he?’
‘I saw him twice a year.’
‘Did you love him, William?’
William hesitated, uncertain how to answer or why the question had been asked. In the end he could only answer truthfully. ‘I hardly knew him, but I’ve always been very grateful for everything he’s done for me.’
‘At least you’re honest,’ Gardner commented. ‘Tell me, have you enjoyed your time at Oundle?’
‘I don’t know that I would use that term.’
‘What term would you use then?’
‘If I hadn’t come here there’s a great deal I would never have had the opportunity to learn. I’m glad that I’ve had that opportunity.’
‘I understand that your first year was very difficult. Your headmaster told me the other boys gave you something of a bad time because of your background and so on.’
‘I suppose some of them made fun of me for a while,’ William admitted at which his uncle gave a thin smile.
‘I expect it was a little more than that. Your headmaster holds you in quite high regard you know. He considers you to be intelligent and exceptionally determined. On the other hand he says you have never made friends here. That you are a solitary type. I went to a boarding school myself, William. Even at the best schools young boys are savages beneath it all. They gang together against the weak. Especially those they perceive as being different in some way. Would you say you’ve really fitted in here, William? I know you’ve done well with your studies, but I mean in other respects.’
‘I’m not sure what you mean.’
‘School isn’t only about getting an education. It’s about forming bonds… friendships, with people of one’s own type. The sort of network that can help you in later life, both socially and with one’s career. Without those bonds one has to wonder if it was really a good idea to send you here. I may as well tell you I was against it. My father felt obliged to do something for you because you were my sister’s child, but I believe that she made her choice when she turned her back on the family. He agreed I think, but he always had a soft spot where my sister was concerned. A blind spot, perhaps I should say.’
Gardner’s tone was resentful, and William wondered if his uncle had been jealous of his sister. He didn’t say anything, knowing that he wasn’t expected to.
‘You should know that before my father died he made provision in his will for your education to continue here until you leave at the end of next term, so you needn’t worry about that,’ Gardner continued. ‘However, there was no mention of an allowance to enable you to attend university. Perhaps he had decided against it. Possibly he wondered if you would fit in any better at Oxford than you have here.’
William knew his grandfather had not changed his mind, though if his intentions hadn’t been made clear in his will, William also knew he couldn’t prove it. He could feel his place at Oxford slipping from his grasp, and with it, any hope of a future profession.
‘However,’ his uncle said. ‘Now that I’ve met you for myself I shall give the matter some thought. I’ll let you know my decision by the start of your last term. There’s still plenty of time to apply for a place.’
He looked at his watch and said that he had to go or else he would miss his train.
‘There’s no need to show me out.’
He didn’t offer to shake William’s hand before he left, and as William watched him leave he knew his uncle’s decision had already been made, and that he wouldn’t be going up to Oxford.
*****
When William went home for the Easter holidays he thought his father looked ill, and asked him if he was feeling alright.
‘I had a bit of a cold in the winter, that’s all,’ Reynolds said. ‘I get a bit tired still.’
They finished supper, and while William cleared up his father lit his pipe. He began a deep hacking cough from deep in his lungs that left him breathless and red in the face.
‘You
‘I saw him twice a year.’
‘Did you love him, William?’
William hesitated, uncertain how to answer or why the question had been asked. In the end he could only answer truthfully. ‘I hardly knew him, but I’ve always been very grateful for everything he’s done for me.’
‘At least you’re honest,’ Gardner commented. ‘Tell me, have you enjoyed your time at Oundle?’
‘I don’t know that I would use that term.’
‘What term would you use then?’
‘If I hadn’t come here there’s a great deal I would never have had the opportunity to learn. I’m glad that I’ve had that opportunity.’
‘I understand that your first year was very difficult. Your headmaster told me the other boys gave you something of a bad time because of your background and so on.’
‘I suppose some of them made fun of me for a while,’ William admitted at which his uncle gave a thin smile.
‘I expect it was a little more than that. Your headmaster holds you in quite high regard you know. He considers you to be intelligent and exceptionally determined. On the other hand he says you have never made friends here. That you are a solitary type. I went to a boarding school myself, William. Even at the best schools young boys are savages beneath it all. They gang together against the weak. Especially those they perceive as being different in some way. Would you say you’ve really fitted in here, William? I know you’ve done well with your studies, but I mean in other respects.’
‘I’m not sure what you mean.’
‘School isn’t only about getting an education. It’s about forming bonds… friendships, with people of one’s own type. The sort of network that can help you in later life, both socially and with one’s career. Without those bonds one has to wonder if it was really a good idea to send you here. I may as well tell you I was against it. My father felt obliged to do something for you because you were my sister’s child, but I believe that she made her choice when she turned her back on the family. He agreed I think, but he always had a soft spot where my sister was concerned. A blind spot, perhaps I should say.’
Gardner’s tone was resentful, and William wondered if his uncle had been jealous of his sister. He didn’t say anything, knowing that he wasn’t expected to.
‘You should know that before my father died he made provision in his will for your education to continue here until you leave at the end of next term, so you needn’t worry about that,’ Gardner continued. ‘However, there was no mention of an allowance to enable you to attend university. Perhaps he had decided against it. Possibly he wondered if you would fit in any better at Oxford than you have here.’
William knew his grandfather had not changed his mind, though if his intentions hadn’t been made clear in his will, William also knew he couldn’t prove it. He could feel his place at Oxford slipping from his grasp, and with it, any hope of a future profession.
‘However,’ his uncle said. ‘Now that I’ve met you for myself I shall give the matter some thought. I’ll let you know my decision by the start of your last term. There’s still plenty of time to apply for a place.’
He looked at his watch and said that he had to go or else he would miss his train.
‘There’s no need to show me out.’
He didn’t offer to shake William’s hand before he left, and as William watched him leave he knew his uncle’s decision had already been made, and that he wouldn’t be going up to Oxford.
*****
When William went home for the Easter holidays he thought his father looked ill, and asked him if he was feeling alright.
‘I had a bit of a cold in the winter, that’s all,’ Reynolds said. ‘I get a bit tired still.’
They finished supper, and while William cleared up his father lit his pipe. He began a deep hacking cough from deep in his lungs that left him breathless and red in the face.
‘You
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