FOUR
Over the following week, Harie became more and more dejected, sighing to such an extent during one morning, that Sarah asked if she was having trouble breathing. An affirmative response prompted an order to take a five-minute break in the courtyard to restore oxygen levels, but the moment Harie left the office, Sarah hurried over to Emma’s work-station. ‘You’re friendly with her,’ she said in a low voice. ‘Is she ill?’
‘I don’t think so. At least not physically. But she does seem very down. Maybe there’s a problem with her daughter.’
Sarah frowned. ‘A 15-year-old, if I remember correctly.’
‘It can be a difficult age.’
Sarah muttered something about sole parenting, that to Emma’s mind confirmed the office manager had no experience of raising a child, either alone or with a partner
