Celandine's Chronicle (celandineb) wrote in cels_fic_haven, @ 2010-12-08 09:56:00 |
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Entry tags: | hb ficlets dorothy, hb ficlets hector |
History Boys ficlet: The Unexpected Wife [Hector, Dorothy, general]
Title: The Unexpected Wife
Author: celandineb
Fandom: History Boys
Characters: Dorothy Lintott, Douglas Hector
Rating: general
Length: 330 words
Summary: Mentorship is not always quite the friendship it seems to be.
Note: For koshweasley who wanted Hector/Mrs. Lintott, prompt "discussing relationships".
Hector had been teaching at Cutlers for two years when Dorothy arrived, a fresh new face in the History department. He rather took her under his wing, despite being in English himself; English then, not the abominable General Studies to which he was later assigned, although from the start he had included plenty of material that was not on the approved curriculum for either O levels or A levels.
They had tea together most days, often in the staff room, sometimes in Hector's room, occasionally Dorothy's. After a while Dorothy noticed a pattern to their conversations. Each location seemed to inspire particular topics. In the staff room it was likely to be current events, and the other staff might join in. In Hector's domain he held forth on his special loves of modern theatre and cinema and popular music; "modern" to Hector meaning twentieth century, but not necessarily contemporary. As the years went on, his taste diverged farther and farther from the contemporary, and settled firmly in the first half of the century instead.
They didn't have tea in Dorothy's room as often. When they did it was more personal matters that became the subjects of conversation. Dorothy's marriage was already falling apart, and she referred to that obliquely. Hector was courtly and sympathetic, but with no hint that he might take any personal interest, then or ever, in her marital state.
Hector wore no wedding ring. Eventually, as she grew to know him, Dorothy concluded that when it came to women, Hector was not that way inclined. There was always some boy of whom he spoke with especial fondness, and when that particular boy left school, Hector would mope for a time, until another came along on whom he could lavish his attention. It came as an enormous shock to Dorothy, five years after she began teaching, to learn that Hector had been married all along. In all those many, many hours of conversation, he had never once mentioned his wife.