Lessons at the School by the Sea


 
 
 Dedication
 To librarians.
 Because you built me.
 
 
 Contents
 Cover
 Title Page
 Dedication
 Characters
 Introduction
 Autumn
 Chapter One
 Chapter Two
 Chapter Three
 Chapter Four
 Chapter Five
 Chapter Six
 Chapter Seven
 Chapter Eight
 Chapter Nine
 Chapter Ten
 Chapter Eleven
 Chapter Twelve
 Chapter Thirteen
 Chapter Fourteen
 Chapter Fifteen
 Chapter Sixteen
 Chapter Seventeen
 Chapter Eighteen
 Chapter Nineteen
 Chapter Twenty
 Chapter Twenty-One
 Chapter Twenty-Two
 Chapter Twenty-Three
 Chapter Twenty-Four
 Christmas
 Chapter One
 Chapter Two
 Chapter Three
 Chapter Four
 Chapter Five
 Chapter Six
 Chapter Seven
 Chapter Eight
 Chapter Nine
 Chapter Ten
 Chapter Eleven
 Chapter Twelve
 Chapter Thirteen
 Chapter Fourteen
 Chapter Fifteen
 Chapter Sixteen
 Chapter Seventeen
 Chapter Eighteen
 Chapter Nineteen
 Chapter Twenty
 Chapter Twenty-One
 Chapter Twenty-Two
 Chapter Twenty-Three
 Chapter Twenty-Four
 Chapter Twenty-Five
 Chapter Twenty-Six
 Chapter Twenty-Seven
 Spring
 Chapter One
 Chapter Two
 Chapter Three
 Chapter Four
 Chapter Five
 Chapter Six
 Summer
 Chapter One
 Chapter Two
 Chapter Three
 Chapter Four
 Chapter Five
 Chapter Six
 Chapter Seven
 Chapter Eight
 Chapter Nine
 Chapter Ten
 Chapter Eleven
 Chapter Twelve
 Chapter Thirteen
 Chapter Fourteen
 Chapter Fifteen
 Chapter Sixteen
 Chapter Seventeen
 Chapter Eighteen
 Chapter Nineteen
 Chapter Twenty
 Chapter Twenty-One
 Acknowledgments
 About the Author
 Praise
 Also by Jenny Colgan
 Copyright
 About the Publisher
 
 
 Characters
 Staff
 Head teacher: Dr. Veronica Deveral
 Head of English: Miss June Starling
 Matron: Miss Doreen Redmond
 Cook: Mrs. Joan Rhys
 Caretaker: Mr. Harold Carruthers
 Physics: Mr. John Bart
 Music: Mrs. Theodora Offili
 French: Mademoiselle Claire Crozier
 English: Miss Margaret Adair
 IT: Mrs. Margia Radzicki
 Maths: Miss Ella Beresford
 PE: Miss Janie James
 Drama: Miss Fleur Parsley
 History: Miss Catherine Kellen
 Geography: Miss Deirdre Gifford
 Pupils
 Middle School Year Three
 Sylvie Brown
 Ismé Elgar-Phipps
 Imogen Fairlie
 Simone Pribetich
 Andrea McCann
 Felicity Prosser
 Zazie Saurisse
 Alice Trebizon-Woods
 Astrid Ulverton
 
 
 Introduction
 Whoa. So, anyway, here is sequel to a book I wrote ten years ago. I know. This is so weird, I never quite thought we’d get here.
 To those who kept the faith: thank you. You should know that we are picking up again five seconds after we left off, even though when we left off there was no such thing as Facebook or Snapchat . . . sigh. I miss those days.
 Anyway, if you’re new, I would probably read Class and Rules first, which cover the first and second years. My publisher will kill me for saying that, but honestly, they’re meant to be read in sequence, and this is the third year of Downey House.
 Here’s just to recap the history a bit:
 A few years ago I wanted to read a boarding school book, having loved them when I was younger. But I couldn’t find one for grown-ups. So I wrote a couple.
 We then decided (“we” being me and my publishers) to release them under a different name, Jane Beaton. I can’t remember why now. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
 Anyway, regardless, Class and Rules came out and they had lovely reviews but as it turned out absolutely nobody bought them at all, having never heard of Jane Beaton, which was perfectly understandable, but also made me very sad as I had loved writing them and was very proud of them.
 As the years have gone on, though, people kept finding their way to them, little by little—they’ve never been out of print—and finally last year somebody wrote the publishers a letter saying, “Do please let me know what happened to Jane Beaton, as I kept checking the obituaries in case she died” and someone else wrote and said, “I’m going in for an operation and in case I don’t come round*, I would very much like to know what happens to Maggie and David,” at which point we thought, okay, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH—and so 
 Autumn
 
 
 Chapter One
 Despite the summer sun outside, it was freezing in the long, dim hallway, and Maggie Adair was having the very worst day of her life.
 It was the last day of the summer term.
 The girls had all left, and the entire ancient, rambling building, with its four towers, was silent. The beautiful gray-stoned space did not suit being silent; it normally echoed to the sound of footfalls; girls shouting out; giggling and bells; rogue hockey balls bouncing down the old steps; distant choir practice.
 All of that had gone, and the paneled hallway, hung with portraits of headmistresses past, was silent and ghostly. Maggie shivered.
 Had it really only been that morning? How? How had she gone from getting on a train, on her way to Scotland to marry . . . Oh my God. Stan. Her sweet fiancé Stan, who would be waiting to meet her at the other end.
 She sent off a text that just said, Missed train! Too expensive to get next one, will catch tomorrow! then quickly bundled her phone away and refused to look at it, even when it started buzzing and buzzing. She couldn’t . . . She had too many things to think about right now.
 She tried to get it straight in her head.
 She’d caught the train this morning as she’d always planned. The school year was over and she was heading back to Scotland for the holidays.
 On the train she had met Miranda, the ex-girlfriend of David McDonald, the English teacher at Downey boys’ school, just over the hill. The man on whom . . . she’d had a crush. It sounded so ridiculous when she thought about it like that; just exactly like the schoolgirls she dealt with every day on Charlie Puth or Alfie Deyes or whoever it was this week.
 But it had been more than that. Hadn’t it? Even though in two years they had shared just one kiss. That was all. And