Chapter 6

Samantha was perturbed by her husband being emotional and tearful. The pre accident, strict, stoic Daniel was hard work sometimes, but at least she knew where she stood. Phyllis was finding the softer attitude of her employer far easier to accept.

"I don't know what's going on anymore. My life was well ordered and stable. Daniel has this accident and everything is turned upside down. His behaviour is just about tolerable inside the house, but what if he starts acting in a bizarre way when we're with company? Or in front of my parents. That would spell disaster. I need to give this some thought. Phyllis. Go over that bit of floor again. It still looks grubby."

Phyllis was not expected to reply and didn't want to.

Sam had thought herself lucky to have attracted a man like Dan. He was well regarded by the OWG and his good job meant that she lived in comfort. He was not demonstrative with his feelings and did not talk to her about his work. Having an emotionally unavailable husband was not unique. She had spoken to other wives and they had similar tales about the lives that they led.

Men in the leadership class mostly treated their wives worse than those in the labour class. There was no sense of working together as a family when life was tough. They were not in partnerships they were dictators of their households. A woman's role was to run the house and look after the children, with the help of staff, ensuring that men's lives were not bothered by domestic issues. Wives were often ignored as their spouse's socialised with colleagues rather than be hampered by a home life.

Servants came in all shapes and sizes. Young attractive maids were popular with some men who saw their duties as being more than cleaning and cooking. The wives were not in a position to complain about their partners' infidelities and had to suffer the indignity silently. The most unfortunate were those that suffered physical abuse. Very little was done to help the victims of domestic violence.

Dan was strict but he did not beat Sam and he was not having an affair. Love had little to do with their relationship but Sam was fond of her husband. She had two beautiful children and all of the material things that she could need. Until Dan's accident her life had not been wonderful, but she had been okay.

Mostly Sam was bored. It was not acceptable for her to go out to work. Women in her class might do some voluntary work at, say, a hospital, but they did not have jobs. Whilst her children were young she was tied to the home and the meetings she attended were her only opportunity to socialise. She had nothing to stimulate her brain and often thought she would go mad from the banality of her life.

Now Dan was behaving strangely. He was speaking in a different way and seemed confused. He had changed the way that the household was run and she had seen him chatting with the maid. Phyllis was in her fifties so she wasn't worried that they were having an affair, but the situation was odd.

At first, as she had watched him play with the children she had been pleased. Eating their evening meal together as a family had been nice too. Sam had then started to fret about where this would all lead. Men behaved in a particular way and if they didn't they stood out. It was not a good idea to bring attention to oneself for anything other than being good at work or maybe sport.

At the moment Dan was off work following his injury so no one had seen how he had changed. Sam hoped that he would become more like the old Dan before he saw his colleagues again. If it was thought that he had become unable to do his job they would all be in major trouble.

At the least Dan could find that he was moved to a lower ranked, and therefore lesser paid, job. If he was thought of as incapable of serving the ministry in any capacity they might find themselves exiled to the labour zone. There was even a possibility that he could be taken away and institutionalised. Sam knew that if he went into a hospital for the mentally ill, he would be unlikely to ever emerge.

He had been asking questions about their lifestyle which could be seen as some type of sedition. Did Phyllis work for too many hours? Did they pay her enough? Why didn't everyone have a car? The fate of agitators was even worse than for those who had a breakdown of some kind. If one persistently questioned the actions of the OWG one would disappear without trace.

Sam would keep a close eye on her husband in the days before he was due to return to work. She may have to call upon one of his friends to have a word with him if the problem was ongoing. She had always had fears, but now she was constantly on edge. She must be vigilant because there may come a time when she would have to do the unthinkable.

There was a way that Sam could save her and her children from the ignominy of being a dissenter's family. If she thought that he was out of control she could report him to the police. Turning informer would be thought of as heroic rather than treacherous and her reward would be retaining her life within the leadership class. It would be better to lose her husband than to lose her status and lifestyle.

Sam's father was high up in the ranks of the civil service. She did not want to mention her troubles to him yet. She would wait to see if her husband could pull himself together. He had always been ambivalent about Daniel and she didn't want to give him any further ammunition. If things got really bad he would likely be able to offer some solution for her problems.

Phyllis had watched Dan with curiosity. Prior to his accident Mr Ellis had been a typically repressed male. Despite his strict demeanour she had seen a man in conflict. She thought that his dour manner was a way to keep his real opinions bottled up. He had not previously talked to her very much other than to issue orders. He had, however, asked her more than once whether she had heard from her son Bertie and had looked concerned when she had said no.

Her evidence of a kinder man with doubts about the OWG was thin to say the least. A question regarding her son and a look of sympathy was all she had. She was, however sure that this was a man who was struggling with the rule of a sinister government. He may have a good job and be in the leadership class, but he could see what was wrong with the world.

Since his return from hospital there had been a release of Dan's inner beliefs. His warmth with his children and his relaxing of the rules were confirming her suspicions. His confusion about the world he was living in made her sure that he had genuinely lost his memory. He would learn about the OWG and how they ran things and he would see it all in a new way. The indoctrination had gone and he would be able to see that there were many things which were wrong about society.

It had been eight years since she had heard anything from Bertie. Phyllis was desperate for news of her son. Dan was questioning the OWG and could be responsive to a request for assistance in finding her boy. She had decided that she would take the risk of enlisting his help with her search.

A problem would arise if he got over his injury and remembered all that had been forgotten. Fraternising with the help might be seen as a source of embarrassment or he could accuse Phyllis of inciting him to sedition. The old Mr Ellis was not one to rock the boat. She hoped that in those circumstances he would brush any conversation under the carpet.

Mr Ellis had said that he wanted to talk. He wanted to know the truth about the OWG. She would tell him the things which he could not read about in the books. The taboo subjects of what happened to the less capable and to those who spoke of rebellion would be discussed and he would know what type of world he was living in.

There was a chance that he might help her find Bertie. Phyllis would put her trust in him and hoped that he would try to help. She did not want Mrs Ellis knowing what she was talking to her husband about. Sam would report Dan if it meant saving her own skin she was sure. It was a dangerous game she was playing and she hoped that it would be worth it.