by Anne Doughty
She climbed down from her bunk, peered through the porthole and saw the solid grey line of the Down coast beyond the gleaming mass of gently oscillating water. She managed to dress without waking Hannah, picked up her camera and went up on deck.
There was no one else there, but as she leant over the rail, she saw navy clad figures moving on the deck below among barrels and boxes and huge coils of rope. She watched carefully, worked out what they were doing, framed them in her viewfinder. After ten minutes or so, she leant over the rail as far as she dared and shouted down to them.
‘Excuse me. Please would you do that again, but a bit more slowly.’
‘Aye surely,’ came the reply, as one of the two men caught sight of her. ‘But watch out, miss. Yer man Charlie’s face might break yer wee box o’ tricks,’ he said, nodding his head at the older man.
She took her picture, thanked them, then peered into the mist ahead of them. Even as she watched, the muffling white presence began to disperse as the sun rose into a clear sky and laid a glittering golden swathe across the ruffled water in their wake. The distant shores had moved closer. Suddenly there were seagulls all around them, swooping and diving, their cries startling in the pearly quiet of the morning.
There was detail now, church spire and mill chimney, the white splashes of cottages amidst sloping fields on the Antrim side. On the Down side she picked out a lighthouse, a great mansion with gardens running down to the shore, a foundry with thick black smoke rising in the clear air and a train, close to the water’s edge, its smoke floating upwards in white puffs like an Indian signal in a story book.
‘Hallo, Sarah. You were up early,’ Hannah said, slipping up to the rail beside her. ‘Have you taken many pictures?’
‘No, just a few. Not sure I won’t get shake with the vibrations, but it’s worth a try. It’ll be better when we go into the lough. The ship has to slow down because of the erosion of the deep water channel. That suits me,’ she said grinning. ‘I want a picture of that huge sailing ship we saw the night we left with the Oceanic behind her.’
‘But won’t she be gone?’
‘Oh yes, I’m sure she will, but there’ll probably be another one. Don’t you remember Jamie said, “Oh, we see them all the time.” She caught his supercilious tone perfectly. ‘He’s got really pompous in the last year, but he’s probably right about the sailing ships. His office is down on the quay near where they berth, so he should know.’
‘Don’t let him annoy you, Sarah,’ Hannah said gently. ‘He probably feels unsure of himself. When people aren’t sure of themselves they often behave as if they know everything.’
Sarah stopped looking through her viewfinder and stared at her sister. She’d never heard her say anything like that before. Just the sort of thing their mother would say. Still, whatever the reason for Jamie’s behaviour, she really couldn’t stand him being so bossy.
There was a sailing ship berthed just where Sarah hoped it would be. Its deck was covered with small figures working with slings and ropes to hoist great loads of timber from deck to quay while barrels and chests were being brought up from the hold in rope nets, swung like a shopping bag on a crooked finger. Sarah decided to forget about the Oceanic. She used up all her film on the sailing ship except for one last frame she was saving for Da and the boys waiting down on the quay.
‘Did you get what you wanted, Sarah?’ asked Rose, as she and Hannah came to join her where she was standing, camera in hand.
Their own vessel was much quieter now, the throb of the engines reduced to a distant hum, but seamen were still manhandling capstans and hawsers to secure her to the quay before the gangplank could be lowered.
‘Yes, I did. But don’t expect very much, we were juddering all the time,’ she said, as they moved round the deck to watch the activity below and the people arriving to greet their friends and family.
‘Still worth trying,’ Rose said encouragingly. ‘Teddy always said you had to make mistakes to see how to do it better.
She ran her eye over the gathering crowd on the quay below her.
‘I can’t see Da and the boys anywhere,’ she went on easily. ‘Can either of you spot them? The stewardess told me the boat was very full last night. I suppose that’s why there are so many people waiting.’
They watched as first one and then a second gangplank was rolled into place and two streams of people flowed steadily down to the quay to be greeted with hugs and kisses. In a surprisingly short time they dispersed and the quay was empty again, except for seamen and stewards going back and forth, up and down on the gangplanks.
‘Perhaps Da and Sam have been delayed and Jamie’s waiting for them at the Great Northern,’ Rose said at last, when there was still no sign of them. ‘I think we should go and have breakfast.’
‘But would Da know where to find us?’ asked Sarah, more than a hint of anxiety in her voice.
‘Yes, of course. He’ll come and ask the steward if we’re still on board and we’ll tell the steward that we’ll be in the dining room.’
Breakfast was good and Sarah was ravenous. Rose did her best to eat, but she didn’t feel very hungry. It was not like John to be late, however early the hour. He never minded getting up at six, or even five, if the job needed it, and he’d assured her he’d be waiting. Now she was about to come home, he’d owned up at last how much he was missing her.
All the way through breakfast Sarah expected a familiar figure to appear in the doorway, speak a word to the steward and be directed towards their table. It would be wonderful if it was her father, or Sam, but even Jamie would do, though he was certainly not in her good books at the moment. But no one came.
By the time they finished breakfast, they were almost the only people left in the dining room. They went back out on deck and looked around. The quay was empty of passengers and their families. The ship was settling to its morning routine, piles of sheets stacked in companionways, doors propped open for the cleaners. An hour had passed. There was now no question of lateness. Something had gone wrong. They would have to make their own way home.
‘Right then,’ said Rose. ‘We’ll need two porters and a cab to the Great Northern. Sarah, would you find the steward to deal with the cases while Hannah and I collect our hand luggage.’
They had to wait for a cab to be summoned to the quayside and then there was a long wait at the station for a train to Banbridge. The lovely morning that spilt its bright sunshine down on city streets and countryside just beginning to show the first hints of autumn did little to cheer them. Once they got to Banbridge, Sarah hurried across from the station to The Bunch of Grapes and found someone to collect up their luggage and drive them out to Ballydown. The last two miles of their long journey seemed the slowest of all, as they sat silent, all speculations pointless when the next mile would reveal all.
Rose found herself shaking with apprehension as she stepped down from the post-chaise, leaving Hannah to pay the driver. She pushed open the gate and saw weeds poking out of her precious flowerbed. The front door was open and a figure moved in the doorway. It was Sam. Sam with a bandage swathing his head, his leg in plaster, his arms gripping two crutches. He was smiling, his usual warm, open smile as if nothing whatever were the matter.
‘Sam dear, what has happened,’ she cried, as he bent to kiss her.
‘A bit of an accident, Ma. I’m none the worse,’ he said reassuringly, as Sarah and Hannah came running up the path. ‘Sorry I can’t give Da and Jamie a hand with the luggage.’
He peered into the dazzling sunlight where the post-chaise stood at the gate, it’s driver beginning to unload the heavy cases.
‘Sam dear, Da and Jamie aren’t with us. We waited over an hour at the boat, but neither of them appeared. What time did Da leave to meet us?’ asked Rose anxiously, as they all moved into the house.
Sarah wrinkled her nose. There was an unfamiliar smell and it wasn’t very nice. She set down her small suitcase and saw the floor was covered with dust and crumbs.
‘Da went off yesterday to Millbrook,’ Sam explained, lowering himself cautiously into a chair and propping his crutches within reach. ‘There was a bit of a fire. Not all that bad, I think. They got it in time, but he had to be there for the insurance people and the builders. He said he’d have to be there all evening to see to things so he’d stay overnight with the mill manager. Once he’d seen to the papers the manager needed, he’d get a bit of sleep and go up on the first train. Jamie was to meet him down on the quay. Sure, it’s only a step from his office.’
Rose sighed. There was nothing they could do but wait. What had prevented John from getting to meet them could be anything from a rail delay to another outbreak of fire. As for Jamie, she had no idea what could have prevented him from meeting them, even if he had to go on to work immediately afterwards.
She took a deep breath, noticed an unpleasant smell that reminded her of unemptied chamber pots, and wondered what had happened to Mrs Rea. She looked from Sarah to Hannah and towards the pile of suitcases now stacked by the front door.
‘I think perhaps we should change our clothes and have a cup of tea while Sam tells us about his accident,’ she began practically. ‘I’m sure Da will be home as soon as he can manage it.’
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
‘D’ye think I cou’d have a bite to eat, Ma?’ Sam asked, hobbling after her into the dairy. ‘I cou’den cut the bread standin’ on my good leg.’
‘How did you manage last night, Sam, when your father wasn’t here?’ she asked in turn, a look of horror on her face. ‘If you couldn’t cut bread on one leg you could hardly cook yourself bacon and eggs.’
‘Ach, it was a bit of a joke,’ he said, beaming at her. ‘There was a big heel left in the bin, about two inches thick, and I found a lump of cheese. I cou’den carry it back into the kitchen, so I had to munch it leanin’ against the sink,’ he said, cheerfully.
Rose shook her head as another thought struck her.
‘And how did you get upstairs on crutches, Sam?’
‘Well, I thought about it,’ he said with a soft laugh. ‘An’ I reckoned I stood a good chance of breakin’ the other, so I slept in the parlour,’ he explained. ‘I had a bit of luck though. You’d left the sheet and blanket on the table, so I wrapped them round me an’ stretched out on the couch.
‘The stove went out when the coal bucket was empty,’ he went on. ‘I can get about fine, but if I use my arms for the crutches, I’ve no hands for anythin’ else. I never knew how handy legs were,’ he laughed, as he eyed the plate of bread and jam Rose had made while he was talking.
They waited patiently while Sam devoured half the plateful and drank a full mug of tea.
‘Well,’ he said, sighing comfortably as Hannah refilled his mug, ‘I can’t tell you much. I was bendin’ over the nearside wheel with an oilcan an’ I caught somethin’ move in the corner of my eye. The next thing I knew I was lyin’ on the ground bleedin’, wi’ m’ leg broke. No one saw what happened ’cept wee Billy. You remember Billy, don’t you, Ma? The wee lad usta be one of the flagmen?’
Rose nodded quickly, as his sisters urged him to go on.
‘Well, he said one of the empty wagons started rollin’ and I jumped outa the way, but it caught the back leg. He heard the crack, he says. He told the Boss about my leg when he came out of his office, but the Boss paid no attention to him. He just got out the kit and bandaged my head. But Billy ran away up the hill to Rathmore for Da and he came an’ took me straight over to yer man Stewart in Dromore,’ he went on, pausing to lower half the contents of his mug. ‘He said the leg was broke sure enough and he set it right away. We were powerful lucky he was there. He’d just come in to his dinner an’ wou’da been away again in a few more minits. He asked after you, Ma, an’ said Miss Sinton told him you were enjoyin’ your holiday and feelin’ better. He was real pleased about that,’ he added, turning back to his bread and jam.
‘But when did the accident happen, Sam?’ Sarah burst out, her eyes grown wider as she listened to his story.
‘The day’s Saturday, isn’t it? Well, then it was this day two weeks.’
‘Two weeks ago,’ Rose repeated, taken aback. ‘And what have you been doing to amuse yourself when Da’s been at work?’ she asked, shocked at the thought of him hobbling around for that length of time.
‘I’ve read every book in the parlour from the Bible to the Children’s Encyclopaedia and half the novels forby,’ he said, grinning. ‘I liked Pride and Prejudice right well, but then I’d seen the play, so it was easier to get the hang of it than some of the others.’
Rose looked at Sam and smiled to herself. There was something about his irrepressible good humour that was utterly endearing. It wasn’t every young man who would ask for so little attention.
‘So why didn’t you tell me what happened when you wrote?’
‘Sure, I knew you’d worry,’ he said promptly. ‘Da and I discussed it and I said there was no need to trouble you, it was only a matter of weeks before I was back to work and none the worse. It mighta been different if it hadn’t been for Dr Stewart, but sure we knew not to go to the man in Banbridge,’ he said, polishing off the last of his bread and jam.
Rose smiled and said nothing. He was quite right. Until she’d seen him for herself, she’d certainly have worried. The news would have cast a very different light on that last week when they’d celebrated Hannah and Teddy’s engagement every day.
‘Sam, dear,’ she began, as one thought led to another. ‘What’s happened to Mrs Rea? Is she all right?’
‘Aye, she’s fine. She’d some relative ill, so she went to see to them. When she came back, she said she’d been offered a good place if she could take it right away. Da said she must go for she’d been good to us an’ we all knew she’d not be needed long once you were back.’
‘And when was that, Sam?’ asked Hannah, whose eye had been lingering on the cobwebs and the dark patina of the unwashed floor.
‘About a month ago,’ he said vaguely. ‘It must have been just before Elizabeth and Hugh went off. Da and I managed fine until I broke the leg. We were going to have a good clean up for you comin’ home, but there’s been one thing after another at the mills. Da’s been back and forth every time anythin’ goes wrong.’
‘Sam, what about Dolly? Has she had breakfast?’ Sarah demanded.
‘Dolly’s fine. Don’t worry. The grass is good after all the rain and Da left her hay yesterday. She’ll not go hungry. But she’s lonely. She comes runnin’ whenever she hears me clumpin’ along,’ he said, looking from one to the other. ‘I think she’s missed ye.’
‘Could we go now, Ma? Just for a minute?’ asked Sarah. ‘Then we’ll come back and see what jobs you want us to do.’
‘All right. Don’t be very long. I may need you to go down to MacMurray’s or into town for some shopping,’ warned Rose, whose first glance at the larder and store cupboards had not been encouraging.
A little later when Sam had hobbled off to the privy, Rose heard footsteps at the door. Thinking it was the girls, she stepped back into the kitchen. She was just in time to see John come over the threshold.
‘Ach Rose dear,’ he said, relief and joy written all over his face, as he strode across the room and put his arms round her.
‘John, dear, I’m so glad to see you,’ she said, kissing him.
Only when he released her and held her at arms length to look at her, was she sure of what she’d glimpsed as he’d crossed the threshold, the worn and haggard look on his face.
‘Why didn’t you tell me, John, about Mrs Rea and then about Sam?’ she asked gently.
His working trousers crinkled at the waist where he’d tightened his belt. He had most certainly lost weight.
‘Aye, and that’s not the half of it,’ he said, sounding remarkably cheerful. ‘Sure none of it matters now I have ye home an’ ye lookin’ so well. Where’s all our family?’ he went on, looking round the kitchen.
‘Sam’s in the pri
vy after two mugs of tea,’ she replied laughing, ‘Sarah and Hannah are away to say hello to Dolly.’
‘And Jamie? Where’s he?’
‘I don’t know, John,’ she said slowly. ‘He wasn’t there to meet us. We waited an hour or more and then came on by ourselves.’
‘Ach Rose, ach Rose,’ said John, his voice catching, ‘what sort of a welcome home was that? When the fire sprung up again I thought to meself, well, at least Jamie’s there to help them and warn them about Sam. Rose’ll guess I coulden get away. Ach Rose,’ he repeated again, his face distraught.
‘Never mind, love. I was worried when none of you were there, but I don’t think we need be concerned about Jamie,’ she said reassuringly. ‘He might just have overslept if he was out on Friday night, or maybe he had some meeting first thing. He’d have known you and Sam were there.’
‘But sure he knew about Sam,’ replied John sharply. ‘I told him about his accident when I wrote with the day and time to come to meet ye.’
Rose caught the look on John’s face and was about to reply when two figures passed the front window.
‘Da,’ cried Sarah, flinging her arms round him as she and Hannah dashed into the kitchen. ‘We didn’t hear you,’ she explained, breathless with excitement, as John hugged them both. ‘But then Dolly whinnied and we heard Bess answer, so we knew it had to be you.’
‘My goodness, yer both lookin’ great,’ said John. ‘I suppose I’m lucky I amn’t losin’ the both of you,’ he said, slyly, as he glanced from one to the other, one daughter engaged to be married, the other no longer the lively schoolgirl he’d waved goodbye to, two months ago.
‘Sam, how are ye son, did ye manage all right last night?’ he asked anxiously, as Sam followed them more slowly. ‘Sure I thought I’d have your mother and the girls back here in time to make your breakfast. But ye can never tell with fire,’ he went on, shaking his head.