'It isn't. Not really. I love the work, it's as close to nature as you can get without kissing all civilization goodbye. The children I teach are fun. And the staff are marvelous; we all work together.'
'And Vie Whittaker?'
The old reserve came back into her eyes for a moment. What about him?'
'Oh, just a feeling. He seems to care about you.'
'He does, but he's foolish. He has a wife but they're separated. Kids too.' Her voice softened. 'He thinks he's in love with me, but half his mind is still on his family. Sometimes I think he accepted this job to prove he's independent of her, but, I think soon, he'll discover he isn't.'
'And you? How do you feel towards him?' He half-expected a rebuttal to his question, but she smiled sadly and looked down at her hands.
'I don't intend to be used in a situation like that. Not this time.'
And there, he thought, lay the answer. At some time or other she had been involved with someone who had let her down badly. It explained her reserve, the coldness that sometimes masked and marred her true nature. The Centre was her escape, a kind of nunnery without the harshness or the religion. Nor the total rejection of the outside world. He wondered how long it would take for her to adjust again.
'What about you, Luke?' she countered. 'Why aren't you married?'
'I love my work too much.' 'You hate your work.' It startled him.
'Why do you do it, Luke? Why rats?'
'I told you yesterday: the money's good.'
She shook her head. 'No, that's not it. There's some other reason.'
He drained the last of the coffee and placed the mug on the floor.
'I think I'd better make a move. It's an early start tomorrow...' he glanced at his watch '... I mean today.'
She rose with him. 'I'm sorry if I was probing.' She moved closer.
'Really.'
He smiled down at her. 'I started it. I got what I deserved.'
'Will I see you tomorrow?'
'Of course. I'll be pretty busy, but as of now, Jenny, you're part of the operation, so we'll be working together.' And then he wanted to kiss her, but foolishly ridiculously he was afraid to. He hadn't felt that heart- shaking fear since he'd been fifteen, on his first date. It was crazy, but irrefutable: he was afraid his advance would be rejected. He stood there like a naive fool, too nervous to take a forward step. So she kissed him.
It was a light touch, and on the cheek; but a pleasurable shock ran through him dispersing his uncharacteristic timidity.
'Jenny...'
'It is late, Luke. Walk me over to the main building so I can help Jan clear up. Then you go and get some rest; it sounds like you're going to need it.'
He relaxed, no longer the schoolboy. 'Okay. I'm staying at the hotel in Buckhurst Hill. It shouldn't take me much more than ten minutes to get there, and only two minutes more to be sound asleep. It's been a long day.'
But it wasn't over for him yet.
Jan Wimbush wiped the steam from her spectacles with the end of her sweater. All the cups and saucers were washed now, the ashtrays emptied and clean, the big table in the lecture hall wiped of all stains. Tomorrow would be a busy day but, thank God, there would be no classes and all the Centre staff would be helping.
Alex Milton had spoken to the staff earlier that evening, explaining the rat problem to them and how the Centre was to be the operational headquarters. If any of his members wanted to leave, they could do so he wouldn't blame them in the least. But their help was needed by the men who were coming to destroy the vermin. He had been assured by Ratkill's research director that there would be no real danger to the staff, providing they did exactly as they were told and wore the protective clothing that would be issued when outside the confines of the building itself. Everybody volunteered to stay, of course, most looking forward to the drama. The fact that the local vicar had apparently been eaten alive by the monsters seemed hardly real to those who hadn't visited the graveyard, although the warden did try to stress the deadly seriousness of it all.
The three classrooms had been cleared, the desks in each room pushed together to make two big tables. The laboratory itself was to be used as a storeroom for the gas tanks and rodenticides the Ratkill people would be bringing. The protective suits would also be kept there. The lecture hall would be used as the main operations room, while the library would be reserved for smaller, more select meetings by the inner committee.
Jan put her spectacles back on and tried to look out into the night through the large, single-frame window; all she saw was her own reflection. She didn't much fancy walking over to the residential wing by herself. Anything could be out there in the dark. Most of the staff had retired for the night, but Will Aycott had stayed to help her finish up. He was around somewhere checking that all the windows and doors were secure; he also had the keys to the main door.
Jan turned from the window, not too keen on her own reflected features, and switched off the kitchen light. Will would see her back to her room he'd tried to get into it often enough. Luckily, Jenny Hanmer was a good chaperone to have around in fact, they were useful chaperones to each other at times. Not that she disliked Will. Sometimes she wished she had her own room.
She wondered if Jenny was feeling any better. She'd had a terrible shock up at the churchyard; Jan wondered what had possessed her to go up there in the first place. She wouldn't have had the nerve. Still, Jenny was different. She had guts. She stood up for herself.
Will, where are you?' Jan called along the darkened corridor. There was no reply so she walked its length, peering into doorways as she went. The lights in the end classroom were still on, throwing a rectangle of brightness
