Chapters (52)
- Cover
- Margaret Dickinson
- Dedication page
- Contents
- Part One
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Part Two
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Sow the Seed
- Note
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- Copyright page
Meals were purgatory. Under Miss Denham’s glare Kate struggled to eat the unappetizing food, while her stomach churned rebelliously and constantly threatened revolt.
Then came the day of the gooseberries.
Nine
The meal had been going quite well. She had managed to eat all the first course – steak and kidney pie. For once the meat was tender and the pastry not too soggy. But when a bowl of gooseberries was placed before her, Kate looked around for the custard. There was none. She bit her lip and said tentatively to the girl next to her. ‘Passez le sugar, sivoo play.’
‘Sucre, sucre,’ boomed Miss Denham’s voice to her left. ‘Tu n’as pas besoin de sucre.’
Kate looked down at the small green bullets in the dish. Reluctantly, she picked up her spoon and selected two of the gooseberries that looked a little softer than the rest. The moment she put them in her mouth the sourness attacked her taste-buds so that her mouth salivated and her stomach erupted. Before she knew what was happening, she had vomited into the dish in front of her, bringing up all the first course.
Next to her, a girl screamed and pushed back her chair, ‘Oh how disgusting!’ while Miss Denham rose and grabbed Kate’s arm in a vice-like grip and hustled her, still retching, down the room past all the staring faces. Kate found herself dragged through the hallway and pushed into a small lavatory. The door slammed behind her and miserably she leaned over the bowl and retched until there was nothing left to bring up but evil-tasting, yellow bile. Yet still her mouth salivated and her stomach heaved.
At last she leaned against the wall, weak and trembling, a cold sweat breaking out all over her.
A knock came on the door and Miss Ogden’s gentle voice said, ‘Katharine, are you all right?’
When Kate did not answer, the door opened and pushed against her as she stood behind it. ‘Katharine . . .? Oh, my dear girl . . .’
The teacher drew Kate out of the small, dark room. ‘Are you feeling better now? Come along, let me take you up to Matron.’
But the Matron was as unsympathetic as Miss Denham. ‘Clean yourself up, girl. How dare you create such a disgraceful scene? You’re doing it on purpose, just to cause disruption. Change your dress and then you are to report to Miss Denham’s study.’
Half an hour later Kate was standing in front of Miss Denham’s desk. The Principal rose majestically. ‘Come with me.’
Meekly, Kate followed and found herself in the huge dining room being seated at the table once more. All evidence of her humiliation had been removed, but the floor showed damp patches where it had been wiped clean.
A maid entered from the kitchen and placed a plate of food in front of her. It was the first course.