I'm going to be one of the lone defenders of Giles. ( I think some people base their dislike of him on his character as it is shown in RAH - possibly the weakest book of the series.) OF COURSE he is furious with Nicola when she turns up at Port Wade. It was a crashingly stupid thing to do. Even as a twelve year old I thought it was stupid of Nicola to go by train to a fairly distant place with no means of getting back, and no-one who knew where she'd gone. Even with a return ticket the certain risk of being expelled was bad enough. Without a return ticket, it was insanely stupid. (Now with a twelve year old daughter of my own I find it horrifyingly stupid.) So any sensible adult would have torn her off a strip, and then some. It probably hadn't occurred to Giles that Nicola hadn't realised he was joking. It's true he may be worried what his parents will say to him if Nicola gets expelled and they blame him for encouraging her, but I suspect that Geoff Marlow's attitude to that would be that Nicola should make her own decisions about what she does - she's old enough to know what is a sensible thing to do and what isn't. Perhaps an older person would have softened slightly towards her and cheered her up before sending her home on the train, as Giles should have, but he is still a very young man really. Rowan had told Nicola Giles wouldn't want family around unexpectedly while he was on Navy business, and I don't blame him. I remember at a similar age various members of my family turned up at my place of work and I found it uncomfortable and embarrassing - particularly the presumed assumption that I could just stop work to show them round, and I was in a far less formal environment than the Navy. I don't think Rowan was missing a hint that Nicola was planning something - it wouldn't have occurred to Rowan that Nicola would be that stupid. One detail in this section I find amusing; that Ginty had broken bounds to get a special sort of rubber band. In 65 years some things haven't changed at all - all the kids in all the schools in my area are currently mad about a special sort of rubber band!
no subject
OF COURSE he is furious with Nicola when she turns up at Port Wade. It was a crashingly stupid thing to do. Even as a twelve year old I thought it was stupid of Nicola to go by train to a fairly distant place with no means of getting back, and no-one who knew where she'd gone. Even with a return ticket the certain risk of being expelled was bad enough. Without a return ticket, it was insanely stupid. (Now with a twelve year old daughter of my own I find it horrifyingly stupid.) So any sensible adult would have torn her off a strip, and then some.
It probably hadn't occurred to Giles that Nicola hadn't realised he was joking. It's true he may be worried what his parents will say to him if Nicola gets expelled and they blame him for encouraging her, but I suspect that Geoff Marlow's attitude to that would be that Nicola should make her own decisions about what she does - she's old enough to know what is a sensible thing to do and what isn't.
Perhaps an older person would have softened slightly towards her and cheered her up before sending her home on the train, as Giles should have, but he is still a very young man really. Rowan had told Nicola Giles wouldn't want family around unexpectedly while he was on Navy business, and I don't blame him. I remember at a similar age various members of my family turned up at my place of work and I found it uncomfortable and embarrassing - particularly the presumed assumption that I could just stop work to show them round, and I was in a far less formal environment than the Navy. I don't think Rowan was missing a hint that Nicola was planning something - it wouldn't have occurred to Rowan that Nicola would be that stupid.
One detail in this section I find amusing; that Ginty had broken bounds to get a special sort of rubber band. In 65 years some things haven't changed at all - all the kids in all the schools in my area are currently mad about a special sort of rubber band!