“He … I … don’t have it. Can ye please let go, Shaun?” He was gripping her tight and his face was a half an inch from hers. She felt herself wetting her bloomers.
“Ye better get his fee, or I’ll take it from ye and ye don’t want it that way, surely,” he spewed his vileness into her face. To add humiliation to injury, he smacked her in the face before he gruffly released her arm, shoved her, and then disappeared into Flannery’s. She landed hard on her knees, making them sting.
In shock and mortification, her body shook as she broke down into a crumpled heap on the cobblestone sidewalk. Several “gentleman” passed by as though she were not even there. Finally, she was able to regain her composure enough to get up and get back to her lodgings.
~~~
The next morning, Liam came whistling into the kitchen.
Annie smiled at him. “I don’t believe I’ve ever heard ye whistlin’ before, Liam.”
He smiled back as he poured himself a cup of coffee from the pot on the stove. He sat at the table as Annie fetched the cream and sugar. He liked his coffee with lots of cream and sugar. As he sat and stirred his cup, he stared at Annie. He could see that his steadfast gaze piqued her interest. He grinned.
“What?” she said finally.
“I’ve found the perfect housekeeper for ye.”
“Who, Liam? And please don’t say it’s the “girl” you were with on your birthday.”
“Annie, I want ye to meet her. I’m going to get her now.” He looked at her in all seriousness. “We’ll be here for lunch.”
“Liam, you are the boss while your parents are gone. I can’t tell ye what to do or who to hire, but …” Annie tried to be adamant, but seemed to lose out to his sweet face so full of hope. “Fine, I’ll meet her. I can see how this is makin’ ye happy. But if I think yer parents will disapprove, I will tell ye.”
“Fair enough, but you won’t be disappointed,” he said with confidence, smiling at her. “Got any breakfast?”
“Of course, don’t I always?” She smiled back but still seemed skeptical.
She took a linen towel off a plate piled with eggs and sausages. She put it down in front of him.
“Thanks, darlin’,” he said with enthusiasm.
His animation flustered her, and she blushed.
“Smile, Annie.” Looking at her with a big grin, he picked up the fork and dove into his breakfast.
Chapter 8
It was a day before the trip to Rauma for the Mid-Summer festival. All the girls and ladies of the two families had their costumes ready. The single girls, Aili and Liisa, were planning what they would put in their dinner baskets for the auction. The single men would bid on a basket to win a picnic with their favorite girl. The money went to the church to help the poor families in the area. It was always a fun time for the community to see the young folks pairing off, wondering who would become couples and get married sometime in the future.
Since Eva had already been promised to Victor, she would not be participating in the auction, but she still wanted to make up a basket for her and Victor. It occurred to her that Victor wouldn’t be participating in the auction either. She realized, with a tinge of pride and giddiness, that all those girls who were in love with Victor and followed him around year after year, would be sad that he was no longer available. As Eva sat at the kitchen table with her sisters that evening, she knew she mustn’t gloat, even though a small part of her wanted to. She was beside herself to know that soon everyone would realize that she was to be married to the most eligible bachelor in the area. Those girls will still swoon, but he is mine now. They’ll have to find someone else.
She got up from the table, leaving her sisters to their picnic baskets, still in her dream of “winning” Victor. She walked outside into the warm, June late afternoon, her senses heighted by her romantically victorious mood. She slowly began the walk toward the Mattson farm with no specific intention to go there.
~~~
At the farm, Victor walked into the main barn to find the new salt lick for the near pasture. He found Eino in a corner chugging on a bottle of vodka. Eino looked at him and put the bottle down on the floor. Without saying a word, Eino walked up to Victor and shoved him. Victor took a swing and hit Eino in the jaw. Eino reciprocated, with a backhand across the face. Victor, enraged, gave his brother a forceful, angry shove that sent him sprawling onto the hard dirt floor.
“Who do you think you are, hitting me like that?” Victor said with indignant vitriol.
“You pig, Victor,” Eino hissed lying on the floor. “You’ve been whoring around the countryside for years, and you have the gall to ask Eva to marry you. I’ve been with Eva this whole time while you couldn’t have cared less about her. All of a sudden, you want her? You don’t deserve her. You are a liar and a cheat. She has no idea who you really are.” Eino struggled, but managed to get to his feet.
Victor wanted to prove his superiority. He stood square, chest out, feet apart. “Oh, and I suppose you do?”
“Yes, I see you going from girl to girl. Olga, Sally Niemi, and I don’t know who else. I haven’t seen it with my own eyes, but I suspect that young widow in Rauma is one of your regular stops. How old is she? Twenty-five?”
Victor struggled to keep his gaze fierce. He felt a pang of fear go through him. Everything his brother was said was true.
“I just saw your eyes, Victor. You know I am telling the truth. I’m just about to tell Eva about you.”
“And she’s going to believe you? Look at you, Eino. You are a drunk,” Victor spit. “Eva says she wants nothing to do with you. You are trash. Now get out. Leave!” He pointed to the door.
Victor thought he’d taken care of the situation, but as Eino passed by him to leave, he suddenly rounded on Victor and gave him a solid right hook, hitting him in the jaw. Now Victor was on the floor, knocked nearly senseless. In the background, he could hear the barn door open. “I know she didn’t call me trash, and I know how she really feels about me,” Eino insisted. “I’m going to find Eva.”
~~~
As Eva dreamily picked wild flowers along the edge of the road, she spotted a male figure walking toward her out of the corner of her eye. At first glance, she thought it was Victor. Then she realized that the hair was blond. The disheveled figure was Eino. She almost turned to go home, but decided with prickly irritation to show she was not afraid. She kept walking toward him.
Eino was staggering somewhat. He’s been drinking, she thought. She studied his face to get a sense of his mood. Oddly, he looked almost pleased to see her. Still, there was no true reading of him. He could change at the drop of a hat.
“Well, if it isn’t the future Mrs. Victor Mattson,” he said. “Are you happy you’ve crushed me?”
He knows I’ve chosen Victor. She felt afraid.
“I just punched your lover boy. Told him I was coming to tell you. He didn’t believe me. He’s probably letting his Mamma tend to his wound.” He grabbed for Eva. “You’re coming with me now,” he said. “You’re mine. You always were. Victor doesn’t deserve you.”
Eva avoided his grasp the first time. The second time, however, he proved to be quite agile for someone so inebriated, and caught her forearm.
“I can fuck you just as good as he can. Some girls say I’m very good.” Eino yanked her close to kiss her, making her neck snap. “You have no idea—”
She cut him off by trying to slap him, but he dodged it. “Let me go!” she said through clenched teeth. She struggled to free herself of his vise-like grip. She could feel bruises starting on her wrist where his fingers were grasping her.
She smelled alcohol, as though he’d dowsed himself with it. As they struggled, she saw Victor coming toward them.
“Stop, you son of a bitch! Let her go!” Victor yelled hoarsely.
Eino let go of Eva, turning to Victor. But before Eino could ready himself, Eva cocked her arm and slapped him in the face with all her might, knocking him down to the ground like a felled tree.
“That’s a lie; I know how you feel about me.”
“I’m done with you,” she snapped. “I get to choose my life, not you.”
She took several breaths and stood, with her fists balled at her sides above Eino who lay on the road, propped on one elbow. “If you are so unhappy, then go from here.” When she finished, she purposefully held out her hand to Victor.
“Are you all right, Eva? Did he hurt you?” Victor asked as they walked back towards Eva’s house, leaving Eino sprawled in the middle of the lane.
“Not too much, just on my wrist where he grabbed me.”
Eva glanced back to see Eino get up and head in the other direction. I’ve hurt him terribly, she thought. Tears came to her eyes. If Victor hadn’t had a hold of her elbow, she would’ve run back to Eino. Then, she took a few more steps and it was too late. The damage was done.
~~~
When Victor arrived home that evening, he learned from his parents that Eino had packed a small bag of clothes and several items and left. Victor would tell Eva the next day. It was excellent news for him, especially if Eino didn’t come back. At bed, Victor remembered searching Eva’s face after the incident for telltale signs if Eino had said anything about his running around the countryside with other women. She looked at me as she always does, although she was upset at the incident, Victor thought. She wasn’t angry at me, she accused me of nothing. Eino must have kept his mouth shut. Victor sighed with relief and fell asleep feeling triumphant.
Chapter 9
After breakfast, Liam went directly to the brothel to take Dolly out of there for good. He had a pocketful of money in case Shaughnessy demanded some kind of payment. When he walked in, however, no one was there but two barmaids cleaning the place. He made the observation that they could clean the place until kingdom come and it still wouldn’t make a dent in the filth. Jesus, he thought. I’m glad I’m gettin’ Dolly out of this hellish place.
Once upstairs, he went to the back room and knocked. Dolly opened the door, but she didn’t run into his arms as he had expected. Instead, she avoided looking him in the face.
“Dolly, what’s the matter?” He wanted her to look at him. He gently took her arm.
She flinched in seeming pain.
“What happened, Dolly? What’s the matter with yer arm?”
She sobbed. “Go home, Liam. I’m not for ye.”
“What do ye mean? Why can’t ye look at me?” He became alarmed. He finally made her show her face, and what he saw nearly made him scream.
She had a nearly black bruise on her left cheekbone. It seemed as though she had been crying all night.
She still wouldn’t say anything. Standing face to face, he gently opened her filthy robe to see where she was hurt.
“Don’t worry,” he said softly. “I’m just lookin’.”
When he discovered the blue-black bruise going around her thin upper arm, finger prints clearly evident, she began to cry silently.
“God damn him,” Liam said under his breath. “This is my fault. He found out about what we did in the alley last night, didn’t he? I should’ve come long ago.”
“Liam, it’s no use,” she said. She began to hyperventilate.
He held her in his arms. “I am not leavin’ ye here. Ye’re comin’ with me now!”
He sat her gently on the bed, looked in her shabby, broken armoire, and got her clothing for her. He pulled out her little carpetbag and began to pack the rest of her belongings. There was barely anything, just a few pieces of clothing and a worn black-velvet box.
“Come darlin’, we’re goin’. Get yer clothes on.” Though he spoke gently, she still looked absolutely helpless. “All right,” he said. “I’ll help.”
He sat next to her on the bed. He picked up her petticoat. She watched him. He glanced at her and gave her a reassuring smile.
“You really are takin’ me out of here, aren’t ye?” she said weakly. She looked astonished. “I thought last night was a dream. But it’s real, isn’t it, Liam?”
“Ye’re goin’ to have to take off yer dressin’ gown so we can put your undergarments on. And yes, Dolly, it’s real. Ye’re comin’ with me. Annie’s waitin’ for us. She’ll be talkin’ to ye.”
She pulled her robe tie, let it fall from her shoulders and sat naked in front of him. Tears ran down her face.
“Shaughnessy won’t let me go,” she said in fear. “He’ll hurt ye, Liam.”
“He won’t hurt me,” Liam said with confidence. “I’ll come back later tonight and square things with him.”
“I’m scared for ye.”
He ignored her statement and gazed softly at her.
“All right, let’s go,” he said when she was dressed. He looked into her eyes, seeing a smidgen of hope there. “He’s not downstairs, but I think it would be wise if we took the back stairs.”
Liam picked up her carpetbag and the two of them stepped quietly down the back stairs and out the door.
They went directly home to Annie.
“Darlin’, what’s happened to ye, poor thing?” Annie said. “Let’s take care of ye.”
She and Liam drew Dolly a hot bath. Once she was in the water, Liam bathed her as she gazed in wide-eyed non-belief at him.
“Don’t ye want me, Liam?” she said.
“Not right now, darlin’. I wouldn’t take advantage of anyone in yer condition.”
“I don’t believe ye.”
He snorted through his nose in a moment of humor, continued, until she was washed.
Clean from the bath and in one of Annie’s nightgowns, Dolly sat with Liam and Annie in the warm kitchen. They ate saddle of mutton, potatoes, and boiled baby carrots. Dolly had two big helpings and a large glass of fresh cold milk.
When she was finished, Annie said, “Ye best have a sleep child. Ye look exhausted. If ye’re to work here we need to get ye a little more on yer feet.”
“I'd like that, mum.” Dolly covered a yawn through her fingers, a showing of manners that seemed incongruous with her purple-black battered face. In the light from the window, Liam could see the hand print on her face quite clearly. Annie gave him a side-glance.
Annie and Liam took Dolly to the servants’ quarters just off the kitchen and put her in Katie’s bed, Katie having already left for her new job. As Liam helped Dolly into bed, he tucked her under the covers.
“I want to stay with her until she falls asleep,” he whispered to Annie.
Annie hesitated for a short moment, then looked into Liam’s eyes and nodded her head. As she left the room, she closed the door quietly behind her.
It didn’t take long for Dolly to fall sound asleep, but not before she took a moment to breathe in the fragrance of the fresh, clean linens. Liam, not saying a word, just kneeling next to the bed holding Dolly’s hand, watched a tear spill out of her closed eyes. He kissed her still furrowed brow, watching the tension sweetly leave her face.
I’ll take care of Shaughnessy tonight. I promise ye, Liam said to himself.
~~~
A few minutes later, Liam came back into the kitchen where Annie was clearing up. He closed the door quietly and came to her side to help.
Annie gave him a look of doubt. “She’s no bigger ’round than my leg, Liam. It’s a good thing we have a month to feed her, so she looks decent when your parents return.” She gave a deep sigh. “I’m just not sure …”
“I’ve never been so sure of anythin’, Annie.”
Liam and Annie worked in a close silence, Liam lost in thought. All of a sudden, they both looked at each other.
“Most boys bring home stray puppies to take care of,” Annie said. Liam put his arms around her shoulders from behind. “You bring home a half-starved girl.”
He blew out a pu
ff of air through is nose and kissed Annie’s cheek as a son would his mother. “Was I ever like any other child?” he asked.
“Ye always could get yer way with me,” Annie declared with a sigh.
He gave her a smile as he let go and put the dried dishes on the shelf.
~~~
When Dolly finally woke with a start, it was evening. She looked over her shoulder to see Annie sitting in a rocker under an electric lamp. Annie was mending something, maybe a petticoat, Dolly thought.
“Did ye have a restful sleep?” Annie asked.
“Yes, thank you, mum, although I didn’t know where I was for a moment when I woke.” She fell back into the feather pillow, still feeling half asleep. She took another deep breath of the clean linens she was lying in. “Where’s Liam, mum?”
“I don’t directly know. He left not ten minutes ago and wouldn’t tell me where he was goin’. He said he had somethin’ important to do.”
Dolly looked at Annie.
“What’s that dark cloud of worry spreadin’ across yer face, child? He’ll be back as soon as he can.”
Dolly felt a shiver run down her spine. She had a dreadful feeling that Liam went to Shaughnessy’s. She let go an audible, uneven exhale.
“Do ye want somethin’ to eat?” Annie asked cheerfully. “Come. Let's get a shawl ’round ye, and we’ll go in the kitchen to scrounge.”
Once in the kitchen, Annie put a variety of food on the table: soda bread and butter, hard boiled eggs, blueberries, strawberries, and milk. Dolly sat at the table and looked wide-eyed at Annie. She felt like a child asking for permission to open all the Christmas presents.
“Go ahead child. Help yerself,” Annie said encouragingly.
Dolly immediately reached for the berries. “They look so pretty, mum. I never had these. What are they?” She picked them with her fingers and started to eat them.
“Ye’ve never seen those?” Annie asked, eyebrows raised. “The red ones are strawberries and the dark ones are blueberries. They are nice and sweet, aren’t they?”
Eva and the Irishman Page 7