The English Tutor (24 page)

He could say nothing against the repeated visits to Slievaun, for she never again abused the hours allotted to study, neither could he speak to Conn without committing an impertinence. But watching them together, seeing the little careless intimacies which he felt must mean so little to Conn, he was uneasy.

Mark had had his way with Kevin about the frock, and Clodagh wrote ecstatic letters from Dublin, describing first one and then another of her finds, but keeping her final choice a secret until she returned. As the time approached, Clancy
’
s birthday became the main topic of conversation. Aunt Bea unpacked the best Sevres dinner service, which had not been in use since Kitty was alive, and fat Mary Kate in the kitchen devised suitable menus days before. Even Kevin began thinking of the choicest wines in his cellar, remarking tolerantly that it might be a coming of age party instead of an ordinary birthday, so much fuss were they making.

“
Perhaps,
”
said Clancy to Conn,
“
it will be a c
oming
of age for me. No one can call you a child any longer at eighteen. Even Mark is going to stop my ordinary lessons.
”

“
Coming of age—you!
”
scoffed Conn affectionately.
“
Why, you
’
ll be coming down to dinner in that old red jersey you
’
ve worn since you were fourteen and your hair like a bird
’
s nest. You wouldn
’
t be my Clancy if you were any different.
”

“
You wait,
”
she said,
“
until you see what Clodagh brings.
”

Clodagh arrived the night before, bringing cardboard boxes of various sizes and her own large suitcase. She kissed everyone effusively, including Mark, lifting a glowing face to each. There was about her something that was subtly different, a softness, a radiance which matched Clancy
’
s but was altogether more sure.

The cousins entwined their arms and talked excitedly and seemed loath to separate for a moment. All the evening they shut themselves in Clancy
’
s bedroom, trying on clothes, and when Mark asked her if the dress came up to expectations, she turned on him a starry gaze.

“
Oh, it
’
s lovely!
”
she said,
“
far too lovely for me. Clodagh says no one must see it till tomorrow night, so I can
’
t tell you what it
’
s like, but there are shoes from Aunt Kate, and nylons and underclothes, and even a bag to match. Clodagh did it all. Isn
’
t she a darling? Tonight she
’
s just like she always used to be, and I love her.
”

Mark, listening, felt an unaccountable pang. He had urged her to grow up.
“
Don
’
t let them keep you adolescent for too long—you
’
ll get hurt,
”
he had said. But tonight he had an unreasoning wish that she could remain a child. Growing up could hurt, too, and hurt most cruelly if one was as unprepared as Clancy.

“
It
’
s going to be a wonderful birthday,
”
she said, and he replied gently:

“
I hope so, Clancy. I hope so very much.
”

The day began perfectly. Even the weather was kind, and the gales of the past weeks had subsided to a cold breeze and no rain fell. There were presents arranged by Clodagh with great care on the breakfast table. A five-pound note from Kevin, who never could be bothered with shopping, handkerchiefs from Aunt Bea and two pairs of woollen gloves which she had knitted, and Brian had bought a box of marbles which he wanted himself, borrowing a shilling from Michael John to complete the purchase. Agnes, with rather misplaced optimism had proffered a well-stocked work-basket, and Clodagh had brought an expensive bottle of scent which she proposed to borrow that evening, but of all her presents, it was Mark
’
s which charmed Clancy most. He had found, in an old shop in Duneen, a delicately painted eighteenth-century trinket-box, which, when the lid was raised played three French
bergerettes
in tinkling succession. Brian speculated at great length upon what sort of present Conn would bring in the evening.

“
I know,
”
said Clodagh smugly.
“
I chose it.
”

“
Oh,
”
said Clancy, disappointed. She would rather Conn had chosen her present himself.
“
He said he had a surprise for me, too. He said he had some news which would please me, but he was keeping it for the party.
”

“
I know that, too,
”
Clodagh said.

Both Clancy and Brian at once set on her and tried to coax the secret from her, but Clodagh would not tell. She said it would spoil everything to know before the party, and Conn must spring his surprise himself.

“
I know what it is!
”
cried Clancy triumphantly.
“
He
’
s made up his mind about the farm. He
’
s going to stay, and he
’
s bought that brood mare of Daley
’
s that he always wanted to stand to Regency. That
’
s it, isn
’
t it, Clodagh? I feel it in my bones that
’
s the surprise, for it would certainly please me very much, as he knows.
”

But Clodagh looked mysterious and would not say yes or no, and Mark, who had given them a holiday, said that if they were going to walk down to the village in time for the Meet, they had better be thinking of starting.

By the evening they were all ready much too early, for Clodagh had harried everyone to such an extent to be dressed and waiting before Conn arrived, that they had been driven to their rooms soon after tea. Mark was the first down and he was having a drink with Kilmallin who had just come in from the farm, when Aunt Bea arrived, trailing the skirts of an out-of-date lavender tea-gown she had not worn for nearly twenty years, although she insisted upon keeping on her Shetland shawl.

“
The girls are just coming,
”
she said.
“
They look very nice.
”

There were voices and laughter on the stairs, and Clodagh, vivid in full green taffeta, flung open the library door.

“
Allow me to introduce you to the birthday queen, Miss Clancy O
’
Shane,
”
she announced, and stood back for Clancy to enter.

CHAPTER
TEN

SHE came into the room slowly and a little uncertainly, and stood there, just inside the door, looking at them all shyly.

Mark had to admit that Clodagh had been clever. She must have searched hard to find just that shade of smoky blue, and in every way the dress was a complete contrast to her own. The soft chiffon fell in folds of almost classic simplicity, and clung lovingly to her young bosom above the silver belt. The black curls had been brushed until they shone and were caught back with a narrow silver fillet, and there was about her, as she stood there waiting for their verdict, an air of delicacy and strangeness which Mark found very touching.

He was the first to speak.

“
It
’
s lovely, Clancy,
”
he said.
“
You look like one of those lost princesses out of a fairy tale. I must say, Clodagh, I do congratulate you very sincerely.
”

Clodagh shut the door and rustled over to her favourite seat on the arm of a chair.

“
She wouldn
’
t wear lipstick for all my persuasions, but I don
’
t think it matters,
”
she said, with the critical air of an artist.

“
She was perfectly right,
”
said Mark.
“
She doesn
’
t need it.
”

“
Kilmallin, you haven
’
t said anything,
”
Clodagh pouted.
“
I do hope you
’
ll appreciate all the finer points of Clancy
’
s ensemble, for you
’
ll get a shock when you see the bills.
”
Mark looked at Kevin curiously. He was standing quite still, staring at his daughter with the same sense of shock which he had worn that night in the summer when Clodagh had experimented with her hair, and Mark knew he was again being reminded of Kitty. For an anxious moment, he wondered if Kevin was going to spoil Clancy
’
s evening with another outburst, but he turned away at last, and helped himself to another drink.

“
Very nice,
”
he said dully, then added with an effort to be more gracious:
“
I
’
ve no doubt you
’
ve
t
rained me, you minx, to say nothing of giving the girl fancy ideas about herself, but I will say the colour suits her. Mark, would you give the ladies some sherry, please.
”

Clodagh looked at the clock and gave a little scream.
“
Kilmallin
,
you must go and change!
”
she exclaimed.
“
Conn will be here any minute, and Mary Kate says we
’
re not to let the dinner spoil. It
’
s special.
”

“
Och!
”
said Kevin,
“
I
’
m not changing. If you all want to dress yourselves up like a lot of monkeys you can, but I
’
m staying as I am.
”

“
Kilmallin,
you
can
’
t
!”
Clodagh was horrified..
“
You know it was all arranged. It
’
s a
party
and you can
’
t spoil it all by being the only person in dirty old tweeds.
”

Clancy laughed at her dismayed face.

“
It doesn
’
t matter,
”
she said.
“
It
’
s my party, and I don
’
t mind. Besides, Conn won
’
t have changed. I don
’
t think he
’
s got such a thing as a dinner jacket.
”

“
He has, then,
”
said Clodagh quickly, and turned pleading eyes on her uncle.
“
Oh, please,
please,
Kilmallin
, don
’
t spoil it all. It
’
s a very special occasion.
”

“
Just because it
’
s Clancy
’
s birthday?
”
Kevin teased.

“
Because it
’
s her birthday, of course, and—oh, Kilmallin, be a sport.
”

“
Your things are all ready, dear,
”
said Aunt Bea
’
s calm voice.
“
I put them out myself.
”

“
Then something
’
s sure to be forgotten,
”
he retorted, resolved to grumble to the end, but he swallowed his drink and left the room, banging the door behind him.

“
Conn
’
s late,
”
said Clodagh, swinging a restless foot.
“
I hope that crazy old car of his hasn
’
t broken down.
”

She looked vivid and very pretty in her bright taffeta, and her excitement was even higher than Clancy
’
s.

“
Och, Conn
’
s always late!
”
Clancy said, and at that moment he arrived.

Clancy sprang to her feet as he came into the room and with his first words, her ease returned.

“
Well, will you look at that now! Never in my life have I seen you look so grand, Miss Clancy O
’
Shane. A happy birthday, darling—come here to me at once!
”

She ran across the room to him and he swept her up in a great hug. Then he tossed a package into her lap and turned to take a glass of whisky from Mark.

“
Oh, Conn, it
’
s lovely,
”
Clancy said, lifting cobwebby folds of peach-coloured chiffon and lace from their wrappings.
“
What is it?
”

“
What is it, she says,
”
laughed Conn,
“
and I don
’
t blame you for not knowing at all. If you shake it out you
’
ll see it
’
s a nightdress.
”

Clancy shook.

“
But so grand, and so thin. I
’
ll never dare wear it, for it would split the very first time, and me leppin
’
in me bed.
”

“
Really, Clancy!
”
Mark laughed.
“
Me leppin
’
in me bed! I thought I
’
d got you out of those phrases.
”

They were all laughing when Kevin came back, handsome but disgruntled in his ancient dinner jacket, and Clancy looked round at her family with pride.

“
How grand we all look,
”
she said.
“
It
’
s really great fun to dress up once in a while.
”

“
There
’
s the bell,
”
cried Brian, leaping to his feet and making a dash for the door. He had been very bored with so much adult conversation and was looking forward to Mary Kate
’
s special dinner.

“
Come back!
”
called Kevin unexpectedly.
“
Since we
’
re all determined to make fools of ourselves, we might as well do it properly.
”
He offered his arm to Clancy with a solemn bow.
“
Miss O
’
Shane, may I have the honour of taking you into dinner?
”

Mark felt a momentary pang at the happiness which flooded her face, as she took her father
’
s arm, and he wondered if for tonight, at least, Kevin was taking pleasure in his daughter because she was his daughter and not his son. He offered his arm to Aunt Bea, and Conn squired Clodagh, and so they all tropped solemnly into the dining-room, with the impatient Brian bringing up the rear.

As a general rule two oil lamps were placed on the long table, but tonight the old-fashioned chandelier of Waterford glass had been lit with candles. Candelabra burned on the polished table, denuded of its usual white cloth, and the room had a look of elegance and formality which affected them all.

Clancy, for this occasion, sat at the foot of the table opposite her father, with Mark on her right hand and Conn on her left. The unaccustomed flush still rode high in her cheek-bones, and her young, unpainted mouth wore an air of expectant sweetness very touching to see. Never in all her life had she known such gracious attention, and it went to her head like wine.

“
You see?
”
Mark said in a low voice.
“
It can be done.
”
There was gratitude and warm liking in her answering smile.

“
It
’
s wonderful,
”
she said.
“
But will it last?
”

“
That depends on you. The headiness of the moment, the party spirit if you like, can
’
t last into everyday life, but you yourself, what you are tonight, need never fade.
”

“
What am I tonight? That
’
s what puzzles me.
”

“
You
’
re a little fey among other things, but you
’
re eighteen years old and you
’
re an adult person—a very charming adult person.
”

The long lashes hid her eyes for a moment.

“
You
’
re different, too,
”
she said.

He smiled.

“
Not really. You just see me differently. You
’
re only just beginning to see me at all, in fact.
”

She laughed.

“
Oh, Mark, you make it all sound so easy. But it
’
s difficult to think of your tutor as an equal, you know.
”

“
Yes, I suppose it is. The same might apply to the tutor when his pupil suddenly grows up under his eyes.
”
Conn on the other side was telling her plaintively not to let the Lord Protector monopolize her entirely, and Mark, with a smile, turned to Aunt Bea on his right.

“
Conn,
”
she
said, a little girl again,
“
what
’
s the surprise? Clodagh wouldn
’
t tell us, and I
’
m dying to know.
”

“
Wait,
”
he said, as, the meal ended, Biddy carried in a great iced cake lit by eighteen ca
n
dles and set it down in front of Clancy.

“
We
’
ll all have to blow,
”
said Conn.
“
Clancy could never put eighteen candles out with one breath.
”

“
I can
’
t bear to blow them out at all, they look so pretty
,”
Clancy said.

Kevin held up his hand.

“
Before you cut the cake, we
’
ll have the toast of the evening,
”
he said.
“
Mark, you are outside the family, and
think you should be toast-master. Fill the glasses.
”

Mark got to his feet, and for a moment looked in silence at the expectant faces around him, then he raised his glass and said in his clipped, English voice:

“
I have much pleasure in proposing a toast to our very charming guest of honour on this, her eighteenth birthday. Ladies and gentlemen! I give you Miss Clancy O
’
Shane!
”

Everyone cried:
“
Clancy!
”
and raised their glasses to her, and Mark sat down as Kevin said;

“
You must reply, Clancy. You must always reply to a toast.
”

She stood up. The circle of light from the candles on the cake threw a radiance on the white skin of her throat and shoulders, deepening the smoky eyes until they looked almost bla
c
k.

“
I don
’
t know what to say,
”
she said, in a voice which sounded a little shaky.
“
I don
’
t know what to say except that it
’
s been a wonderful birthday, and thank you all very, very much for making it so perfect. I would like to drink to my family which counts Conn, of course, and to you, Mark, because after all, I rather like the British.

She took a sip from her glass and sat down hurriedly
amidst much laughter.

“
Now, cut the cake,
”
cried Brian, impatient to get the
talking over.

“
Just a minute,
”
Clodagh said,
“
there
’
s one more toast for you to make, Mark.
”

“
Yes?
”
He looked across at her inquiringly.

She slipped her hand into Conn
’
s.

“
It
’
s the surprise. You tell them, Conn.
”

“
Well, you see, Mark, you couldn
’
t know,
”
Conn said,
“
but we
’
d like you to propose a toast to us. We
’
re going to be married.
”

Mark always remembered that moment. The dead silence before a babel of questions broke out. Conn and Clodagh looking round the table with pleased, expectant faces, and Clancy beside him, straight as a wand, her stricken face still and pinched in the light of her birthday candles.

Then Kevin gave a great roar of laughter.

“
I
’
d give anything to see Kate
’
s face when you tell her,
”
he shouted.
“
And she with the grand ideas for her only daughter! Clodagh, you little minx, how long have you had this up your sleeve?
”

“
Oh, a long time,
”
she said excitedly.
“
All the summer, I think, only I couldn
’
t make up my mind. That
’
s why we quarrelled so much, I expect. It was the night you had your heart attack, Kilmallin. I was frightened, and Conn came back with my scarf, and somehow I knew then. We decided to keep it quiet till Clancy
’
s party and spring it on you then. Are you surprised?
”

“
No,
”
said Aunt Bea unexpectedly.
“
I think I knew, though it
’
s never been what I expected. Kate won
’
t be at all pleased.
”

“
She
’
ll get over it in time,
”
Clodagh said.
“
She likes Conn really, and now he
’
s selling the farm she can
’
t have any real objection.
”

Clancy spoke for the first time.

“
Selling the farm?
”
she said, in a dazed little voice.

Clodagh blew her a kiss.