The English Tutor (30 page)

“
A blessing
...” Her
eyes were strange, as if they saw a long way.
“
All right, Conn, I
’
ll come and put a blessing on you—and on Slievaun,
”
she said, and he kissed her on the nose and went into the library.

She stood where he had left her in the silent hall, staring into the shadows. The maids would be lighting candles now, and gazing into mirrors hoping to see the apparitions of their future husbands appear behind them. Clancy gave herself a little shake, and, smiling at her own folly, lit a candle and held it up to the big mirror, in its scrolled gilt frame, which hung on the wall. Her reflection stared back at her, strange and solemn in the wavering light.

All at once she felt her flesh go cold. A man
’
s face, pale and indeterminate, appeared in the shadows above her head, and she gave a little gasp, and turned quickly, spilling candle grease on her new frock. But it was only Mark who had come to look for her, and she began to laugh.

“
Oh! You gave me such a fright!
”
she said.

“
What were you doing?
”
he asked curiously,
“
—admiring your new finery when you thought no one was looking?
”

“
No,
”
she said.
“
I was looking in the mirror like the maids. I thought you were the ghost of my future husband.
”
He did not laugh, but gave her a long grave look she could not quite understand, then he took the candle gently from her and blew it out.

“
You
’
ve spilt some wax on your dress,
”
he said.
“
Shall we go back to the others?
”

New Year
’
s Day was fine, but there was a threatening look about the sky. Agnes said it would rain by the afternoon and if Brian was going out he was to be sure and take a mackintosh.

“
Ah, fussing as usual!
”
Brian muttered. Under Mark
’
s quiet influence he had become much less concerned for his health, and he watched his sister pull an ancient coat over her slacks and old red jersey with a hopeful eye.
“
Where are you going?
”

“
To Slievaun. Conn wants me to go for the last time and say good-bye.
”

“
Take me, too,
”
he begged.
“
Mark
’
s gone out with a gun with Kilmallin and there
’
s nothing to do. Take me with you, Clancy.
”

She looked at him doubtfully.

“
You know you
’
re not supposed to come in the boat unless Mark
’
s with us. Agnes would make a fuss with Kilmallin.
”

“
She won
’
t know till we
’
re back. Ah, do take me, Clancy, the loch
’
s as still as glass and it won
’
t rain till tea-time.
”
She hesitated. It would be easier to have Brian with her on this last sad expedition and they could come back directly after lunch.

“
All right, come, then,
”
she said recklessly.
“
I
’
ll get into trouble for taking you but I don
’
t care.
”

No one saw them start, and it never occurred to either of them to leave a message that Brian would be out for lunch, too. Brian, excited and pleased at his own daring, bounced up and down, shouting. He was not good in a boat and several times called down Clancy
’
s wrath at his antics.

“
What did you bring Brian for?
”
asked Conn, when they arrived.

“
He wanted to come,
”
said Clancy.
“
Haven
’
t you enough lunch for him?
”

“
Ah, sure, you know there
’
s always plenty of food. Oh, well, Bridie can look after him for a while.
”

Conn was full of talk, and discussed his future plans with an enthusiasm that left no regrets for his old life, but Clancy found she had nothing to say to him. The deserted stables looked derelict and haunted, and the house, with its bare rooms, already wore that air of decay which hangs over so many Irish farmsteads.

After lunch, she and Conn sat over the fire, talking in desultory fashion. Clancy wanted to go, but Brian had taken himself off somewhere, skeleton-hunting, and she was obliged to wait. Once or twice she glanced at the sky a little anxiously. Storm clouds were coming up fast, and if Brian got a soaking, there would be Agnes to reckon with. He came back as the first drops began to fall and she hurried
him
into his mackintosh.

They ran, scrambling and slipping, down the steep, narrow track to the shore, and a great gust of wind and rain greeted them as they reached the boat.

“
Good-bye, Clancy,
”
Conn said, taking her by the shoulders.
“
It
’
s really good-bye, isn
’
t it, my little faithful friend? You
’
ve grown up and away from me now.
”

“
Good-bye, Conn,
”
she replied,
“
and here is the blessing you wanted, on you and Slievaun. Bless you and keep you safe from harm.
”

She lifted her face and kissed h
im
gravely on the mouth.

“
Be quick, be quick!
”
cried Brian, already in the boat,
“
the loch
’
s getting rougher and rougher.
”

It was not far across, but as they reached the middle the wind took the boat and set it tossing like a cockle-shell. Clancy strained at the oars, but she could make hardly any headway. The wind, was against them and the strength seemed to run out of her arms quicker than it had done a few weeks ago. Brian was leaping about on his seat with anxiety and he made a sudden plunge into the bows, nearly upsetting the boat.

“
I
’
m frightened,
”
he shouted, above the wind.
“
Clancy, I
’
m frightened! Do something!
”

“
Keep still,
”
Clancy shouted back.
“
Find the scoop, and bail.
”

But the scoop must have been in the second boat, or lost, for it could not be found. They were shipping a lot of water, and Brian feebly tried to bail with his cupped hands.

Clancy decided that the best thing to do would be to turn the boat and go with the wind back to the other shore. As she started to put about, Brian, in a frenzy of fear, leapt to his feet and pointed.

“
There
’
s someone coming up the drive. Michael John! Michael John!
”

At the same moment a squall caught them, and, with Brian
’
s sudden movement, the little boat capsized.

The icy coldness of the water was an exquisite pain as Clancy went under, then she was fighting for air, and striking out wildly for Brian, who could not swim. He nearly throttled her as she guided him to the boat, and she thought she would never manage to heave him up out of the water and across the upturned keel. She was too exhausted and too numb with cold to try to climb on to the boat herself, but clung to the side and told Brian to
b
e very still.

“
Someone will see us,
”
she gasped,
“
someone is sure to see us from the house. Don
’
t be frightened, Brian dear. You
’
re out of the water and I won
’
t let you sink.
”

Michael John saw them. His immediate instinct was to take out the other boat without delay, but he was old, and his limbs too crippled with rheumatism to make speed against this wind.

He ran into the house shouting loudly for Mark:

“
Mr. Cromwell, Mr. Cromwell! The children is drownin
’
! They have the boat sunk on them!
”

But there had already been anxiety for Brian. No one knew where he was, and Agnes was at that moment in the library telling Kelvin and Mark the boy must be in a bog with a broken leg, so long had he been gone, and he without a bite inside him. Mark raced ahead of them and had the second boat out on the water before the others had reached the jetty.

Between them, he and Clancy got Brian into the bottom of the boat where he lay shivering and crying, and Mark, steadying the tossing little craft with diffic
ul
ty, helped Clancy over the side.

“
Take the second pair of oars,
”
he ordered curtly;
“
we
’
ll be quicker and it
’
ll warm you.
”

Kevin, white and shaking, was waiting on the jetty, and he picked up his son in his arms and looked with terrible accusing eyes at Clancy.

“
If you
’
ve brought harm to him,
I’ll
not stand you in my sight,
”
he said, and carried the boy into the house.

“
You,
”
cried Agnes,
“
with your pride and your disobedience! Wouldn
’
t you be struck to the ground for very shame! If it
’
s not by drownin
’
the boy will be taken, then it
’
s the pneumony we
’
ll be fightin
’
this same night.
”

“
Go and see to your charge,
”
said Mark sharply.
“
Hot bath, blankets and bottles at once, and the same for you, Clancy. Don
’
t stand there with your teeth chattering. Run!
”
She ran in Agnes
’
s hurrying wake, and up to the schoolroom, overwrought and exhausted, her only idea to keep out of everybody
’
s way and get to a fire. Mark found her there, ten minutes later, crouched over the fire in her dripping clothes, her small frame shaken with shudders.

“
Really, Clancy, have you no sense at all?
”
he exclaimed.
“
Get out of those wet things at once, or do you want me to undress you?
”

“
I
’
m so cold,
”
she said.

He took her by the shoulders and jerked her to her feet.

“
Of course you
’
re cold, and you
’
ll get an almighty chill if you don
’
t get into a hot bath as quickly as you can. Come along, now. I
’
ll turn it on for you while you get undressed.
”

“
I didn
’
t mean to upset the boat,
”
she said rather piteously.
“
He wouldn
’
t keep still and I was getting tired. I shouldn
’
t have taken him, I know.
”

“
We
’
ll talk about that later,
”
said Mark.
“
Now, do as I tell you at once, and go to your room.
”

The bath water was not hot, and, exasperated, he snatched up a couple of rough towels and looked vainly for one of the maids, but the whole household was busy carrying cans of boiling water backwards and forwards to Brian
’
s room, and he went along himself and knocked on Clancy
’
s door. She was standing in the middle of the room in her slip. There was no fire and the room was very cold.

“
Take it of
f
,
”
Mark said peremptorily.