The Weans at Rowallan Part 21

"Dear forgive her," said Jane bitterly, "an' we thought she was an aunt."

They did not go home till it was getting dark. When they went into the kitchen Lull was sitting by the fire. "Well," she said, "did ye see yer Aunt Charlotte; she's out lukin' for ye?"

"She can luk till she's black for all I care," said Jane.

Their mother was sitting up in bed when they went in to say good-night, and they saw she had been crying.

"You are the best children in the world," she said, "but your Aunt Charlotte thinks you are barbarians."

"She's an ould divil, an' we just hate the sight a' her," said Patsy.

"'Deed, an' there's more than yous does that," said Lull.

"Hush, Lull," said their mother; "she is my sister, after all."

"Purty sister," Lull snorted, "comin' where she's not wanted, upsettin'

everybuddy with her talk a' ruination."

"It's true, it's true," Mrs Darragh wailed, and began to cry again.

Lull hurried the children out of the room; they heard her comforting their mother as they went down the pa.s.sage. They went to bed with heavy hearts. Jane said her prayers three times over, then cried herself to sleep.

Next morning Aunt Charlotte was down early. Fly and Patsy, who had been out to see if the gooseberries were ripe, met her in the hall as they came back.

"Good morning," she said. "I don't think I saw you yesterday. What are your names?"

"I am Fly, an' he is Patsy," Fly answered.

"What?" said Aunt Charlotte.

"Fly an' Patsy," Fly repeated, and was going past, but Aunt Charlotte pounced on some gooseberries Fly had in her pinafore. "What are you going to do with these?" she said.

"Ripe them," said Patsy, trying to get past.

"You cannot ripen green gooseberries off the bushes," said Aunt Charlotte.

"'Deed, then, ye just can," said Fly; "ye squeeze them till they're soft, an' then ye suck them till they're sweet."

"I am sure your nurse cannot allow you to do anything so disgusting,"

said Aunt Charlotte.

At this moment Lull came out of the schoolroom, where she had been laying the table for breakfast.

"M'Leary!" said Aunt Charlotte--they had never heard Lull called that before--"surely you cannot allow the children to eat such poisonous stuff as unripe gooseberries?"

Lull's eyes flashed fire for a second, then she said: "You lave them to me, mem," and took Fly and Patsy off to the kitchen, where they squeezed and sucked the gooseberries in peace.

At breakfast Aunt Charlotte asked questions about everything: who their neighbours were; where they visited; where they went to church.

"You see," she said, "I have not been here before, so you must tell me everything about your surroundings now."

"Why didn't ye come afore?" said Jane eagerly. "When ye were wanted sore, what kept ye then?"

"Little girls cannot understand the motives of their elders," Aunt Charlotte said sharply. "I was far from well, and the country was disturbed."

"What's disturbed?" said Patsy.

Her back stiffened. "Your fellow-countrymen were in a wicked state of rebellion against the powers ordained by G.o.d," she said.

"'Deed, an' who wouldn't fight the polis?" said Patsy. "Ye should 'a'

seen the gran' fight we had last week on the twelfth."

"I understood that everything was quiet," Aunt Charlotte murmured.

"Lull was prayin' night an' day for ye to come. She was clean dimented for the want of ye," Jane went on, hoping Aunt Charlotte would explain.

But Aunt Charlotte did nothing of the kind.

"We will not discuss the matter," she said; "I have told you it was impossible for me to come."

"I'm tellin' ye it got ye an ill name about the place," said Honeybird, looking up from her porridge; "there's many's a one has it agin ye to this day."

The children looked at each other in surprise. Honeybird had a way of repeating things she had picked up; but only Jane knew where she could have heard this, and a kick from Jane told her to be quiet. Aunt Charlotte's knife and fork dropped with a clatter on her plate. Her face was white as chalk. For a minute no one spoke. Aunt Charlotte drank some coffee, and shut her eyes. The children thought she had forgotten to say her grace till now; they went on with their breakfast, and in a few minutes she spoke again.

"I suppose you all like toys," she said.

The three younger ones brightened up.

"You know there are beautiful toys to be had in London, and I did think of bringing you some, but, then, I thought that out here in the country, with so many trees and flowers to play with, it would be like bringing coals to Newcastle."

They understood that she had brought nothing. Mick and Jane looked relieved, but Honeybird's eyes filled with tears. "Niver a wee dawl?"

she said.

"What does she mean?" said Aunt Charlotte. "Oh, a little doll; the child speaks like a peasant."

No one answered. Honeybird's tears dropped into her lap. Fly pa.s.sed her a ripened gooseberry under the table.

After breakfast Aunt Charlotte said they must show her the gardens and the stable. They had meant to go out bathing, and stay away all day; but there was no escaping from her, so they started off, to the stables first.

Aunt Charlotte shook her head over everything.

"Disgraceful neglect," they heard her say.

"We'll soon make it grand when our s.h.i.+p comes in," said Jane.

"What a strange expression," said Aunt Charlotte. "And, pray, when will that be?"

"G.o.d knows, for I don't," said Honeybird, repeating what Andy Graham always said when they asked him that question.