“But what I did was so wrong, Mrs Cumberledge.
“Do call me Eleanor, Jason. Yes, by your standards it was. But perhaps others might not have thought so?”
Jason thought of his parents and how they would have responded to the revelations about Brent's behaviour. “No, that's true, but ...”
“... You set yourself high standards. Not that I disapprove, and of course, if you do set high standards, well, you must keep them. Jason, I am an old woman now, and I have seen much of he world. I can't insist that what I think is right and wrong. For starters, I have learnt to think differently about things than I used to when I was young. The young are so judgemental, even of themselves”—and she looked at Jason as she said this—“but when you get older you realise just how fallible we all are. Of course, there are some people who never make that realisation. They remain idiots their whole lives.”
“If I’d been there for him, he'd be alive today.”
“I don't doubt it. But you're only human. As long as you learn from your mistakes ....”
“It's too late.” Jason stared away across the tiny garden and tried hard not to break down again.
“It was for me too,” replied Eleanor Cumberledge, quietly and very sadly.
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