Across a Summer Sea

by Lyn Andrews

  ‘Oh, you knew I wouldn’t change my mind! I’ve lived for so long without you.’

  ‘And now I’ll see you every day. I’m going to buy you a horse and teach you to ride. I won’t have you walking everywhere.’

  ‘A horse! Me ride! I couldn’t! Richard, I couldn’t! I’d fall and break my neck!’

  ‘You won’t. It’s not hard and I’d be very careful in choosing the right animal. A good steady schoolmaster that will take you everywhere safely.’

  ‘Couldn’t I just learn to drive the trap?’ she asked, still full of trepidation.

  He laughed. ‘Mary McGann, you amaze me with such lack of confidence in me. But you delight me too,’ he added, kissing her forehead.

  Further conversation was curtailed by the appearance of Julia with a huge tray. Mary rushed to take it from her.

  ‘Would you be so good as to try to clear a space on that desk?’ Julia asked him, casting her eyes to the ceiling at the clutter.

  He did so and Mary poured the tea.

  Julia sat down with the air of someone it would be hard to dislodge.

  Richard just smiled at her, well aware that she would protect Mary’s virtue from all-comers to the last. Himself included.

  ‘What are the children doing?’ Mary asked, amused at the odd situation and wondering just how much he’d told Julia Moran.

  ‘Out running all over the place with Bridie and Sonny. Tommy’s already pulled his rod out of the outhouse and fired everything in there into a heap! You’ll not get them away from here for hours yet.’

  Mary laughed. ‘I don’t suppose I will.’

  ‘Then when you’ve had your tea we’ll be after taking you down to the cottage and you can get unpacked. It’s nothing grand, mind.’

  ‘It will be wonderful compared to what I’ve just left,’ Mary replied. She wanted to see it but she was disappointed that there could not be more time alone with him for now.

  Julia had been right about the children, at least about Katie and Tommy. They had set up such cries of dismay when she had gone to look for them that she had no option but to leave them to their own devices. There was no leaving Lizzie behind, however. She clambered up into the trap ahead of them all and bounced up and down on the seat.

  ‘Will you tell that child she’ll have us all thrown out on the road if she carries on like that,’ Julia demanded and Richard had to settle her down.

  The cottage was just beyond the graveyard beside the little church, up a narrow track or bohreen. Mary’s eyes lit up when she saw it.

  ‘I never even knew it was here. You can’t see it from the towpath.’

  ‘It was in a shocking state. There’s been some fierce hard work done on it, I can tell you, and I’ve given Matty Donelley the lash of my tongue when he’s been up complaining about just how long it would take him to get it set to rights. If ever there’s a man who’s work-shy it’s him!’

  ‘Still, he did manage to get it done,’ said Richard soothingly.

  ‘But it was only the promise of the extra pounds from you that did it,’ Julia shot back.

  It was small but it was bright and comfortable. Obviously it had been furnished with things brought from the house, Mary thought as she looked around. Some of the things were far too grand for just a simple cottage.

  ‘I wanted you to have every comfort here, Mary,’ he said, watching her as she ran her hand lightly over the nice brocade fireside chair.

  ‘And she has. There’s plenty of everything,’ Julia commented, opening the doors of the dresser for her to inspect the table linen and the food and condiments stored there. The top of the dresser was filled with blue and white delftware.

  The bedroom for Tommy was tiny. There was just enough room for a single bed and a chest of drawers but Mary knew he wouldn’t mind. The other room was larger and contained a double bed and a single bed, all neatly made up. There was a wardrobe, a chest and a washstand with a rose-patterned china bowl and water jug. On the broad stone window sill was a jug of wildflowers. Mary touched them gently.

  ‘That was Bridie’s idea. Sometimes she does be having some strange notions.’ Julia shook her head at the vagaries of Bridie’s mind.

  ‘It’s beautiful, it really is.’

  ‘You do know that if you get tired of it or you feel cramped, your rooms are waiting for you above at the house,’ he said quietly.

  She nodded. But she knew she couldn’t sleep under the same roof as him, she couldn’t trust herself.

  Julia shot him a guarded look. ‘Why don’t you take the child for a drive while we unpack? Sure, what use would you be here?’

  He was reluctant to leave Mary. ‘I could carry the heavy things.’

  ‘And what heavy things would that be? ’Tis only a few bags.’

  ‘I can see you can’t wait to be rid of me. Come on, Lizzie.’ He took the child’s hand and went out, she skipping along beside him.

  ‘Oh, she missed him terribly. I had such a time with her. It was so worrying.’

  ‘Didn’t you have enough things to be worrying about? Was it very bad, Mary?’

  ‘It was. I don’t know how I got through it. He hated me.’

  ‘Ah, don’t think about it now. It’s all behind you. You’re back where you belong. I was never so glad as when he came back and told me he’d seen you and that you were going to come home.’

  Mary looked at her steadily. ‘Just what did he tell you, Julia?’

  The woman sat down in the armchair and Mary pulled a little three-legged stool out and sat facing her.

  ‘That your man was dead. That he killed himself, the Lord have mercy on him! That you were living like beggars.’

  Mary nodded. ‘We were. There was only the money I could earn and it wasn’t much.’

  ‘He said you were out of a night scrubbing floors.’

  ‘It was all I could get.’

  ‘Ah, God love you, child!’

  ‘What else did he say?’

  Julia pretended to inspect her hands. She couldn’t tell Mary of the fierce argument there’d been between them or that only she, because she’d known him for so long, could have said the things she had done.

  ‘That he loved you, which I already knew. In the days and weeks after you left I thought he’d go mad. He was drinking from morning to night and barely eating enough to keep a bird alive. And when he wasn’t too drunk he was riding the fields all day and driving poor Sonny witless. We were afraid he’d come off that animal’s back and break his neck, but he never did. Thank God. And then he seemed to pull himself together but he was not himself at all. He missed you, Mary.’

  ‘I missed him. I never thought I’d see him again.’

  ‘Then he comes home and informs me he’s met you and that you’re coming back as his housekeeper but that you won’t live at the castle.’

  ‘I can’t! He says he can’t marry me but won’t tell me why. Do you know why, Julia?’

  ‘I know well enough, Mary, but it’s not my place to tell you. I swore to him I wouldn’t.’ Her mouth closed like a trap and her eyes were downcast and Mary knew she would get little more from her.

  ‘Just tell me one thing, please? I saw him visit a doctor. Is he ill?’

  The woman looked surprised. ‘Holy Mother of God, he never ailed a day in his life.’

  Mary nodded. She would have to be satisfied with that. ‘Surely you see why I can’t live with him, even though I love him so much. I wasn’t going to come at all.’

  ‘What changed your mind?’

  ‘Lizzie. He’s the only person in her entire life who brings her any joy.’

  ‘But she loves you, Mary, doesn’t she?’

  ‘In her way, but she never behaves with me the way she does with him. Oh, the other two couldn’t wait to come back. They hated living with Frank. They missed the fields and the river, although they did have friends and I suppose they’ll miss them. But it was different for Lizzie. She was utterly miserable all the time.’

  ‘Ah, well,
you’ll all be happier now. If anyone in this country can be happy. Anyone in the world with all this talk of war. Sure, we’ve seen enough of war and rebellion here. It brings nothing but misery.’

  Mary had heard the talk and the rumours but had had too many other things on her mind to worry about it.

  ‘Do you really think there will be a war?’

  ‘Himself thinks there will be, but it might all blow over, please God. Now let’s get started or there’ll be no meal on the table this evening.’

  Mary stood up. ‘I’ll be up to set the table and to serve and then tomorrow Bridie and I and Katie have plenty of work to do.’

  ‘Sure, the last one was a lazy slattern. I wasn’t sorry to see the back of her. And insolent with it too. Didn’t want to soil her hands. Wouldn’t get down on her knees and scrub, oh, no! Poor Bridie had to do most of it.’

  Mary suddenly remembered something. ‘I saw him in Liverpool, before he saw me. He was down at the Landing Stage and he was talking to Peter Casey. What was he doing there?’

  Julia looked startled but hastily recovered her composure. ‘Peter Casey? Sure, I have no idea. He might have relatives there he was visiting. He might even be taking himself off to America. Now I think on it, perhaps I did hear he was talking about taking the emigrant ship. Don’t you worry your head about it.’

  ‘What about his father?’

  ‘He’s dead these past twelve months, God have mercy on his soul!’ She crossed herself devoutly.

  ‘What happened to him? Was it the drink?’

  ‘In a way it was. Wasn’t he mad with it and coming home along the towpath and didn’t he take it into his head that he’d cross by the little bit of a plank that runs beside the lock gates? He fell into the lock itself and they found him in the morning. He’d drowned. Even if he’d been able to swim it’s ten feet down and there’s not a hope of climbing out and the lock-keeper as deaf as a post.’

  ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘’Twas his own fool fault. I wouldn’t blame Peter for up and leaving. What is there to keep him here?’

  Mary walked up to the house at half past five to help Julia and Bridie with the evening meal and found all three of her children sitting at the kitchen table, ruddy-cheeked from the sun and fresh air and decidedly grubby from their exploits. Even Lizzie looked untidy and she’d spent most of the afternoon with Richard.

  ‘Would you look at the state of you three! I wonder Mrs Moran let you in here.’

  ‘They’ve washed their hands and it’s good to see them running about and laughing. There’s two fine brown trout gutted and ready for the oven.’

  Mary smiled at them. ‘I hope you’ve made the most of today. Tomorrow it’s down to work for all of us.’

  ‘Set two places in the dining room, Mary,’ Julia instructed.

  Mary raised her eyebrows.

  ‘Himself says he wants you to eat with him. He won’t have you taking your meal in the kitchen.’

  ‘But . . . ?’

  ‘’Tis what he said and I wasn’t arguing. You take it up with him later, if you’ve a mind to.’

  Mary was a little disconcerted. It didn’t look right, the housekeeper dining with her employer. And in the eyes of the local people that’s what she was. She had even changed into her new black dress and white apron and cap.

  He was startled by her appearance when she took in the soup.

  ‘Mary, why are you dressed like that? There’s no need.’

  ‘There is. And I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to dine with you. People will talk.’

  ‘What people? There’s only Julia, Sonny and Bridie and they’ll say nothing.’

  ‘What about the children? They think I’ve come back just to work.’

  ‘I’ll explain.’

  ‘You’ll explain what?’

  ‘That now you’ve come home you will help Julia but that because you’re my good friend you’ll take your meals with me and wear normal clothes.’

  She shook her head. ‘I don’t think they will understand and what if they pass some remark at school?’

  ‘You’ll have to tell them not to. They never used to discuss anything here with others. I won’t have you sitting in the kitchen.’

  ‘Richard, I don’t want to upset you but I think it would be best if I did eat in the kitchen with them. I have always had my meals with them, at least I’ve always tried to. I could spend the time after supper with you - and after lunch, if you like?’

  ‘I don’t want to separate you from the children. Could we all eat together?’

  She shook her head. ‘No, that would set tongues wagging and it would confuse the children.’

  He smiled. ‘You win. But will you sit with me just for tonight?’

  She nodded and took off her cap and apron.

  When the meal was finished she took the dishes back to the kitchen and began to stack them in the sink.

  ‘What are you doing, Mary?’ Julia demanded.

  ‘Washing up, like I always used to do.’

  ‘No. His instructions are that Bridie has to do it now. After dinner at least. You’re to sit with him. You need time to talk.’

  She went back to the dining room but found it empty. She went in search of him and found him standing in the small reception room at the side of the house, looking out at the fields and hedgerows behind which the sun was starting to slip down, throwing purple and red shadows over the land. She went and stood beside him.

  ‘It’s beautiful, isn’t it? I always loved summer sunsets in Liverpool but they were never like this.’

  He put his arm around her waist. ‘Nothing was beautiful after you left me, Mary. I hated this place.’

  ‘I heard. Julia said you were . . .’

  ‘Inconsolable and drunk for days on end.’

  ‘I’m so sorry I caused you so much pain.’

  ‘I should have thought of what you were going through, not wallowed in self-pity and degradation.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter, though Julia said there were times when they feared for your safety.’

  ‘Oh, Mary, there were times when I wanted to die! I put Juno to the most dangerous and impossible walls and banks. Thank God she carried me safely over them all or I wouldn’t have been here to rescue you from that appalling life.’

  ‘I thank God she did too,’ she said with sincerity.

  ‘But we’re together now, that’s all that matters.’

  She kissed his cheek. ‘From the first time I set foot in this house I felt I was at home, even before . . .’

  ‘Before you fell in love with me?’

  She nodded.

  ‘I’ll never leave you, Mary.’

  Suddenly she remembered her conversation with Julia earlier. ‘Do you think there will be a war?’

  ‘What made you think of that?’

  ‘It seems as though everyone is talking about it.’

  ‘Things in the Balkans are looking grim and if Germany supports Austria against Serbia, and Russia and France go to Serbia’s aid, then Britain will have no choice but to side with her allies and go to war.’

  ‘But what about Ireland?’

  He smiled at her naivety. ‘Mary, Ireland is part of the British Empire. We will have no choice.’

  She thought there was a note of bitterness in his tone but she was more worried about the implications of his words. ‘So you would have to go? You would have to leave me?’

  ‘Don’t talk of leaving, Mary. I’ve only just found you again!’

  ‘Then I will pray to God that war doesn’t come. I don’t think I could stand it.’

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  THE LONG HOT GOLDEN days of July passed slowly and Mary was almost blissfully happy. The house was looking much better thanks to the care she lavished on it, for now she thought of it as her own and of the things it contained as theirs. The former orderly routine was quickly re-established with a few minor changes and the children were once more content, none more so than Lizzie.


  For the past couple of weeks little Maureen Slattery from Kilbride had come every afternoon to play with her. Mary had been surprised when the child had arrived at the back door and had shyly asked for Lizzie.

  ‘Mammy said I was to ask you first,’ the girl had added.

  ‘That’s all right, Maureen. She’s down beside the barn with Katie. I didn’t know you and Lizzie were friends?’

  ‘Oh, we are so, Mrs McGann! Lizzie is my best friend.’

  Mary had smiled. ‘Then off you go.’

  ‘Was that the young Slattery one?’ Julia had asked, glancing out of the window.

  ‘It was. She says she and Lizzie are friends and I think she’s right,’ Mary had replied, smiling as she caught sight of Lizzie coming around the corner. When she’d seen Maureen, Lizzie’s face had broken into a smile and she had run towards the child.

  ‘How do they get on? I mean how do they “talk” to each other?’

  ‘Look,’ Mary had instructed, feeling a sense of relief and joy surge through her. Maureen was slowly and hesitantly copying Lizzie’s sign language, with interruptions and corrections from Lizzie herself. Lizzie was teaching her friend how to ‘talk’ to her and Maureen was sufficiently interested and fond of Lizzie to try and learn. Lizzie’s world was expanding beyond the confines of family and it filled Mary with infinite pleasure. Oh, she had so much to thank Richard for.

  ‘Well, I’ll be blessed! Isn’t that a great thing altogether and doesn’t it do your heart good to see it!’ Julia had exclaimed.

  And yet two things disturbed Mary as she sat in the little kitchen in the cottage each night, after she’d returned from the house. She’d fallen into the habit of sitting by the open window once she had checked that the children were asleep - which they invariably were, worn out by the exertions of the day, much of which was spent in the open air, for harvesting would soon be upon them. The stillness of the summer night was something she derived much pleasure from. The sky was a vast expanse of indigo velvet scattered with stars that looked like diamonds. The rustling of the breeze in the trees was like a soft melody and the scents and sounds of the night came wafting in. It was all so very different from the stifling, stinking, noisy nights of the past three summers. But it was a time when worries also came to disturb her.