Page 8 of The Sapphire Child
‘You’re worrying about Andy, aren’t you?’ Stella finally asked.
Esmie looked at Stella with a sad but knowing expression on her face.
‘MrLomax told me how you’ve taken him away from Nicholson’s. Was he very unhappy there?’
‘Is that what Tom said?’
‘No, he didn’t give a reason, but I just assumed...’
Esmie stopped and looked around to make sure they were alone. ‘I want to be honest with you, Stella. You’re like one of the family and you’re close to Andy. It wasn’t really our decision to take Andy away from Nicholson’s; we did it before he was expelled.’
‘Expelled?’ Stella gasped. ‘Whatever for?’
‘He attacked another boy – the boy had been saying cruel things about Tom – but that was no excuse for what Andy did. George Gotley has a broken cheekbone and his father was threatening to go to the police.’
Stella was indignant. ‘Andy would never start a fight. That boy must have said or done something really bad.’
‘It was silly gossip about Tom’s time in the army, which George must have got from his pompous father, Major Gotley.’
‘If George provoked Andy then they should both be punished equally. Is the Gotley boy being sent home too?’
Esmie shook her head.
‘Tom’s made up his mind that Andy shouldn’t go back there. If the headmaster won’t deal with bullies – or bullying fathers – then he’d rather he went elsewhere.’
‘Has he another school in mind?’
‘Not really. Andy would like to go to Biscoe’s in Srinagar.’
‘That would be nice,’ Stella said in approval, ‘and he’d be closer to home.’
‘Yes, I’d like that too. It’s just...’ Esmie’s brow furrowed.
‘Tell me,’ said Stella.
Esmie sighed. ‘I worry about his mother’s reaction when she gets to hear of Andy’s removal. Lydia will have to be told before the gossip reaches her.’
‘But she’ll want the best for Andy, won’t she?’
‘Oh, Stella, I don’t know,’ Esmie fretted. ‘It might be just the excuse she’s looking for to insist that Andy goes back to Scotland to be educated.’
‘To Scotland?’ Stella was dismayed. ‘But Andy wouldn’t want that, would he?’
‘I don’t think so,’ said Esmie, ‘but I suppose we’ve never given him the choice. Tom’s always resisted it, even when Lydia promised—’ She stopped abruptly. ‘Anyway, Tom would hate it if Andy went so far away. And Lydia’s never really shown much interest in her son, so I’d worry for him.’
Stella still remembered the forceful Lydia, though she hadn’t seen her since childhood when Lydia had returned to Scotland when her marriage to Tom broke down. To Stella she had seemed as beautiful as a princess with her pale gold hair and her large blueeyes. But she also remembered her changeable moods: one moment spoiling her with presents and the next shouting rudely at Stella’s parents. While she had enjoyed being fussed over, Stella had never quite trusted Lydia, who had always seemed to cause upset and tension among the grown-ups.
She remembered the relief among the residents when Lydia left, but also her mother’s disgust at her sending baby Andrew back to India for Tom to bring up.‘Imagine giving up your son like that? That woman has a heart of stone.’
Esmie, on the other hand, could not have been a more caring mother to Andy.
Stella touched her arm in reassurance. ‘I’m sure there’s no need to worry. Andy has a mind of his own – his mother can’t force him back to Scotland against his will.’
As they turned back towards the hotel, Esmie was still pensive. ‘I can’t help feeling that there’s something else upsetting Andy.’
‘Such as?’
‘I’m not sure – it’s just an instinct.’ Esmie looked uncomfortable. ‘He’s been a bit distant with me since this happened.’
