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Back The Other Husband Save as PDF
Chapters (67)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. PROLOGUE
  4. PART ONE
  5. ONE
  6. TWO
  7. THREE
  8. FOUR
  9. FIVE
  10. SIX
  11. SEVEN
  12. EIGHT
  13. NINE
  14. TEN
  15. ELEVEN
  16. TWELVE
  17. THIRTEEN
  18. FOURTEEN
  19. FIFTEEN
  20. SIXTEEN
  21. SEVENTEEN
  22. PART TWO
  23. EIGHTEEN
  24. NINETEEN
  25. TWENTY
  26. TWENTY-ONE
  27. TWENTY-TWO
  28. TWENTY-THREE
  29. TWENTY-FOUR
  30. TWENTY-FIVE
  31. TWENTY-SIX
  32. TWENTY-SEVEN
  33. TWENTY-EIGHT
  34. TWENTY-NINE
  35. PART THREE
  36. THIRTY
  37. THIRTY-ONE
  38. THIRTY-TWO
  39. THIRTY-THREE
  40. THIRTY-FOUR
  41. THIRTY-FIVE
  42. THIRTY-SIX
  43. THIRTY-SEVEN
  44. THIRTY-EIGHT
  45. THIRTY-NINE
  46. PART FOUR
  47. FORTY
  48. FORTY-ONE
  49. FORTY-TWO
  50. FORTY-THREE
  51. FORTY-FOUR
  52. FORTY-FIVE
  53. FORTY-SIX
  54. FORTY-SEVEN
  55. FORTY-EIGHT
  56. FORTY-NINE
  57. FIFTY
  58. FIFTY-ONE
  59. FIFTY-TWO
  60. FIFTY-THREE
  61. FIFTY-FOUR
  62. EPILOGUE
  63. Mailing list
  64. A Letter from Kathryn
  65. Acknowledgements
  66. About the Author
  67. Also by Kathryn Croft

The woman smiles, putting Abby at ease whether it’s intentional or not. ‘Let me just check my list.’ She shuffles papers around, finding what she wants and squinting at it. ‘Did you say Abby Nichols?’

She nods.

‘I can’t find that on here. That’s strange. Hold on a moment, I’ll just find out what’s happened.’ Behind the reception desk is a small office, and she disappears inside, closing the door and picking up the phone.

Abby can’t make out what she’s saying: she only hears muffled sounds. It’s a couple of minutes before the receptionist returns, her lips thin and her forehead creased. ‘I’m sorry, the Head says you sent an email at the weekend to withdraw your application?’

Abby is confused. ‘There must be a mistake. I didn’t cancel at all; otherwise why would I be here? It must be one of the other candidates who emailed. Could you just check again for me, please?’ She tries to keep the frustration from her voice.

‘I’ll check,’ the woman says, sighing.

She’s longer this time, and while she’s waiting Abby tries to focus on her upcoming interview. She is convinced they’ll sort this mistake out, and she can imagine laughing about it in time to come.

‘Here you go,’ the receptionist says, handing her a piece of paper. ‘I’ve printed out your email.’ The smile on her face is self-satisfied, as though she has won a fight.

Abby’s hand shakes as she reaches for the sheet. What is this? And as she reads the words, their meaning sinking in, it’s all she can do to stop herself throwing up.

There’s no point telling the woman that she hasn’t written this email, that the address it’s been sent from isn’t hers. It’s similar, yes, but not hers.

The woman is staring at her, waiting for an explanation. Abby needs to think quickly, to save her reputation. Ordinarily, she would point out that this isn’t her email address, insist that she didn’t cancel the interview, but how would it look to the school that Abby clearly has enemies? ‘Ah, yes, I’m so sorry – I meant to cancel a different interview I had, not this one. I don’t know how I could have got it mixed up. Please accept my apologies.’

‘Ah, I see. These things happen. I have been known to send emails without attachments.’ She smiles, as though they are members of the same club.

‘So, is it okay to still have my interview today?’