Green Girl (10 page)

The discovery gave her an odd little sense of shock. Was this Duffy
’
s way of warning her not to trespass, or was it simply a ruthless severing with the past?
No regrets ...
no comparisons
...
the slate wiped clean
... he had said, but he had spoken with faint bitterness, and once again Harriet
’
s curiosity was aroused. Who was this Sam whose gifts had been sufficiently significant to banish with the portrait? Had he loved poor, imprisoned Kitty, or even been her lover? Harriet gave a little shiver, imagining what discovery might have led to, for she did not think that the dark, ugly stranger who was so soon to be her own husband would give much quarter if he learnt he had been deceived, then she left the room to seek the more friendly familiarity of the snug, chiding herself for letting her imagination run riot yet again.

She had not expected to find Duff already there, evidently back early from his daily rounds of his tenancies, and jumped when he remarked with his disconcerting trick of catching her out:

“
Well, have you changed your mind?
”

“
What about?
”
she stammered, her attention upon Kurt who had lifted his head and after investigating her with an exploratory nose as he had on that foggy day, flattened his ears to his skull in sudden ingratiation and miraculously uncurled an inquisitive tongue to lick her.
“
Did you see that, Duff? He
kissed
me—he actually licked me!
”

“
Well, I shall administer a different kind of licking if you don
’
t pay attention to me,
”
he retorted, but he smiled all the same at the ridiculous look of shining gratitude she bestowed alike on the dog and himself.
“
I asked you if you
’
d changed your mind, meaning about marrying me, but it will be too late if you have, in any case.
”

“
Then why did you ask?
”
she said not unreasonably, and he shot her a sharp look as if he suspected pertness, then smiled.

“A
sensible retort, and I don
’
t know why I asked. The wedding
’
s set for tomorrow.
”

“
Oh!
”

“
Is that all you have to say?
”

“
I don
’
t know what you want me to say,
”
she replied
a
little helplessly. She had no idea how long such matters as a special licence took to arrange and no one had enlightened her.

He leaned forward in his chair and touched her hair with an uncharacteristically hesitant gesture.

“
I don
’
t know, either,
”
he said.
“
Perhaps I
’
m having last-minute qualms.
“
You
’
re so young Harriet, so utterly inexperienced, and filled with all sorts of romantic nonsense. I feel, I
’
m taking an advantage.
”

“
Do you—I mean have you perhaps had—had second thoughts yourself?
”
she stammered, wondering whether it was he who wished to change his mind, but his sudden smile was a little unkind.

“
Never have second thoughts, my dear, or, if you do, sit on them firmly. I haven
’
t changed my mind, if that
’
s what you were hoping for, and it
’
s too late for you to recant that nice little preference for butter to bread and scrape, so let
’
s forget about the conventional heart-searchings that cast doubts on the wedding eve and get tomorrow
’
s itinerary cut and dried. Now—
”

She sat on the rug patiently listening to all his instructions; no wedding guests because time was short and his social obligations negative; no reception for the same reason, but mild celebration for the tenants because that was expected of the Castle. Harriet asked if the little girl was to attend the ceremony, but was told rather shortly, no. Nonie hadn
’
t been told yet, and Duff thought it better to wait till the holidays with the new relationship already an established fact.

Later, as Harriet ate her dinner in solitary state, Duff having gone out, and the two dogs rather pointedly preferring to remain in the snug, she wondered whether Duff was indulging somewhere in the traditional stag party, but it seemed unlikely in view of the kind of marriage he was contemplating that he would consider there was anything much for the bridegroom to celebrate.

She went back to the snug when she had finished her dinner and tried to settle down with a boo
k
, but the silence of the big house seemed oppressive and presently she took herself up to bed and stood rather forlornly in the middle of the big room wondering what to wear on the morrow. All Duff
’
s careful arrangements had not covered the bride
’
s apparel, and she supposed he could hardly be expected to remember that she had arrived with one suitcase, and the suit she was wearing at the time had been ruined by bog-water. She inspected the meagre contents of the wardrobe, disconsolately aware that her hasty purchases, so satisfying at the time, were utterly unsuit
e
d to Irish country life; neither had she invested in a warm coat, thinking her old one would do since it had seemed more important to buy the cheap little cocktail dresses which she had imagined would be essential to gay life in an Irish castle.

Harriet sighed, selecting the least offensive garment from her wardrobe to brush and lay out in readiness for the next day. Her prospective bridegroom had certainly not succumbed to love at first sight, or shown any sign of courtship, neither, so far as she could judge, was there any dark impediment in his life, unless it was the discovery of his dead wife
’
s lover, which would hardly account for a second marriage so long after. That left only the child, a worthy motive, no doubt, but scarcely a matter for such haste. It still seemed foolish to Harriet that marriage should be made a condition for care in such circumstances, but no less foolish, she supposed, than her own willingness to oblige.

She fell asleep wondering where she would lay her head tomorrow night and whether her new husband would expect to share her bed, despite his assurance of a business arrangement. Rooms had been prepared, she knew, in another wing, but she had not seen them; they were, she had understood, the rooms always allotted to the presiding master and mistress of Clooney, so presumably Duff and his Kitty had already shared them. It was, she thought prosaically, on the last drowsy awareness of consciousness, a good thing that her affections were not at all engaged with the undemonstrative master of Clooney.

S
he awoke very early as darkness was just merging into the grey of dawn with an over-riding impulse to wash her hair. She was drying it, huddled by the fire which
sh
e had managed to get alight again, when Molly brought in her breakfast, and not only the milk but the whole contents of the tray nearly slid to the floor as the girl stood staring at her, open-mouthed.

“
For the love of God! You
’
ll not be ready in time, and himself fit to throw a great passion an
’
he waitin
’
at the church door!
”
she exclaimed.
“
Kept waitin
’
he
’
ll not be if his mind
’
s set on a thing. Aren
’
t you alarmed, miss?
”

“
Alarmed?
”

“
Nervous—your insides heavin
’
at the thought—sure, I thought all brides was needing a drop of the craythur to see
him
through, an
’
they swoonin
’
away with apprehension.
”

“
I
’
m sorry to disappoint you, Molly, but I feel just as usual,
”
Harriet replied, reflecting that Molly, like herself, had obviously supped on too many romantic novels.

“
Faith, you
’
re the quarest bride I ever see!
”
the girl observed in disappointed tones, and Harriet, knowing that whatever she might have said, she scarcely felt just as usual, asked if Molly would like to stay and help her get ready. It would at least, she thought, take her own mind off the unfamiliar events of the day.

As she made ready with the only bridal garments at her disposal, she could not altogether avoid a passing regret for the traditional glory of a white wedding. Molly
’
s presence was helpful after all, for to her country eyes there was nothing wrong with the cheap new underclothes and badly made dress, though she, too, regretted the splendour of a white wedding.

“
Still an
’
all,
‘
tis not the same, as Agnes says, an
’
he a widower with his heart buried in the grave,
”
she said cheerfully.

Harriet gave a little shiver and started brushing out her hair, glad that she had woken early enough to wash it, for it was the only detail of her appearance that gave her satisfaction. Straight it might be, but it was thick and silky and could be coaxed into two shining crescents along the jaw-line, helping to hide the impoverished bones of her face, if
not
the freckles which powdered her cheeks and nose.

“
Sure, it
’
s paid for washin
’
. I wonder you don
’
t take one of thim permanent waves to give it style,
”
observed Molly.

“
It wouldn
’
t suit me. I haven
’
t the face for style,
”
Harriet said, going to the window to see what omen the day had brought her. There had been a frost, for rime still sparkled on the terrace and the bare branches of thorn and rowan; Cuchulain
’
s Island looked like a ripe purple plum in the still waters and the foothills on the far shore echoed the colour.

“
How beautiful it is,
”
she murmured.

“
Ah, sure the skies is smilin
’
on you this day, and that
’
s a promise of good luck,
”
said Molly.
“
See, miss—I
’
ve remembered the charrms for good luck to a weddin
’
. Me garter for somethin
’
borrowed, if you
’
ll not be affronted wearin
’
it, your clothes is new, an
’
here
’
s me blue headscarf, for
‘
tis the only clean thing of that colour I could find.
”
Harriet spun round to thank her, the emotional tears which Molly had been cheated of ready to fall now.

“
Ay-ah! Don
’
t start bawlin
’
now or you
’
ll be desthroyed entoirely walkin
’
down the aisle with red eyes an
’
a shiny nose,
”
said Molly with rough kindness.
“
Where
’
s your hat?
”

“
I haven
’
t one,
”
Harriet said tragically.

“
God save us! You can
’
t go to the church with your head uncovered—the divil might fly away wid you before you could reach the altar,
”
Molly said, as dismayed as Harriet by such an omission, then her eyes brightened.
“
Wait now! You can wear me blue headscarf instead of carryin
’
it and take it off as soon as the weddin
’
s done.
”
Harriet knotted the scarf under her chin, and gazed doubtfully into the mirror. The shiny artificial silk was a particularly vulgar shade of blue, and made her cheap dress look common, but it would have to do. She wouldn
’
t hurt Molly
’
s feelings by asking her if she had another, and she had none of her own.

“
Thank you
...
thank you, dear Molly, it will bring me double luck this way. Now, is it time for the car yet?
”

“
Cassidy
’
s been without this last half hour, not wishin
’
to be late, but himself left a while ago so you should be startin
’
. You
’
d best take a coat, too, for the day
’
s cold, an
’
that wheeshy jacket you
’
re wearin
’
has no warmth to it.
”