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‘Right. Anne Boleyn’s marriage and downfall. It’s a new area. Where do we start with a new area?’
There were eight students in front of Dominic, each staring at the floor more vigorously than the next. He picked on one at random. ‘Camille?’
‘Chronology.’ She muttered the answer through lip piercing and fringe, but at least it was right. You couldn’t understand history without understanding the basics: what happened when.
‘Excellent.’
Dominic talked through the timeline of Henry’s obsession with Anne, his disestablishment of the church in the pursuit of the marriage, her pregnancy and the birth of Princess Elizabeth, the hostility at court towards the new Queen, and her eventual fall from grace and execution. Some of them even managed to rouse enough interest to take notes. It wasn’t much but it was probably the best he was going to get.
He set the students some reading for next time, and instructed them to be ready to discuss Tudor depictions of the Queen. This wasn’t the sparkiest group, but every now and then a student did come up with an insight or a flicker of interest that was enough to keep Dominic going. The teaching was by far the best part of the job.
The students filed out and Dominic followed them, heading in the opposite direction at the end of the corridor to Theo’s office. Emily wasn’t at her desk but the boss’s door was ajar and he could see through the crack that the Head of Department was alone at his computer. Dominic knocked.
‘Come in.’
‘Do you have minute?’
‘Dominic! Of course. What can I do for you? Work or family?’
He paused for a minute remembering the other thing. One issue at a time, he thought.
‘Er work.’ Dominic took the seat alongside Theo’s desk, so they were facing each other across the corner of the table - the traditional one-to-one tutorial position. ‘It’s about the lecturer vacancy.’
Theo’s brow furrowed. ‘Bit of a step down for you?’
‘No. Well yes. It’s not for me.’
‘Ah, you’ve got someone in mind?’
Dominic nodded. This felt odd. He hadn’t had any help from the old boys’ network on his way up. Suddenly finding himself gazing down through the glass ceiling was unexpected. ‘It’s Dr Hart.’
Theo nodded. ‘She’s a good candidate.’
‘Yeah. Well I wanted to make sure her cap was in the hat, name was in the ring.’ Neither of those sounded right. ‘You know what I mean.’
Another nod. ‘Just one thing.’
‘Mmm?’
‘You and Dr Hart? Anything I should be concerned about?’
It took a second for Dominic’s brain to send the outrage he definitely ought to have felt to his face. ‘No! Of course not. What precisely do you mean?’
‘Nothing. Nothing. Although, she was your student I recall, as an undergraduate.’
‘Yes. So I’ve seen her progression.’
‘And that’s all?’
‘That’s all.’ Dominic was emphatic.
‘There were rumours.’
He shook his head. Was this really coming up again? There had been a comments in the senior common room about her having a crush on Dominic back when Helen was an undergrad. A passing joke. Nothing more, and not even true. Helen had been far too preoccupied with study, both then and now, to look twice at him, or at anyone else so far as he could tell, but it had been enough to make Dominic extra-cautious. If she hadn’t been a student, then maybe ... He stopped the thought in its tracks. She had been his student, and that was that. For years he’d found himself watching how he behaved around her. He’d been protecting both their reputations. ‘Just rumours. Unsubstantiated rumours. Nearly a decade ago.’
‘But still.’
‘Still nothing. She was my student. Now she’s my colleague, and a very good colleague. You should know better than to listen to rumours.’ Dominic shook his head and fought to calm his tone of voice. There was still the other thing he had to talk to Theo about. He couldn’t get into a fight with Emily’s dad, not today, but at the same time he didn’t want his boss thinking he got up to anything inappropriate with his students. Actually, he probably didn’t want Emily’s dad thinking that either. ‘Anyway, what does the fact that she was my student have to do with anything? You’ve supervised plenty of the academic staff here over the years.’
‘True. True.’ Theo smiled. ‘I apologise. I hear things, and maybe I react as a protective father, rather than your Head of Department.’
Theo was trying to placate him. Dominic knew he ought to let him. ‘It’s fine. Forget anything was ever mentioned.’
‘Thank you.’
A change of subject seemed in order. Dominic paused. ‘So are you all ready for the big day?’
Theo glanced around his desk. ‘Well that’s down to the bride, isn’t it? I’m sure Tania has it all in order. I’ve got this post to fill and goodness knows what else before then anyway.’
‘So you’re interviewing before the wedding?’ That was soon. Sooner than expected.
Theo grimaced. ‘Right before. A week on Thursday. It’s sooner than I’d like, but after that I’m supposed to be taking a few days off for a bit of a holiday with Tania, so best to get it all sorted.’
A few days for a bit of a holiday? Dominic wondered if his boss realised that that wasn’t the most romantic way to describe your own honeymoon. He didn’t comment.
‘Anyway, you know when the interviews are.’
Dominic looked blank.
‘You should have had an email about it, or a memo, or something.’ Again Theo scanned vaguely around the papers on his desk as if it was entirely possible the memo in question was sitting right there.
‘Why?’
‘Because you’re on the interview panel.’
‘What?’
‘We always have a current senior lecturer.’
‘I thought Trevalyan was doing it.’
‘No! Didn’t you know? He had a heart attack.’
Dominic’s thoughts shifted to his father. ‘Is he all right?’
Theo snorted. ‘He’ll be fine. It wasn’t even a proper heart attack. A minor cardiac incident according to the doctor, but he’s still off for at least six weeks. Taking the piss if you ask me.’
Theo, Dominic had no doubt, would be reviewing funding applications and publication submissions from his hospital bed after a minor, or possibly major, cardiac incident. The word workaholic could have been coined for him.
It was a shame about Trevalyan though – well it was good for him that he was going to be fine. But if it’d been a proper heart attack there might have been two vacancies. Much better chance for Helen. Dominic put Helen out of his head. It was time to broach the other thing, wasn’t it? He’d made his decision. He’d probably have made it months ago if his father’s heart hadn’t thrown everything he’d decided about his future into confusion. ‘Actually there was something else I wanted to talk to you about.’
‘Yes?’ Theo had already returned at least half his attention to the computer screen in front of him.
‘It’s not a work thing. Er ... maybe not here?’
Theo’s gaze flipped back to Dominic. ‘Nothing wrong?’
‘No. No. It’s good. I think it’s good.’ Dominic stopped himself talking. He did think it was good. He did. ‘Maybe I could call round after work sometime?’
Theo nodded absently, attention fully returned to the computer. ‘Of course. Of course.’
‘Tomorrow?’ Dominic tried to sound casual. Tomorrow was soon enough that he wouldn’t get cold feet, but still gave him twenty-four hours to work out what he was going to say. ‘About 7.30?’
‘Yes. Yes.’