The Ha'Penny Place (Ivy Rose Series Book 3)

by Gemma Jackson

  The courtyard, when they reached it, was a mass of families getting ready to walk to Mass. Greetings were shouted, new outfits admired and women’s voices echoed around, shouting dire warnings to children not to get their new clothes dirty. The Lane courtyard was a hive of happy smiling people – bright colours were in evidence for this special day.

  “Morning, Ivy, don’t you look nice!” Maisie Reynolds was standing on the steps leading up to the main door of their tenement. She was wearing the blouse and matching turban she’d made from the material she’d bought from Ivy – her yellow knitted jacket was beautifully made. Maisie was checking the appearance of her husband and two tall sons. “Emmy, petal, where’s your coat? The sun might be shining but never forget ‘Ne’er cast a clout till May be out’ – it’s a wise old saying for a reason. Are yez off to Mass?”

  “Take a breath, Maisie.” Pete Reynolds looked down at his wife. She was brushing invisible dirt off the shoulders of his good suit while making sure her neighbours noticed her men had new second-hand outfits for the day that was in it. She’d fluttered like a young girl when he’d told her she looked a treat in her new outfit.

  “We’ll see yez later,” Ivy said. There was no point in answering Maisie – the woman was talking to hear herself speak. Ivy grabbed Emmy’s hand in hers and, after checking the gate leading down to her basement was firmly closed, they fought their way through the crowd towards the livery.

  “Don’t forget the party later, Ivy.” Marcella Wiggins voice could be heard but Ivy couldn’t see the woman in the crowd.

  “I’ll be there.” Ivy didn’t stop. She was almost pulling Emmy along behind her. She’d have a chance to admire her neighbours’ new outfits at the street party.

  “Sadie Lawless,” Ivy was surprised to see the other woman standing by her pram off to one side of the open livery doors, “I didn’t expect to see you here – give us a minute.” She released Emmy’s hand and with a gentle shove sent the girl into the livery to fetch her coat and hat.

  Emmy ran forward, eager to fetch her blue coat. She couldn’t wait to be a fairy queen.

  “I thought, if you don’t mind, Ivy, I thought me and John could walk to Mass with yez.” Sadie clenched the handle of her pram with white-knuckled hands. The big navy-blue pram was moving frantically up and down in reaction to Sadie’s rocking. In spite of that the baby was peacefully asleep inside.

  “What’s up?” Ivy gently removed Sadie’s hands from the pram. The frantic rocking would make the baby sick if Sadie didn’t let up.

  “I don’t know what to do with time off,” Sadie almost wailed.

  Ivy looked around. It would take them ages to get through the crowd with this big pram. She wished she could push it through the livery and out the other side but the centre aisle of the livery was busy with some horses being groomed, and others being hitched up to carriages. She’d gladly walk through the hubbub but not while pushing a baby.

  Ivy took Sadie by the shoulders and shook her gently. There was more to this than met the eye. “You make your way to the tunnel leading out to Stephen’s Lane.” It was nice to have a choice of exits now since the previously blocked-up tunnels had been opened up. “I’ll get Emmy and meet you there. I’ll tell Jem and John that we’re going ahead of them.” She gave Sadie a gentle push in the right direction before hurrying into the livery – stepping carefully. She didn’t want to dirty her good shoes.

  “Ivy, is Emmy not with you?” Jem was overseeing his workers.

  John Lawless, wearing one of Mr Solomon’s beautifully tailored suits stood at his side, his crutches resting on the earth floor. An empty wheelchair was off to one side.

  “I’m here, Uncle Jem.” Emmy appeared, her blue coat flying open, the matching hat swinging from her hand.

  She ran over to join the three adults and waited while Ivy fussed over getting her dressed properly. Jem pulled a comb from the back pocket of his trousers and quickly restored order to Emmy’s long black hair.

  “You’re not dressed, Jem Ryan.” Ivy hadn’t thought of Jem’s business when she’d suggested going to an early Mass. The demand for carriages to carry people about the city this morning was obviously high. Jem was wearing his work clothes.

  “I’ll have you know, Miss Murphy,” Jem struck a pose, “that I am not standing here in my birthday suit. I’m decently covered. It won’t take me long to change into my good suit.”

  “No,” Ivy looked around at the mayhem surrounding them, “we can go to a later Mass. You stay here and take care of business. John, you sit down in your chair. I’m going to take Sadie for a long walk by the canal. We’ll be back later. Come along, Emmy.” Ivy grabbed the child’s hand and hurried through the livery and out the far door. She’d avoid the crowd in the courtyard.

  “By God, Jem,” John Lawless made his way over to his wheelchair and sat down slowly and carefully, glad of the chance to rest, “I think we’ve been given our orders.”

  “What’s really wrong with you, Sadie?” Ivy asked when they were walking along the bald pathway in the grass verge cut from the driving hooves of the horses that pulled the barges along the canal. Emmy was in front of them, concentrating mightily on pushing the pram with the sleeping baby inside. It was a pleasant walk with the swan-covered canal on one side, the occasional barge boat with its occupants waving gaily as they passed and the clip-clop of horses’ hooves on the cobbled street on the other. She promised herself to take more time to enjoy the simple pleasures available to her.

  “It’s that couple that Ann Marie got in.” Sadie was blind to the beauty around her. “They are taking over me kitchen. I feel like I’m in the way.”

  “Honest to God, Sadie, there’s times I feel like boxing your ears.” Ivy stopped walking. She kept a careful eye on Emmy who continued to walk along the path. The little girl got to hear too much of what went on. She’d prefer to keep this conversation private. “I know Ann Marie sat you down and talked about this.”

  Ivy had been there when Ann Marie explained – in detail – why she was employing the couple over the Easter holidays. Eleanor and Martin Skelly had been removed from their positions of cook and footman when they had fallen in love and requested their employers’ permission to marry. Ann Marie heard of their problems and employed the pair to give Sadie a break from the constant demands of her home and family. The couple were being tried out by Ann Marie for permanent positions in her Dalkey home. She was planning to re-open her Dalkey Estate with a minimum of staff on hand.

  “Why can’t you just look and learn, Sadie?” Ivy asked. “You have the chance to ask the pair about life in a big house. They are doing you no harm and I for one can’t wait to have the Easter meal Eleanor is preparing for us. We’ll be served like the nobs and everything. Would you for feck’s sake just relax and enjoy yourself?” Emmy was too far ahead by now. “Emmy, that’s far enough! Turn around now.” She watched the little girl turn the big pram carefully and begin to walk back in their direction.

  “Them two lost their home from one day to the next.” Sadie was terrified of the same thing happening to her and her family. No one seemed to understand her fear no matter how many times she said it.

  “Sadie, the same thing could happen to any of us.” Ivy too was very conscious of the fact that she could be evicted from her rooms with very little notice. It was a fact of life for people who rented their homes. “You were in danger of losing your rooms when John had his accident. You’re in a better state now. I know you and John have money saved. You make a good amount from all the work your family does on my dolls. You won’t be homeless.” She shook the other woman gently. “You can’t keep worrying about stuff that hasn’t happened yet. You’re making everyone bloody miserable and that’s not you.” She snapped her lips shut – Emmy had almost reached them.

  Chapter 30

  “I’m looking forward to this fancy meal we’ve been promised.” John Lawless was inching along slowly on his crutches.

  Dora, his daughter, was p
ushing the wheelchair along Grafton Street with her sister Clare and Emmy aboard. The three girls were having a lot of fun, bringing smiles to the faces of the people they passed.

  “There’s times, John, when I have to stop and check I’m still standing because the world’s spinning that fast around me.” Jem was walking beside John, ready to grab his friend if the walk became too much for him. They had been to Mass and were now making their way back to Ann Marie’s place. “What’s the likes of us doing getting ready to have Sunday lunch like the nobs?”

  “Jem, since the moment Ivy Murphy marched into my hospital room I haven’t known what’s going to happen next. I was lying there minding me own business when that woman,” he gave a nod of his head to where Ivy and Sadie walked at the front of the group with the pram, “demanded I pick up me bed and walk like something out of the Bible. Honest to God, nothing’s been the same since. I’m proud of myself and my family for grabbing at the chance of a better life. So, anything that comes my way – well, I’m just going to grin and enjoy it.”

  “That’s a good attitude to have.” Jem was worried about the men driving his carriages out and about. The people on the radio were talking about the trouble the march to the Phoenix Park might bring to their doors. He wished there was something he could do. He’d taken every precaution with his men – all he could do now was hope and pray.

  “That woman Eleanor knows what she’s about in the kitchen.” John’s arms and back were aching, but he didn’t want to give up the feeling of standing on his own two feet, surrounded by family and friends. The girls were having the best of time using his wheelchair as a toy. He wouldn’t take it away from them just yet. “She went down to that fancy market on Stephen’s Green and stocked up with all kinds of things me and Sadie never heard of.” John wished Sadie would allow the woman to teach her what she knew. “Had the stuff delivered to the door if you wouldn’t be minding. She doesn’t haul the stuff about herself like my Sadie and your Ivy.”

  “She’d be used to a different way of doing things,” Jem answered with his mind on other things. Was it just his imagination or were there more men hanging about the streets than usual? He had to stop thinking like this or he was going to drive himself mad.

  The group continued to make their way slowly back to the Grand Canal, exchanging Easter greetings with those they passed. They were working up an appetite for the promised feast. John and his family had been fasting to receive Communion so they were particularly hungry.

  “Jem, would you carve, please?” Ann Marie was keeping a careful eye on Martin Skelly, the man serving the meal. She was judging his attitude towards her guests. She could not employ a couple who would look down their nose or in any way make her less fortunate friends uncomfortable. She didn’t see anything she could object to in the man’s attitude.

  “A leg of lamb, Ann Marie!” Jem stood and took the offered utensils from the silver salver in Martin’s white-gloved hand. “You’re spoiling us.” He pulled the platter holding the beautifully presented meat towards him and began to carve, carefully placing the thin slices of lamb onto the serving plate Martin had put close to his hand.

  “If you and Martin would be so kind, Ann Marie,” Ivy dared to say what she believed everyone else was thinking, “you could perhaps offer us ignorant peasants instructions on how to serve ourselves this wonderful meal before we start gnawing on the legs of the table.” They were gathered around the long table in the dining room. The silence was deadly as each person sat afraid to make a wrong move. The food was beautifully presented on salvers and in glass and china – most of the people at the table had never seen the like – the food they and their friends served usually came from the pot on the fire to the plate.

  “You will never find a more snobby individual than an upper-house servant, Miss Murphy.” Martin Skelly knew how he reacted to this unusual situation was important. The lady he prayed would employ him and his new wife had explained the situation to him when he’d come to the first meeting at this house. He and the missus had discussed the matter. They would learn to live with this motley crowd and make the most of the chance offered. “I believe you should count your blessings that you don’t have a crowd of servants breathing over your shoulder. I don’t imagine it makes the food go down very pleasantly.” He’d taken a chance and now he’d see if he’d read the situation correctly. He waited for the ceiling to fall in on him for speaking out of turn.

  “Very true, Martin,” Ann Marie smiled. “We cannot expect Martin to serve all of us so we shall dine en-famille. The food shall be passed from my hand to Ivy on my right and she will pass it on to the next person and so on.” She picked up a flowered china bowl almost overflowing with creamy white mashed potatoes. She passed the bowl to Ivy after serving herself a small portion – aware all the time of every eye at the table fixed on her every move.

  “I’ll serve the meat and gravy.” Martin watched the goings-on with fascinated eyes. He couldn’t wait to get back to the kitchen and tell his Eleanor about it all. The dishes were passed, the meat and gravy served and Martin left the room.

  The meal progressed quickly after that with everyone serving themselves from the many dishes available. For a while the only sound in the dining room was that of utensils tapping plates as everyone dug in to one of the best meals they had ever tasted. Some of the spices and herbs were strange on the tongue but after a moment the sensation was delightful.

  “No offense to anyone here,” Jem patted his lips with his linen napkin, “but that’s some of the best food I’ve ever tasted.”

  “The woman is an artist in the kitchen,” Ann Marie agreed.

  “I’m glad you didn’t expect us to sit here while you took photographs of the food, Ann Marie,” Ivy laughed.

  Dora, Clare and Emmy exchanged grins while continuing to enjoy the food.

  “Oh, I never thought,” Ann Marie almost wailed.

  “You can’t be hiding behind that camera all of the time, Ann Marie,” Sadie said. “You would miss all the fun of living if you did that.”

  “Very true, Sadie,” Ivy nodded, “and besides she’d have had a mutiny on her hands. My stomach thought my throat was slit I was that hungry.”

  “I asked Mrs Skelly to teach me how to cook,” Dora Lawless offered softly. “I don’t want to go into service.” She hadn’t mentioned the matter to her parents. She looked at them now, scared she’d done something wrong. “I would like to learn from Mrs Skelly – I thought cooking might be a skill that would be useful to me. I don’t want to work in an office and answer telephones like our Clare.”

  “We’ll talk about this later,” John said with a smile.

  “What a marvellous idea!” Ann Marie was delighted to note that Dora’s English was improving due to the elocution lessons both sisters were attending.

  The conversation around the table became general. The food disappeared at a great rate. Ann Marie had to ring down to the kitchen for a refill of several dishes much to the delight of Eleanor Skelly.

  “I thought, if everyone agrees,” Ann Marie said as people sat back from the table with softly contented sighs, “that we could sit in the lounge and allow our meal to settle before being served Easter cake and tea. Does that suit everyone?”

  “I’m going to check on the baby, then the girls and I will help wash these dishes and clean the kitchen,” Sadie said. “We can’t expect the woman who’s been working all morning to clean up as well. It wouldn’t be fair.”

  “I want to show you two my photographs of Emmy,” Ann Marie said. Only Jem, Ivy and Emmy had joined her in the lounge. The Lawless family had chosen to tend to their own wants and needs. Everyone would meet up again later for cake and tea or coffee.

  “Yippee!” Emmy clapped her hands.

  “We’d love that.” Jem sat on a small sofa, Ivy at his side.

  “I put everything here in preparation.” Ann Marie crossed to a mirror-decorated sideboard and began riffling through the photographs she’d stacked there
.

  “Let’s see all of them,” Ivy suggested. “I love looking at the photographs you take, Ann Marie.”

  “I have a great many here that I took out at the new airport that has recently opened outside Glasnevin,” Ann Marie said as she checked the first stack of photographs. “I spent one day there trying to capture the airplanes coming and going. It was exhilarating, I can tell you. I was even offered a ride in one of the airplanes.”

  “You got a chance to go up in one of those flying machines?” Jem moved to the edge of his seat. He couldn’t imagine anything more exciting.

  “Ann Marie, did you really get into one of them air-o-planes?” Ivy felt dizzy just at the thought of it. What would it be like to fly high in the sky?

  “I did.” She whirled around, her face shining with joy at the memory, her hands full of photographs. One large print slipped from the bundle and fell to the floor. She didn’t notice, too intent on thinking about her magical experience. She was giving serious thought to taking flying lessons. She passed half of the photographs in her hand to Ivy and the other half to Jem.

  Emmy crossed the floor to pick up the fallen photograph. She wanted to see. She turned over the large black-and-white shiny photograph and froze. She stared at the image. Her green eyes, glistening with tears and dark with worry, travelled over to where Jem and Ivy were exclaiming with delight at each new image revealed in Ann Marie’s photographs.