I had longed for the end of term, to the end of the chafing restrictions of school. But when I had freedom I did not know what to do with it. Mr Ratcliffe set no boundaries whatsoever on my conduct. In this he was perhaps wiser than I realized at the time. But he made it clear — wordlessly, and with the utmost courtesy — that he and Mordred had their own lives, their own routines, and that he did not wish me to disturb them if at all possible. On that first day, I went into the town during the afternoon. During term time, we boys were not allowed to leave the College except when specifically authorized — to walk to the playing field, for example, or to visit the home of the dayboy, or to go to one of the few shops that the school authorities had licensed us to patronize. We were allowed to go shopping only on Saturday afternoons, and only in pairs. So — to ramble the streets at will on Christmas Eve, to go into shops on a whim: it should have been glorious. Instead it was cold and boring.
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