt awkward, being with Lindy today, after the conversation with Liam earlier. But she couldn’t help feeling sympathy forher plight– whether that entailed Felix actually bullying her, or her believing, in some sort of deluded state, that he was. She found herself eyeing her friend closely, watching for something odd in hermanner– something that would relate to what Felix had told Liam. But she had to admit she found nothing.
Lindy’s eyebrows rose, her shoulders shrugged. ‘Not so good, I’m afraid. But all that’s for another time, my dear.’
