His name, we know, is Harrington. It happens to be the name of a boy I once disliked very strongly: not the new man’s fault, of course, nor is it such an uncommon name, but I can’t help wishing that his name had been Smith or Robinson. We know little else about him, except that he is a guru of sorts, having already saved two failing schools in Oldham and in Milton Keynes; is a prominent member of Survivors, a charitable organization dealing with child abuse; and has an MBE from the Queen. We also know, thanks to Jimmy Watt, that he is young, good-looking, well dressed, and drives a silver BMW (a fact that already ensures him Jimmy’s wholehearted support and admiration).

“That’s what St. Oswald’s needs,” says Bob Strange. “A new broom, to sweep away the cobwebs.”

Well, I, for one, liked the cobwebs. I suspect that to Strange I am one myself. But our Bob has hopes of promotion. At forty-six he is no longer a Young Gun, and his flair for technology, which might have been unusual twenty years ago, is now the norm for the new generation. Failing the Headship, he covets the post of Second Master—and with reason; he’s been doing Pat Bishop’s job since Christmas. Of course, a post at St. Oswald’s is always more than the sum of its parts, and the things that made Bishop a success—his heart, his humanity, his genuine affection for the boys and for the School—had nothing to do with his job description. Strange has never quite grasped this, and the rest of us have long since given up hope that he might emerge from his cocoon of paperwork as a flamboyant Second Master. On the other hand, it could be that the new man will need inside help; someone to show him the ropes, perhaps, and to give him the dirt on his pirate crew.

Strange most certainly fits the bill. His glaucous eyes see everything: who is late for lessons; who has trouble with the boys; who steals the Common Room copy of the Daily Mail to read in his form room during Prep. He keeps to his office most of the time, and yet his ears are always open. He has his spies among the staff (some even suspect him of using hidden cameras), and as a result he is respected and feared, though seldom actually liked. He runs the timetable, and those unfortunate enough to be out of favor get more than their fair share of Friday-­afternoon cover and lower third-form sets. A sneak, in short. A management stooge.