Mary Ann Shaughnessy - The Devil And Marianne Part 20

After a long, thoughtful moment Mike gave a great sigh, " wiped the sweat from his forehead, walked to the fire, put his forearm on the high mantelpiece and, resting his head against it, muttered, "Is there any tea going-strong?"

Lizzie rose and went out into the scullery, and Mary Ann returned to her chair, miserable and misunderstood. She hated everybody. Yes, everybody, right down from her da and ma through Mr. Lord, and Father Owen, right down to Sarah Flannagan, not forgetting their Michael, Ben and Mrs. Quigley. She watched her da drink his tea-he never even offered her a sup. She was only allowed to drink tea at breakfast and tea-time, but sometimes her da gave her a drop in his saucer, but not *. today. He had three big cupfuls, one after the other, with piles of sugar, yet after he had drained the last cup he did not go out, but remained in the kitchen by the table, rubbing his hand over it every now and sgain. Her mother, too, remained in the kitchen. She busied herself at nothing, and when this had gone on for what appeared to Mary Ann a lifetime, but which was merely half an hour, she felt she could stand it no longer, and made a move to rise, only to sit back with a plop as her da barked at her, "You stay put. Don't move out of here till I tell you."

Her lips trembled again. What was the matter with him, keeping on. You'd think she had committed a crime. He was going on nearly as bad as he did the night she came back from the convent, when all she had done was to please Mr. Lord-and she knew she had pleased him. It didn't matter what he said about not wanting to see Tony, he had wanted to see him. She knew.

The present monotony was broken by the appearance of Michael who enquired somewhat anxiously, "What's up?"

Mike answered him briefly, saying, "You'll know soon enough." But Lizzie went on to explain the situation, nodding while she did so at Mary Ann's bowed head.

When Michael, whom she knew was looking at her said, "My hat ! What will she do next ! " Mary Ann found great difficulty in restraining herself from barking, "Something that you wouldn't think of, anyway, you big softie." And she might have said this within the next second, but the kitchen door opened again, and the attention of them all was directed towards it.

Tony was standing there, and he wasn't looking at her da or ma or their Michael, but straight at her. He looked different somehow. She watched him come into the room, and when she realized he was making for her, she pressed herself back in the chair. Fear rushed upon her and her mind gabbled, "Eeh ! what have I done. Eeh!"

Tony's face was giving nothing away, on he came until he towered over her. When his hand came out and grabbed her she let out a terrified squeak, and as she was once again lifted from the chair her cry of "Da ! " turned into an astonished gulp when she felt his lips brush her cheek, and when he muttered, "You little devil you," she looked into his eyes, which were close to hers, and a little giggle started to work up from her stomach. But before it reached her lips she stopped it. Over Tony's shoulder she looked at her da's relieved face, and her own took on a primness which said plainly to him, "You see, what did I tell you? All that fuss and bother!" She wriggled from Tony's arms and walked over to the table where Lizzie was standing leaning heavily on it, her relief also evident, and she looked up at her mother and, widi the injustice she had received at the hands of her family made plain in her voice, she asked, "Can I have a drop tea now?"

12 "**3--* .^1fc4 What was the matter with everybody? Mary Ann had no way f as yet of describing to herself that flat feeling that follows on too ii' much excitement. During the past two weeks the excitement ii, "* about the farm had been intense. People coming and going, two men all the way from London. And Mr. Lord's solicitor from Newcastle came nearly every day for a week. And men from the I works, "all going in and out of the big house-and Tony there I I*. nearly all the time. When he wasn't there he was with her da, j: talking. They talked and talked and talked, her da and Tony, : of things she could find no interest in at all-about herds and buying more land and building a stockyard, whatever that ! was. The day following her final piece of strategy she had not of course gone to Mr. Lord at her usual time, for that, she told herself, would have been daft. She was not out to court trouble, she'd had enough of it. So instead she had gone up on to a half,. levelled rick to play, only to be dragged down by her mother, j her hair and clothes straightened, and yet again she was sent up the hill at a run. Yet there had been no quiet reconciliation awaiting her. When she went into the drawing-room Mr. Lord i barked her head off as she knew he would, and she said to her- i' self that it wasn't fair, he could be nice to Tony whom he had il been going on about all the time, and now because she had made things right for him he was going for her ! It wasn't fair. When, the unfairness getting the better of her, she began to snivel, he suddenly became nice and pulled her to him, but bewildered her still further by saying, in his rare and kind voice, "Don't ever let anyone change you, Mary Ann. Always act on your heart." She could understand the first bit all right, but not the second. Whatever way she acted, she thought, she always got wrong.

212 Then there was the excitement of Tony moving up to the house. He hadn't really wanted to go; he had said things could go on just as they were. It was her da who had said he must go. But anyway, it hadn't made much difference, for he was always in and out of their kitchen, having scones and things. Her ma liked Tony. So did their Michael.

In some way the entire farm seemed to have changed. The Polinskis had gone and in their place was a new man, a Mr. Johnston, and there was a Mrs. Johnston and a big girl called Lorna. Lorna was sixteen and worked in Newcastle. Mary Ann didn't quite know if she liked Lorna or not. But Lorna was not sufficiently on her horizon as yet to warrant any mind searching.

Last week Mr. Lord had sat outside and watched the men make his garden. There were umpteen of them, and he had yelled at one, which proved he was a lot better. Yesterday, he was yelling at everybody, that is, everybody except Tony. This peculiar att.i.tude of his towards Tony intrigued her. He never yelled at Tony; every time he spoke to him his voice was quiet, even, she could not believe the word herself but it seemed, gentle. With regards to Tony Mr. Lord was not acting to pattern, and she asked herself from time to time when she saw them together, "What's up with him?"

Now, after fourteen days of excitement and school looming up on Monday, life had become suddenly stale. There was nothing to talk about any more. Everybody on the farm knew everything, of course-there was no one of her own age to brag to. She had seen Sarah Flannagan once in the past two days, and again with an escort, a single one this time. It was the lad who had walked with his head down. Sarah Flannagan seemed to have moved into another sphere, an enviable sphere. Although Mary Ann would have died rather than admit this, there were times now when she gave this matter much thought, for Sarah Flannagan's life seemed full of excitement compared with her own.

She had taken heart when her mother had informed her last night that she was to go to Mrs. McBride's today, taking with her a chicken already for the oven and a dozen eggs. She had seen this as an opportunity to tell Tony' story, with embellishments of course, to her friend. Moreover, while in Burton Street.

there might present itself the opportunity to throw into Sarah Flannagan's face the glory of the new school. In any case, she knew that if she failed to encounter Sarah, Mrs. McBride would soon impart the news to Mrs. Flannagan and take joy in doing so.

Excitedly she had started out with the chicken and eggs and reached Mulhattans' Hall in a glow of benevolence, only to find Mrs. McBride out and her grandson in charge. The grandson's name was Corney, and she didn't like Corney very much, he was bigger than her and always pulled her hair. Yet at this meeting she found herself viewing him in a different light: was he eligible for-a lad? No. His rough, red face and moist nose turned her sensitive feelings away from such a proposition, and reluctant as she was to leave without seeing Mrs. McBride she could not risk staying in the same room with him, unless she was prepared to have a rough and tumble. And she knew who would get the better of tSat. So leaving her gifts and a message, she had retreated hastily from Mrs. McBride's kitchen and Mulhattans' Hall.

Burton Street was practically empty, which was very unusual. She looked across to the Flannagans' house. The windows were prim and neat as ever, but there was no sign of Sarah or Mrs. Flannagan. So, in a very depressed state, she left the neighbourhood and made her way to church, to pay a visit before embarking on the bus for home.

The church too, with everything else, had changed. The Holy Family were of little or no comfort at all. She told them all about everything, but they looked as if they couldn't care less. It was funny about them, she thought. Sometimes they were all " over you and other times they didn't let on you were there.

The Holy Family having taken on the ways of the world, Mary Ann had looked about her in the hope that she would see Father Owen and have a talk with him about something-the Devil or anything, it wouldn't matter as long as she could talk. Of course, it wouldn't be any good talking to him about the affairs on the farm, for he knew as much about them as she did, if not more. He had been at the farm twice in the past week, and closeted with Mr. Lord. She hadn't known up till then that when he was a lad he had been friends with Mr. Lord, for she * wiHfis^ffwi*?'*'

couldn't imagine Mr. Lord ever being a lad. Also that Father Owen had known Tony's grannie. So to talk of the business of the farm would be covering old ground. Yet at the present moment she would have willingly covered any ground just to be able to talk to him. But he wasn't to be seen. Nor did any rustling or noise come from the vestry to indicate his presence there. She did think for a moment of going and knocking at his house door, but then what excuse could she make to Miss Honeysett, because he wasn't bad or anything and had to be visited. Life was very dull, so dull that had she encountered Mrs. Flannagan and Sarah as she left the church she would have welcomed the sight of them. She thought of the morrow, the new school and strange girls. Well, they couldn't be more snooty than the girls at the convent. She had no qualms about her status in the new school. It might be posh, it was posh, and nuns taught there, but it couldn't be posher than the convent. Already she was looking down her nose a little at this new school.

She crossed the road and was walking slowly towards the bus stop when a honk-honk of a motor-horn brought her around with face abeam. And there drawing up to the kerb on the other side of the road was Mr. Lord's car, but with Tony at the wheel. Taking no heed of the traffic, she dashed across to it, and hanging on to the window exclaimed, "Eeh! what are you doin' here?"

For answer Tony said firmly, "Don't you run across the road without looking where you're going."

As she dived round the back of the car she thought, "He's like Mr. Lord, always on." When she was seated beside him, she asked excitedly again, "What you doing here? Where you going?"

"Home, of course." He pressed bis foot on the pedal.

"But what have you been in Jarrow for?"

"I just came down for some hinges for the stockyard gate."

"Oh." The stockyard gate. . . . Her da and him and Len were making a stockyard for the bullocks. They could talk of nothing else, and they wouldn't play or lark on. She was sick of the stockyard, and in less than fifteen minutes she would be home and confronted by it all again. This at the moment seemed *-*

unbearable. She wanted to go for a ride in the car-somewhere . . . anywhere.

A wonderful idea suddenly hit her. She wriggled round on the seat and said excitedly, "Me ma sent me with a chicken and some eggs to Mrs. McBride and she wasn't in and I left them there, but I've got to go back and see if she's got them. Will you take me round?"

"Where does she live?"

"Oh, it won't take you a tick. It's just four streets and a bit away, at the end of Burton Street."

"Very well." He smiled sideways at her. "But mind, I'm not staying, I've got to get back. Mike-your father's waiting for me."

She wriggled herself straight again and looked out of the window. "There won't be any need to stay, I've just got to tell , her."

*** If Mary Ann ever harboured any doubts about endeavour having its just reward they were put to flight as the car swung into the top of Burton Street, for whereas she had left it only half an hour earlier almost deserted now it was full with people. Immediately she sensed the cause of the change-there was a row going on. Twisting herself round and kneeling quickly up on the seat she discerned in the far distance Mrs. McBride. Dressed in her outdoor things, she was standing at the top of the steps of Mulhattans' Hall, with her fists dug into her sides and her head bouncing in the direction of the road, where stood Mrs. Flannagan with Sarah behind her.

The street was alive. People were at their doors and windows, children thronged the gutter, while a group of the more courageous formed a barrier across the road to get a close-up of -the scene.

"It's a row." Mary Ann pa.s.sed this information to Tony without looking at him, and Tony, without much interest, asked, "Where do you want to go?"

"Right to the top, where it is-where the row's going on. It's Mrs. McBride, she's going for Mrs. Flannagan."

This information caused Tony quickly to brake the car, much to Mary Ann's consternation, and she turned round on him and demanded, "You're not going to stop here! Go on to the top."

"The road's full, I can't get up there. Anyway, you don't want to go into that row, do you?" His face and voice showed concern, and she looked at him in amazement as she said quickly, "It's Mrs. McBride. Ah, Tony." She paused a moment, then changed her tone into a coaxing wheedle as she realised that it was a chip of Mr. Lord she was dealing with and not just Tony, for the set look on his face told her that he was not going to drive into the row. "Aw ! come on, take me up. Aw ! come on, Tony. I won't ask you to do anything else . . . ever, honest I won't. Just this once. Aw! come on."

Tony looked at her, shook his head slowly, drew in a breath, and accelerated just the slightest. The car moved slowly up to the outskirts of the crowd, and as he shut off the engine Mrs. McBride's voice came booming to them, yelling, "Kicked her in the shins, did he. Well, she's lucky he didn't kick her in the backside an' all ! I would've done, and you an' all, me fine lady. And let me tell you, you lay a finger on him and beG.o.d ! you'll wake up and find yourself a corpse. And it's me that's tellin' you."

Tony found himself with a ringside view of the fight. He saw a thin woman standing in the roadway, her face contorted with temper. He did not know her, but he did recognize the fat old woman on the steps. And so angry and flaming was her countenance that he warned Mary Ann sternly as she made to get out, "Stay where you are."

What! She turned quickly and looked at him. Stay where she was and a row going on. She sensed that he was afraid for her, and she laughed within herself at anyone being afraid of mixing up in a row, especially in Burton Street, and more especially when one of the combatants was Mrs. McBride. No harm could ever come to her if she was under the banner of Mrs. McBride.

"I've told you, you're not getting out. At least not yet." His hand was firmly holding her arm.

"Aw! man, nothing'll happen to me. It's Mrs. McBrideshe's at Mrs. Flannagan. Her there." She pointed. "Mrs. me Bride always beats her. Aw ! Tony, leave go, it'll be over in a minute."

"It's over now. Look, she's seen you, she's coming down." He nodded to where Mrs. McBride was

descending the steps, her chin up in the air, and shouting to the children as she reached the pavement, "Out of me way! Out of me way! Out of me way, the lot of you."

"You see." The look Mary Ann bestowed on Tony was not without satisfaction; it told him he deserved

all he was likely to get, for now the car was encircled with children and all crying, "It's Mary Ann."' "Hullo, Mary Ann." ,. ,< p="">

"h.e.l.lo, Mrs. McBride." Mary Ann smiled widely back at f.a.n.n.y. "I came before. I brought you a chicken from me ma and some eggs."

"A chicken did you say? and eggs. Well!"

"Did you hear that?" f.a.n.n.y withdrew her head from the car, and looking over the top of it sent her

piercing gaze towards her enemy, repeating, "A chicken and eggs. Did you hear that? Sent to me from

me friend."

Her head popping into the window again, she now addressed' Tony, nodding to him and saying, "Hullo, there, lad."

"h.e.l.lo," said Tony.

Both in his manner and voice it was evident that Tony was slightly nervous and somewhat at a loss.

Quant.i.ties like Mrs. McBride needed getting used to, especially when they were in their battling form.

"Aren't you coming in for a drop tea, the pair of you?"

Mary Ann looked swiftly at Tony, and her disappointment was great as he said, with some slight

emphasis, "No, thank you. 218 You see I'm on an errand." And aiming to temper his refusal, he added, "It's for Mike-some hinges."

"Oh!" The exclamation swept over the street, which Mrs. McBride now addressed, rather than Tony. "Grand news I've been hearing about Mike. Running the whole show he is now. Well, haven't I always said he had it in him? Aye, the just shall be rewarded." Her head was bouncing over the top of the car towards Mrs. Flannagan again, and the prim lady, not being able to stand any more either of her enemy or of the other thorn in her flesh, now preening herself in the car, turned away, marched through her front door and banged it after her. It was evident that she had, for the moment, forgotten about Sarah, who made no move to follow her mother but stared fascinated at the car, and at Mary Ann seated on the far side of the nicelooking young lad.

Acutely embarra.s.sed, Tony was telling himself that he must get out of this, for now converging on the car from all sides, slowly, and somewhat tentatively but nevertheless insistently, were the neighbours, all apparently anxious to hear Mary Ann's news. So when f.a.n.n.y put her head once again through the window he said quickly, "If you'll excuse us, I must get back."

"Certainly, certainly, lad. I understand. And give my very best to Mike. And " Mrs. McBride's podgy and none too clean hand came in and grabbed at Mary Ann's, and she muttered, somewhat softly now, "And thank your ma, hinny, for me. Tell her G.o.d bless her."

"I will, Mrs. McBride." Mary Ann's face was agleam. She was the benevolent lady bestowing chickens and eggs right and left. At this moment she would have loved to have a lorry piled high with chickens and eggs, the former, of course, inert, to distribute among the entire population of Burton Street-with one exception, naturally, the Flannagans.

"Goodbye, hinny."

"Goodbye, Mrs. McBride."

As Tony started the car and was edging it forward, Mary Ann made a plain statement. "You can't get out at the top, you'll have to turn here," she said.

With an intake of breath, he slowly turned the nose and backed, under shouted dictions from Mary Ann inside the car and from Mrs. McBnde outside, and he was openly sighing his rehef and about to take the car swiftly forward when Mary Ann's grip on his hand almost turned the wheels into the kerb What are you doing! Be careful!" He braked, looking and sounding angry as he did so. g ;;Stop a minute ... oh, just a minute. Just a tick, Tony." Look here, Mary Ann!" He was talking to her back for ttllisTgirr gmg Ut th WindW addriinS a ZM^> There was no lad now with Sarah Flannagan and no motherhe stood unprotected, her face not now tranquilly lost in th ,, throes of first love, nor yet grinning under the protection of her > SreeV ' it, 73S 8nC-Mary AM dld n0t COUM the * / ^ /f C n ?C Pavement- A*d once before she had / addressed her enemy from out of the window of this very same ^r she now repeated the process. Her tongue going twenty-five rieS "Yoei7 an,f F t0 ^ k 3l1 " bere he Started P> Icried, You thought was coming back to your school, d dn't you you and your ma ! Well, I'm not, see-I'm going to another ;>?** *"" ^ ^ ^ ^ ' ^ This news made no impression whatever on Sarah's counten11 "rf ' ""S rTned %ht' hr CyeS narrW' her f- -erall very grim. Mary Ann was naturally, therefore, forced to do something to break this indifference. So quickly' she ted to a sublet that had been very much in her mind of late-lads And you re not the only one who can have a lad see ! " Thk was accompanied by a deep bounce of her head. i'vc got one and a better one than you>1, ver h , e one thumbed in the direction of Tony, and not only did sh Indicate him with her thumb, but with her eyes, too Sarah's widening gaze as she took 'in the young man was ike a draught of heady wine to Mary Ann/and'stTmulaTed byt nothing could prevent her from going the whole "And me ma says I can go out when I'm fifteen and be married when I'm nineteen, so there!"

From its expression of amazement Sarah's face now turned to one of open scorn and disbelief, and this had a sudden dampening effect on Mary Ann. She knew she had gone beyond the bounds even of fantasy, and nothing could prove her right but a declaration from the horse's mouth itself. So quickly she turned her face to Tony. He was looking at her with very much the same expression that Sarah had been wearing, which filled her with irritation, and if she'd had time to dunk about it she would have thought along the lines of Mike and would have said, "He's not quick off the mark about some things." And when a person isn't quick off the mark, he has to be prompted. "Aren't I going to be married when I'm nineteen?" That her advanced thinking had definitely stunned Tony for die moment was plain to be seen, for he made no response, until a jab of her blocked and, therefore, quite hard toecap in his ankle brought him to his senses, and he explained over-loudly, "Yes, yes-that's so "

The rest of his mumbled words was lost on her for she was now half-way out of the window. It seemed diat she couldn't get near enough to Sarah as she spurted the remainder of the fantasy at her. "So you see. And he buys me " she was going to say bullets, but her mind quickly rejected this as common and changed it to sweets. But even this word in a split second was discarded for something more glamorous, and she ended, "Chocolates. Big 'uns, in a box, like you have at Christmas. So there . . . you see!"

There was a sharp burr as Tony's foot struck the pedal, and her words were whipped away on a gasp as she was pulled inside the car, plumped on to the seat, and for a second held within the circle of his arm as he pressed her to his side. He was laughing now, laughing so much that she could not hear the sound of her own voice as she cried, "Give over. Aw! give over, man. What you laughing at?"

When they reached the main road Tony was still laughing, he was laughing so much diat the tears were running down his face, and she was becoming a litde irritated. Perhaps it had been funny, but why was he keeping on? And she said again, "Aw! give over." She didn't like being laughed at so much. She liked to make people laugh but not them to laugh at her and keep on. Now he was looking down at her, his face more bright and alive than she had ever seen it, even after the morning he had come from Mr. Lord's, and in an imitation of her own voice, he demanded, "Can't a lad laugh at his la.s.s?"

Her head slowly drooped from his gaze, and she moved primly on the seat, trying to suppress a smile. He had said she was his la.s.s. Suddenly, she had visions of herself being escorted back down Burton Street by him, but on their feet-cars, for the purpose she had in mind, moved too quickly-and they would be walking, of course, under the wilting gaze of Sarah Flannagan. And still with the eyes of her enemy upon her and bulging with envy, she saw herself walking up the aisle of the crowded church in her best clothes followed by her escort . . . and, finally, going to the pictures. But on this thought her reason leapt at her and i said flatly, "Don't be daft. You won't be able to do that for ages and ages."

She slanted her eyes and glanced at Tony. He was still smiling, but he had returned to normal and was driving with his whole attention on the wheel. A feeling of ownership took hold of her, as strong as any feeling she'd had for Mr. Lord.

She was only nine and she had a lad!

end.