Lonely Girl (16 page)

But when she attempted to replace it on the sideboard again he looked straight at her, barking louder and louder.

Curious, she looked long and hard at the photograph. It was just a photo of her mother and Auntie Kathleen, and Barney had seen it many times.

‘I wish Mother was as lovely as Auntie Kathleen,’ Rosie murmured. ‘How can two sisters be so different?’

Suddenly, as if a light had gone on inside her mind, she knew why Barney was behaving so badly.

She laughed out loud. ‘You clever old thing! You think Daddy went to Auntie Kathleen’s house, don’t you? Why didn’t I think of that? Daddy must have searched everywhere for Mother, and when he couldn’t find her he realised she must have gone to see Auntie Kathleen. She’s done that before without telling anyone. Yes … that’s it! That’s where he’ll be. Oh, Barney, you are brilliant.’

She gave the dog another hug, then ran to the telephone in the kitchen and dialled her aunt’s number. Calm and quiet now, Barney followed and sat by the door, looking very pleased with himself.

‘Patrick Riley here. Who is this?’ Hearing his familiar Irish voice was a great relief to Rosie.

‘It’s me, Uncle Patrick!’ Rosie assured him, ‘I’m all right, but I was just wondering, is Daddy with you? Only he went out looking for Mother, and I think he must have missed her, ’cause she’s in the barn. But now I don’t know where he is, so me and Barney thought we should call you to see if he’s there with you and Auntie Kathleen.’

‘Just a minute, me darlin’.’ Patrick sounded troubled, and then there was a pause, during which Rosie thought she could hear Kathleen’s voice. Then Uncle Patrick was back on the line. ‘Just hold on for a minute, will you, Rosie? Your auntie Kathleen needs to talk with you.’

‘Rosie?’ Kathleen sounded anxious.

‘Yes, Auntie Kathleen?’

‘Listen to me, Rosie. Are you at home?’

‘Yes.’

‘Barney is with you, isn’t he?’

‘Yes, but we’ve been out looking for Daddy. He went out to find Mother, but he never came back. I thought he might be there with you and Uncle Patrick.’

‘Rosie, I don’t like you being in the house all on your own.’

‘I’m not on my own. I’ve got Barney here.’

‘All right, just hang on a minute. Don’t put the phone down.’

Suddenly, everything was quiet except for the faintest of voices as her uncle and aunt softly conversed away from the telephone.

Then Patrick was back on the line. ‘Listen to me now, darlin’. I want you and Barney to stay right where you are. Don’t go outside the house. Are the doors locked?’

‘Yes.’

‘Good. So turn off the lights. I know your daddy keeps a torch under the stairs … when you put the receiver down, go and get it. If you can’t find it, ring me back. Make sure you close all the curtains and lock all the doors.’

‘I have it already.’

‘Yer a good girl. Now then, I’m coming over. I’ll be there quick as I can. Meantime, do not answer the door to anyone.’

‘I won’t, I promise. But, Uncle Patrick, you didn’t tell me if my mother and father are with you.’

‘Listen, darlin’, I promise I’ll be there in no time at all.’

He replaced the receiver, leaving Rosie somewhat confused.

As ever, she reported to Barney. ‘That was a strange kind of conversation,’ she said with a little smile. ‘Uncle Patrick is such a funny man at times. I asked him if my parents were there, and he just said he was on his way here. So does he mean he’s bringing them home, or what?’ She shook her head. ‘I suppose he must be.’

Either way, she was greatly relieved to have spoken with her uncle and aunt. ‘And besides … we all know what Uncle Patrick is like even when he hasn’t had a drop o’ the good stuff.’

Barney looked at her in an odd kind of way, his head bent to one side and his ears pricked, almost as though he had no idea what she was talking about. But, from the sorry look in his eyes, she knew he sensed her fears and understood.

After that short, confusing conversation with Uncle Patrick, Rosie wasn’t altogether sure whether her father was at Kathleen and Patrick’s house or not. But then her darling uncle Patrick had always been a fascinating puzzle to her. He made her laugh, and he had the merriest of natures. His son, Harry, who worked with Daddy, was much like his father, and that was why she loved him so much.

Relieved that her beloved aunt and uncle were coming to help her and that, thanks to Barney, she would soon be reunited with her parents, she gave him a great big hug.

‘I
’
M REALLY WORRIED
, Patrick.’ Kathleen was frantically wringing her hands. ‘What do we tell her?’

Patrick was equally worried but, being an honest and forthright man, he answered her the only way he knew how. ‘We’ll have to tell her the truth. She has a right to know. For now, though, we need to keep her safe. So I’ll get her and Barney back here as quick as I can and, meantime, you can be thinking of how we can break the news to her gently … although it’s bound to hit her really hard.’

While his parents talked of the best way to tell Rosie what had happened, Harry was pacing the floor at the back of the room. Eventually he made his way across to sit beside his stepmother, who was quickly getting tearful.

‘Try not to get upset about it, Mum.’ He slid his arm about her shoulders. ‘We must try to be strong for Rosie’s sake.’ He was hurting desperately for Rosie.

For a long time, Harry had had deep feelings for Rosie, but only now, in this very serious moment, when he desperately wanted to hold her and take care of her, did he realise just how very much he loved her.

‘Dad?’

‘Yes, son?’

‘Try not to frighten her. I mean, do you need to say anything just yet? After all, we’re not altogether sure what’s happened, are we?’

Kathleen agreed. ‘She’s bound to ask where her parents are. But Harry’s right to suggest we go gently with her. When she asks about her parents, just try somehow to be evasive, without telling any lies. When she gets here, and we’re all together, we’ll break it to her in the gentlest way possible. She will be absolutely devastated when we tell her what we know.’

‘Yes, of course, you’re right. But we don’t really know the full story ourselves, do we?’

Kathleen nodded slowly. ‘Yes, that’s true. We don’t know everything, but what we do know is so bad it threw us all into panic. That’s why we have to be so gentle and careful in what we tell that lovely girl.’ She wiped a solitary tear from her eye. ‘Now, go and get the poor child, Patrick. And, please, be very careful what you say, won’t you?’

‘O’ course I will, my lovely! And don’t you worry. I’ll have her back here in no time at all.’

‘Dad?’ Harry stood up. ‘Shall I come with you?’ He was desperately worried for Rosie and he knew how that lovable man could sometimes let his tongue run away with him.

Patrick smiled at his son; he knew what he was thinking. ‘No, thank you, Harry. It’s best if I go on my own, especially with that big dog taking up three places in the truck. Look, while I’m gone, you two can try to make some sense of what we’ve been told. And don’t worry, I won’t let my tongue run away with me.’

‘No, you had better not,’ Kathleen told him. ‘Oh, and leave the truck. Take my car. I don’t want young Rosie flung about like a sack of potatoes in that rattling old wagon of yours.’

‘Ah now, there’s me lovely girl! I thought you would never offer.’

A few minutes later, Harry went to the car with his father, while Kathleen watched from the doorway.

‘You go back inside now, my love, in case we get another call … if you know what I mean?’ Patrick called to her.

Kathleen understood, and after blowing him a quick kiss, she did exactly what he told her.

Harry was anxious. ‘Dad, are you sure you don’t want me with you?’

‘Yes, son, it’s best if I go on my own while you watch over Kathleen. I don’t expect to be gone more than a half-hour at most. I reckon Kathleen is holding back because she wants to stay strong for Rosie, but she’s had a terrible shock – we all have. She hides it well, but I know she’s really upset.’

‘You can count on me, Dad,’ Harry reassured him.

‘Thank you, Harry. You’re a good lad. Nobody knows better than me how fortunate I am to have you for a son, and to have that dear woman in our lives. Kathleen brought us through a bad time once before, and here we are again, eh?’

For Harry, the bad memories were never far away. ‘That’s true, Dad. Only this time it’s Rosie who’s about to have her heart broken.’ Choking back a tear, he stepped away from the car and waved his father off.

Patrick drove up the road at some speed, leaving Harry shaking his head. ‘Why does he always think he’s on a race track whenever he gets into that car? Fifty-six going on sixteen, that’s my dad!’

Harry gave a wry little smile. However bossy and argumentative his father could be at times, he was also deeply caring and supportive, and Harry worshipped the ground he walked on.

Since the brief telephone conversation, Rosie had stood at the window, patiently watching for her uncle Patrick to arrive.

Equally anxious, Barney leaned over her shoulder, panting his hot breath into the back of her neck.

‘Oh, look! He’s here!’ Relieved when she saw the car turning in, Rosie was on her feet and hugging Barney. ‘Come on, boy, let’s go meet them!’ The two of them were outside and at the car before Patrick could even climb out.

‘Woa!’ Scrambling out of the car, he grabbed Rosie in his arms. ‘Oh, me little darlin’, have you been watching for me all this time? After I told ye to close the curtains and stay away from the windows!’

‘I’m sorry, Uncle Patrick, but I was worried.’ She peeked into the car. ‘Where is he?’ Her face showed her disappointment.

‘Who?’

‘My daddy. I thought you were bringing him home.’

‘Ah, sure, I never promised no such thing, me darlin’.’ He was dreading her next question. ‘I’m just here to fetch you back to our house. Auntie Kathleen’s waiting for ye, so she is.’ He opened the rear passenger door and ushered Rosie and Barney inside. ‘You stay there now while I secure the house.’

As he ambled away, Rosie confided in Barney. ‘I got it wrong, Barney. It seems Daddy is waiting back there with Auntie Kathleen. But why didn’t he come home with Uncle Patrick? Now he’s got to drive all the way back, and then later he’ll probably run us all back here again. It seems an awful lot of trouble to me.’

Rosie was beginning to think the world had turned upside down, and everything had gone awry.

She shrugged. ‘I expect Mother’s with him now and they needed to spend some time with Auntie Kathleen. Dad was saying only the other day how we haven’t seen Auntie Kathleen in a long time. Ever since she and Mother had a falling-out over nothing at all. When he said Mother should apologise because it was her who had started the argument, Mother got angry and told him to mind his own business.’

The two of them watched Patrick going from window to window, checking everywhere. Finally, he shut the door, giving the door handle a little shake. ‘There ye go!’ He climbed back into the car. ‘All safely locked up.’ He handed the house key, which she’d left inside, in the lock, to Rosie. ‘Right! Off we go. I expect Harry and your auntie Kathleen are anxious to see us back, eh?’

As they drove, Rosie had many questions, but one in particular. ‘Uncle Patrick?’

‘Yes, sweetheart?’

‘Me and Barney searched all over for Daddy, and we couldn’t find him, so where was he?’

‘I’m sure I have no idea.’ Patrick had been dreading the question.

‘But he’s at your house now, waiting for us. Isn’t he?’ Rosie had that deep-down feeling again that something was very wrong.

Patrick began to panic. What should he tell her?

He followed the truth as far as he was able. ‘No, sweetheart, he is not at our house, and neither is your mother. The truth is, I don’t rightly know where your daddy is, but I do know your Auntie Kathleen had a phone call from your mother a little while ago. I’m sure she’ll know where your daddy is. Don’t you worry now, me darlin’. I’m sure Kathleen will explain everything when we get back.’

He felt totally out of his depth and not at all sure what he should or shouldn’t say in this sorry situation. He did not know the full story that Kathleen had been told so he was doubly uncomfortable trying to answer Rosie’s questions in case he inadvertently lied to her. He recalled Harry and Kathleen’s suggestion that Rosie should at least be gently warned of the serious situation she would need to face at some point.

With that responsibility weighing heavily on his mind, he parked the car at the side of the road, switched off the engine and took a deep breath. ‘Rosie, sweetheart? There is something you should know.’

Rosie was concerned. ‘Has the car broken down, Uncle Patrick?’

‘No, no, sweetheart. Nothing like that.’ Turning in his seat, he took hold of her hand. ‘I’ve pulled over because I know you’re worried, and the truth is I don’t have the answers to your questions. But there is something I haven’t told you, and I’m about to tell you now.’

Rosie was suddenly filled with dread. ‘Is it my daddy? Has something happened to him?’ Her voice trembled. ‘Barney and me, we searched everywhere and we didn’t find him. Has he gone away? Is he hurt? Is that why the—’